Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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120 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE 2018 ALL-OPPONENT TEAM Offense Quarterback: Joshua Jackson, Virginia Tech He won the starting job as a freshman, and went on to pass for 2,991 yards and rush for 324 more while accounting for 26 total touchdowns leading the 9-4 Hokies. Running Back: Bryce Love, Stanford The Heisman Trophy runner-up averaged 8.1 yards per rush a year ago and finished just 130 yards behind national rushing leader Rashaad Penny of San Diego State, despite an ankle injury that forced him to miss one full game and limited him in a couple others. Running Back: Cam Akers, Florida State Enjoyed an outstanding rookie season for the Seminoles, totaling 1,140 yards and eight touch- downs from scrimmage. Wide Receiver: Tyler Vaughns, USC Vaughns had a solid season in 2017, catching 57 passes for 809 yards and five scores, but the depar- ture of Deontay Burnett to the NFL has him in line for a breakout season. Wide Receiver: Scotty Washington, Wake Forest Possesses outstanding size (6-5, 225) and racked up 34 catches for 505 yards in the final six games of the 2017 season. He is poised for a major jump in production. Tight End: Kaden Smith, Stanford After a strong redshirt freshman season (23 catches for 414 yards and 5 scores), Smith is primed to emerge as one of the top tight ends in the country. Offensive Line: Ryan Anderson, Wake Forest Earned second team All-ACC honors af- ter the 2017 season and graded out as the league's best pass-blocking center according to Pro Football Focus. Offensive Line: Ben Bredeson, Michigan Bredeson picked Michigan over Notre Dame as part of the 2016 class and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last season. Offensive Line: Nate Herbig, Stanford A massive (6-4, 348) and powerful blocker that earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a true sophomore. He is one of the premier guards in the nation. Offensive Line: Justin Herron, Wake Forest Like teammate Anderson, Herron is experienced (37 career starts), and the tackle didn't allow a single sack on his 469 pass blocking snaps a season ago, according to Pro Football Focus. Offensive Line: Toa Lobendahn, USC The knock on Lobendahn has been his inability to stay healthy, but when he's on the field he is outstanding. He earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors last fall. Defense Defensive Line: Brian Burns, Florida State A long and speedy edge rusher that has made 24 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in his first two seasons. A greater breakout campaign is expected for him as a junior. Defensive Line: Rashan Gary, Michigan Gary earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the league coaches last season and is living up to his billing as the consensus No. 1 recruit in the class of 2016. Defensive Line: Ricky Walker, Virginia Tech Pro Football Focus named Walker a second-team All-ACC pick last season after he made 41 tackles, 12.5 stops for loss, 4.5 sacks and six hurries at tackle. Defensive Line: Chase Winovich, Michigan A high-motor player, Winovich earned first- team All-Big Ten honors from the league media after putting up better num- bers than Gary. He finished with six tackles for loss and two sacks more than his hyped counterpart. Linebacker: Devin Bush, Michigan What Bush lacks in size (5-11, 222) he compen- sates for with instincts and speed. He was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and even earned second-team All-America honors from Walter Camp. Linebacker: Paddy Fisher, Northwestern Named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year last sea- son after registering 113 tackles and nine tackles for loss. His four forced fumbles tied for fifth in the nation last fall. Linebacker: Cameron Smith, USC Enters his fourth season as a starter and has made 273 tackles, including 19 for loss, during his career, twice earning an All-Pac-12 selection, including first-team honors in 2017. Safety: Marvell Tell, USC The 6-2, 195-pounder has been a full-time starter for two years already and has posted 164 tack- les, 5.5 stops for loss, eight passes defended and four interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Safety: LaDarius Wiley, Vanderbilt Led the Commodores last season with 88 tackles, while adding five passes broken up. Cornerback: Lavert Hill, Michigan According to Pro Football Focus, Hill allowed only 13 receptions on 319 coverage snaps last year while he pulled down a pair of interceptions and broke up seven more passes. He also had five tackles for loss among 25 stops. Cornerback: Levonta Taylor, Florida State Had a quality freshman season, picking off two passes and breaking up three more. A national break- out is expected in 2018. Special Teams Kicker: Ricky Aguayo, Florida State The junior made 18 of 21 field goal attempts and kicked 42 extra points last season, earning honor- able mention All-ACC honors. Punter: Jake Bailey, Stanford Finished seventh in the nation last season with an average of 45.4 yards per punt, which earned him second-team All-Pac-12 honors. Kick Return: Cameron Scarlett, Stanford Averaged 25.8 yards per return last fall for the best clip among returners in the Pac-12. Punt Return: D.J. Matthews, Florida State Ranked 14th in the nation last season with 11.1 yards per runback as a true freshman. — Bryan Driskell Sophomore running back Cam Akers is poised to emerge as one of the top backs in the country, while leading a deep and athletic Florida State backfield. PHOTO BY BILL PEARCE/FSU SPORTS INFORMATION