Notre Dame Players Appear On Preseason All-America, All-Conference Teams
Preseason All-America teams are coming out in their normal August deluge even for a fall college football season that will take place without 42 percent of FBS teams and four of the 10 conferences.
Notre Dame players are featured prominently on them. Pro Football Focus named four Irish players to its three preseason All-America rosters. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, guard Aaron Banks and safety Kyle Hamilton were second-teamers, while left tackle Liam Eichenberg was on the third team. Hamilton was also the lone Notre Dame player on USA Today’s preseason All-America teams, appearing as a second-team safety.
Each of those four was also on PFF’s preseason All-ACC first team.
Eichenberg is considered Notre Dame’s best offensive draft prospect and enters his third year as a starter. He bypassed this spring’s draft to return for his senior year. He did not allow a sack in 2019.
“Eichenberg took a noticeable leap from 2018 to 2019, raising his pass-blocking grade from 63.5 to 85.6 while cutting his pressure total almost in half,” PFF’s Anthony Treash wrote. “And he got better as the season progressed, too. Eichenberg already earned the 18th-best pass-blocking grade among FBS tackles over the entire season, but his grade from Week 7 on actually cracked the top-10 (7th).
Banks allowed two sacks, the only Irish starter credited with a sack, but otherwise posted strong pressure numbers in his second season as Notre Dame’s left guard. His 82.1 pass-blocking grade was third among the seven offensive linemen who started for Notre Dame this year.
“Banks is coming off an exceptional year in pass protection,” Treash wrote. “He allowed zero pressures in seven of his 13 games and dominated against Power 5 competition. He actually produced an 85.6 pass-blocking grade in those matchups, third in the country among those with at least 175 such snaps.”
Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame’s do-everything rover linebacker, led the team with 13.5 tackles for loss and tied for the lead in tackles (80) and sacks (5.5). He recorded no stats from 2017-18 but established himself as the favorite at rover by the end of 2019 spring practices. He is considered Notre Dame’s best defensive prospect for the 2021 draft.
“His athleticism and instincts make him a valuable player to the defense in every facet of play, and he got better and better as the season progressed,” Treash wrote. “From Week 10 on, Micah Parsons (Penn State) and Isaiah Simmons (Clemson) were the only Power 5 linebackers who earned a higher PFF grade.”
Hamilton was named a Freshman All-American by multiple outlets last season and earned a team-best 89.8 PFF coverage grade. He led the Irish in interceptions and had six pass breakups as the third safety.
“Hamilton has the playmaking ability in coverage that every team wishes they had in the secondary,” Treash wrote. “The 6-foot-4 safety allowed only seven catches on 23 targets in coverage while making four interceptions and breaking up another five passes en route to a 1.3 passer rating allowed. And he did that as a true freshman.”
Notre Dame center Jarrett Patterson was also a first-team All-ACC selection. The converted tackle took over the job in 2019 after redshirting his first year on campus.
“There was a whole lot to love with Patterson's first year starting at center,” Treash wrote. “He was consistent throughout the year, with the only blemish coming against Georgia. Patterson finished as the 19th most valuable player in the FBS at the position and produced an above-average pass-blocking grade on his true pass sets.”
All five Notre Dame starting offensive linemen made a one of PFF’s All-ACC teams. Right guard Tommy Kraemer was a second-team selection, while right tackle Robert Hainsey was a third-teamer. Elsewhere, defensive end Ade Ogundeji and linebacker Drew White were third-team picks, kicker Jonathan Doerer was a second-teamer and quarterback Ian Book was an honorable mention.
Earlier this summer, Sporting News named Irish defensive end Daelin Hayes a second-team preseason All-American.
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