Ole Miss’ A.J. Brown, Greg Little named preseason AP All-Americans

Published 12:11 pm Tuesday, August 21, 2018

The preseason accolades continue to pour in for Ole Miss’ top draft prospects.

A.J. Brown and Greg Little were each voted to the Associated Press preseason All-America team Tuesday. Brown, the Rebels’ junior receiver, landed on the first team while Little was voted to the second team at offensive tackle.

Defending national champion Alabama and Wisconsin led the way with five selections each on the first and second teams combined. Clemson and Wisconsin had the most first-team selections with three apiece.

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Brown, the SEC’s leading receiver last season, is also on the preseason watch lists for the Biletnikoff, Walter Camp and Maxwell awards while Little is up for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and the Outland Trophy, which is awarded annually to college football’s best interior lineman.

Brown had 1,252 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns last season, setting a single-season school record in yards and tying the school mark for scores. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder, who also holds the school record for single-game receiving yards, has caught 104 passes for 1,664 yards and 15 touchdowns in his career.

Ole Miss offensive lineman Greg Little, left, blocks Sam Johnson during practice at the Manning Center in Oxford, Miss. on Thursday, August 9, 2018. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)

Little, at 6-6 and 320 pounds, has been entrenched at left tackle since taking over there midway through his freshman season. The former five-star recruit enters his junior season as part of one of the SEC’s most experienced offensive lines — the Rebels have all five starters back — that blocked for the league’s top passing offense last season.

Both players are widely projected to be taken in the top half of the first round of next year’s NFL Draft. In a first-round mock released Monday, USA Today draft analyst Jacob Infante projected Brown to go to the Washington Redskins with the ninth overall pick and Little to be drafted 12th overall by the Seattle Seahawks.

The complete AP All-America teams are below.

FIRST TEAM

Offense

QB — Will Grier, senior, West Virginia.

RB — Bryce Love, senior, Stanford; Jonathan Taylor, sophomore, Wisconsin.

T — Jonah Williams, junior, Alabama; Mitch Hyatt, senior, Clemson.

G — Beau Benzschawel, senior, Wisconsin; Nate Herbig, junior, Stanford.

C — Ross Pierschbacher, senior, Alabama.

TE — Noah Fant, junior, Iowa.

WR — A.J. Brown, junior, Mississippi; David Sills V, senior, West Virginia.

All-purpose — Myles Gaskin, senior, Washington.

K — Matt Gay, senior, Utah.

Defense

DE — Nick Bosa, junior, Ohio State; Clelin Ferrell, junior, Clemson.

DT — Ed Oliver, junior, Houston; Christian Wilkins, Senior, Clemson.

LB — Devin White, junior, LSU; Devin Bush, junior, Michigan; T.J. Edwards, senior, Wisconsin.

CB — Greedy Williams, sophomore, LSU; Deandre Baker, senior, Georgia.

S — Jaquan Johnson, senior, Miami; Taylor Rapp, junior, Washington.

P — Mitch Wishnowsky, senior, Utah.

SECOND TEAM

Offense

QB — Trace McSorley, senior, Penn State.

RB — A.J. Dillon, sophomore, Boston College; Damien Harris, junior, Alabama.

T — David Edwards, junior, Wisconsin; Greg Little, junior, Mississippi.

G — Alex Bars, senior, Notre Dame; Michael Dieter, senior, Wisconsin.

C — Sam Mustipher, senior, Notre Dame.

TE — Kaden Smith, junior, Stanford.

WR — N’Keal Harry, junior, Arizona State; Anthony Johnson, senior, Buffalo.

All-purpose — Deebo Samuel. senior, South Carolina.

K — Rodrigo Blankenship, junior, Georgia.

Defense

DE — Rashan Gary, junior, Michigan; Raekwon Davis, junior, Alabama.

DT — Dexter Lawrence, junior, Clemson; Jeffrey Simmons, junior, Mississippi State.

LB — Cameron Smith, senior, Southern California; Troy Dye, junior, Oregon; Mack Wilson, sophomore, Alabama.

CB — Byron Murphy, sophomore, Washington; Julian Love, junior, Notre Dame.

S — Lukas Dennis, senior, Boston College; Andrew Wingard, senior, Wyoming.

P — Jake Bailey, senior, Stanford.