SMU lands 13 on Athlon Preseason All-AAC teams

The SMU football team placed 13 players on the Athlon Sports Preseason All-American Athletic Conference teams.

Nine of the 13 are returning players while four newcomers were named.

Offensive linemen Justin Osborne and Marcus Bryant, along with defensive lineman Elijah Chatman and kicker Collin Rogers were all first-team selections. Running back Jaylan Knighton, tight end RJ Maryland, cornerback Charles Woods and safety Jonathan McGill were second-team picks. Meanwhile receiver Jordan Kerley, linebacker Ahmad Walker and punter Ryan Bujcevski were named to the third team with quarterback Preston Stone and receiver Roderick Daniels Jr. making the fourth team.

Osborne started 11 games and played in all 13 games last season with all of his starts coming at right guard.

Bryant started 12 games and appeared in all 13 for the Mustangs a season ago, starting at left tackle.

Chatman played in all 13 games with 11 starts and finished the season with 39 tackles, four for loss, three sacks, a blocked kick and returned a fumble for a touchdown. He has started 32 games and played in 46 games during his SMU career.

Rogers was perfect on all 56 of his point after tries, setting a new school record, while going 16-of-20 on field goals. He made every kick from within 49 yards. He also set a single-game SMU record with 11 PATs in the win against Houston.

Knighton comes to SMU after three seasons at Miami where he rushed for 1,193 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Maryland caught 28 passes for 296 yards and ix touchdowns during his true freshman campaign. He had two-TD performances against Houston and Tulane and tied the SMU record for most TD catches by a tight end in a single season.

Woods comes to the Mustangs after stops at Illinois State and West Virginia. He's played in 42 games over his career and was a Preseason All-Big 12 selection last season, but only played in four games.

McGill is back home after spending four seasons at Stanford where he was a team captain and played in 32 games with 24 starts, including only two games in an injury shortened 2021 season.

Kerley is SMU's leading returning receiver after going for 588 yards and six touchdowns on 37 catches in 10 games played. He was injured coming into last season and dealt with injuries throughout the year, but went through his first fully healthy spring practices in March and April.

Walker is another new face after spending two years at Liberty where he played in 23 games with 14 starts.

Bujcevski is back for his second season with the Mustangs after averaging 43.7 yards per punt in 40 punts with a long of 64 yards. He had eight punts of at least 50 yards, had 21 fair caught and 15 inside the 20-yard line.

Stone made his first career start a season ago, throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass on his first snap, but had his season end before halftime. He is the highest rated player to sign with the Mustangs out of high school in the ratings era.

Daniels finished last season strong, with 97 of his 43 receiving yards and all of his 102 yards rushing coming in the final three games. He finished the year with four total touchdowns.