The Sporting News was the first of the major All-American selectors to release their preseason team on Wednesday, voting USC Football’s Sam Darnold and Cameron Smith to the 2017 first team.
Darnold, who is considered one of the premiere quarterbacks in the country heading into his redshirt sophomore season, was named the first-team quarterback ahead of Lousiville’s Lamar Jackson.
After earning the starting job four games into his redshirt freshman campaign, Darnold led USC to a Rose Bowl victory and came away with more than a few individual honors. He won the Archie Griffin Award as college football’s most valuable player.