Five Tigers named to Athlon Preseason All-America teams

Clemson's linebacker duo of Jeremiah Trotter and Barrett Carter come with plenty of expectations, with preseason All-America expectations.

by TigerNet Staff - Fri May 19 09:08:57 GMT-04:00 2023

Five Tigers were named to college football preview outlet Athlon Sports' 2023 preseason All-America teams.

Clemson junior linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. led the way on the first team.

Holding multiple first-round projections for the 2024 NFL draft, Trotter enters this season credited with 114 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, a forced fumble and an interception (which he returned 35 yards for a touchdown) in 737 defensive snaps over 27 career games (14 starts). He earned second-team All-America honors from the Associated Press last season.

Three Tigers notched second-team honors with Will Shipley as the all-purpose back and defensive tackle Tyler Davis and linebacker Barrett Carter making the defensive list.

Shipley was the first player in ACC history to earn first-team all-conference honors at three different positions in a single season last year (RB, all purpose, specialist), entering 2023 with 1,920 yards and 26 touchdowns on 359 career rushing attempts and 358 yards on 54 career receptions in 1,024 offensive snaps over 24 career games (19 starts).

Davis is a 2022 All-American who is also a three-time All-ACC selection, including back-to-back first-team honors in 2021 and 2022. He enters 2023 tied with Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence and William Perry (three each) for the most career All-ACC selections by a defensive tackle in Clemson history. He is credited with 122 tackles (26.0 for loss), 15.5 sacks, four pass breakups and three fumble recoveries in 1,551 snaps over 43 games (39 starts).

Carter tallied fourth-team All-America and first-team All-ACC honors last season with 77 tackles (10.5 for loss), with 5.5 sacks, eight pass breakups, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in a unit-high 832 snaps over 13 games (all starts).

Safety Andrew Mukuba rounds out the Clemson picks on the fourth team.

After struggling with injury last season, he enters 2023 credited with 104 tackles (2.5 for loss), a sack, 13 pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery in 1,156 snaps over 25 games (21 starts). Mukuba was the ACC's defensive rookie of the year in 2021 and was named to freshman All-America teams for Maxwell Football Club, FWAA, 247Sports, The Athletic, PFF and On3 Sports.