CFN All-Americans

[AWK 0]

Preseason 25 Best Quarterbacks

1. Brady Quinn, Sr. Notre Dame

2. Troy Smith, Sr. Ohio State

3. Drew Stanton, Sr. Michigan State

4. Sam Keller, Sr. Arizona State

5. Drew Tate, Sr. Iowa

6. Brian Brohm, Jr. Louisville

7. Drew Weatherford, Soph. Florida State

8. Colt Brennan, Jr. Hawaii

9. Pat White, Soph. West Virginia

10. John David Booty, Jr. USC

11. Chris Leak, Sr. Florida

12. JaMarcus Russell, Jr. LSU

13. Kevin Kolb, Sr. Houston

14. Chad Henne, Jr. Michigan

15. Zac Taylor, Sr., Nebraska

16. Brandon Cox, Jr. Auburn

17. Kyle Wright, Jr., Miami

18. Jeff Rowe, Sr. Nevada

19. Rhett Bomar, Soph. Oklahoma

20. Brian Johnson, Jr. Utah

21. John Beck, Sr. BYU

22. Rudy Carpenter, Soph. Arizona State

23. Phil Horvath, Sr., Northern Illinois

24. Ben Olson, Soph. UCLA

25. Jordan Palmer, Sr. UTEP

2006 CFN Preseason First Team All-American

Brady Quinn, Sr. Notre Dame - 292-450, 65%, 3,919 yds, 32 TD, 7 INT, 70 carries, 90 yds, 1 TD

Could Quinn handle the pressure of the big Charlie Weis playbook and succeed in the new offense? Uh, yeah. A nice prospect with a live arm, good size and decent mobility, Quinn entered the rarefied air of being considered a number one overall caliber pro prospect after cranking out the best passing season in Notre Dame history on his way to finishing fourth in the Heisman race. Under Weis he proved he could be a sharp decision maker as well as be able to make all the throws. Just as important was his ability to rally the team and get the offense moving when he had to. Notre Dame might have lost to USC, but Quinn's stock went through the roof after leading the offense on a late drive to take the lead. He became the front-runner for the 2006 Heisman race after throwing for 432 yards in the comeback win over Stanford.

2006 CFN Preseason Second Team All-American

Troy Smith, Sr. Ohio State - 149-237, 2,283 yds, 63%, 16 TD, 4 INT, 136 carries, 611 yds, 4.5 ypc, 11 TD

Could Smith be this year's version of Vince Young and be a do-it-all star who carries his team to a title? After being suspended for the season opener and coming off the bench for the Texas game, he took over and was fantastic showing off an accurate arm along with tremendous rushing skills. He's not a bomber, but he's a great decision maker who's great at making big plays and is icy cool in the clutch. A perfect fit for the read-option offense, he'll be a statistical machine who could be a front-runner for the Heisman if he can pull off a win at Texas.

Preseason 25 Best Running Backs

1. Adrian Peterson, Jr. Oklahoma

2. Steve Slaton, Soph. West Virginia

3. Michael Bush, Sr. Louisville

4. Kenny Irons, Sr. Auburn

5. Marshawn Lynch, Jr. California

6. Garrett Wolfe, Sr., Northern Illinois

7. Jamaal Charles, Soph., Texas

8. Tyrell Sutton, Soph. Northwestern

9. Albert Young, Jr. Iowa

10. Mike Hart, Jr. Michigan

11. Darren McFadden, Soph. Arkansas

12. Darius Walker, Jr. Notre Dame

13. Yvenson Bernard, Jr. Oregon State

14. Rafael Little, Jr. Kentucky

15. James Davis, Soph., Clemson

16. Arian Foster, Soph. Tennessee

17. Ken Darby, Sr. Alabama

18. Ahmad Bradshaw, Jr. Marshall

19. Thomas Brown, Jr. Georgia

20. Robert Hubbard, Sr. Nevada

21. Lynell Hamilton, Jr. San Diego State

22. Antonio Pittman, Jr. Ohio State

23. Kyle Bell, Jr. Colorado State

24. Jamario Thomas, Jr  North Texas

25. Curtis Brown, Sr. BYU

2006 CFN Preseason Second Team All-Americans

Michael Bush, Sr. Louisville - 205 carries, 1,143 yds, 5.6 ypc, 23 TD, 21 catches, 253 yds, 1 TD

Back for what seems like his 13th year in a Cardinal uniform, Bush passed up the chance to be a mid-round NFL draft pick to be on the short list of the nation's top college running backs. He's a freak of nature with good speed and phenomenal power in a 6-3, 250-pound frame. A scoring machine with 38 career touchdowns including 24 last season, he can even play a little quarterback on a halfback option using his skills honed as one of the nation's best high school passers. He also has good hands as a receiver out of the backfield. Staying healthy will be his key thanks to a pounding style that opens him up for some huge shots.

Kenny Irons, Sr. Auburn - 256 carries, 1,293 yds, 13 TDs, 5.1 ypc, 14 catches, 164 yds

The South Carolina transfer ripped it up in spring practice of 2005, but didn't get into the mix until the third game of the season when he tore off 147 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Ball State on just 11 carries. He then went on to be one of the SEC's best players with eight 100-yard days showing off tremendous home-run hitting speed highlighted by a brilliant 218-yard day in the loss to LSU. He's not necessarily a power runner, but he's physical and doesn't go down easily. When he has a sliver of daylight, he'll tear off a huge gain.

CFN

[AUesquire 1]

Two QBs that jump out and make me go

John David Booty and Drew Weatherford. FSU's QB saituation last year was a chinese fire drill and I don't quite understand how he's all of a sudden been tabbed as one of the country's best.

And Booty??? I....uuhhh...I just....

[abrnfanatc 6]

I don't buy Steve Slaton as the #2 back in CFB.

Also, Booty or whomever starts at USC this year will auotmatically jump into the running for All-American and the Heisman Trophy as a part of the deal Petey made with Satan a few years back.

Standard Operating Procedure...

[jwise0022 1]

Two QBs that jump out and make me go 

John David Booty and Drew Weatherford.  FSU's QB saituation last year was a chinese fire drill and I don't quite understand how he's all of a sudden been tabbed as one of the country's best.

And Booty???  I....uuhhh...I just....

246311[/snapback]

Wow...Esquire, I must say that I thought the exact same thing when I read this. Booty has taken maybe 5 snaps his entire college career, and Weatherford was terrible at best. Although if the list is concerning NFL potential then it is fairly accurate. The problem with Cox is that he doesn't have a super strong arm, unlike Quinn who looks like a damn linebacker and can chuck it 70 yards. hopefully brandon will add a little arm strength over the next 2 years and then make a name for himself on the next level

[sogaaufan 27]

Two QBs that jump out and make me go 

John David Booty and Drew Weatherford.  FSU's QB saituation last year was a chinese fire drill and I don't quite understand how he's all of a sudden been tabbed as one of the country's best.

And Booty???  I....uuhhh...I just....

246311[/snapback]

Esquire, you beat me to it. Before I scrolled down and saw your post I was wondering how you put Booty that high BEFORE HE TAKES A SNAP.(excuse the caps)

That can only be described as a media love affair with USC.

Why don't they go ahead and give Neil Caudle a slot on the list. He has the same amount of experience.

[SouthLink02 8]

Booty will soon join the long list of Evangel HS busts

[one 2]

When i saw this thing on CFN today and they had Booty in the conversation, much less on the list, it made me lose all respect for CFN. I used to think they were one of the most respectable places on the internet for football news.

Any site that puts a guy in the top ten QBs who has never started does not deserve to be a sports journalist. How do these guys get these jobs any way?

On a more positive note my 7 year old son just missed the list at number 26.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

I was shocked myself, but ya gotta admit the last USC QB to enter the season untested didn't turn out too bad, sour grapes and all.

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

Booty will soon join the long list of Evangel HS busts

You hit the nail on the head.

Their evaluations are horrible. The QB list has no hope. Slaton isn't a top 5 RB, and I'll give credit where credit is due, Darby is far better than 17th. The Foster kid shouldn't even be on the list.

1. Peterson

2. M. Bush

3. Irons

4. Wolfe (small but spectacular)

5. Lynch

6. Sutton (don't believe? check out N. Western vs. N. Illinois '05)