Week 0 of the college football season is officially upon us, which means there's only one thing left to do: name our Group of Five All-America team and Players of the Year.
Action Network G5 experts Mike Calabrese and Mike Ianniello came together to dish out their top players at the Group of Five level.
Highlighted by Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Owen McCown of UTSA and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Red Murdock of Buffalo, the list aims to honor the best of the best outside of the power conferences.
Here’s the full rundown of Action Network’s 2025 Preseason Group of Five All-Americans and Players of the Year.
1st-Team Offense
QB
Owen McCown
UTSA · Junior
RB
Al-Jay Henderson
Buffalo · Senior
WR
Corey Rucker
Arkansas State · Senior
WR
Easton Messer
Florida Atlantic · Junior
TE
Matt Lauter
Boise State · Senior
OT
Kage Casey
Boise State · Senior
OG
Shadre Hurst
Tulane · Junior
C
Brady Small
Army · Junior
OG
Cole Potts
James Madison · Senior
OT
Derrick Graham
Tulane · Senior
1st-Team Defense
DE
Trey White
San Diego State · Junior
DE
Jayden Virgin-Morgan
Boise State · Junior
DT
Landon Robinson
Navy · Senior
DT
William Whitlow Jr.
Memphis · Senior
LB
Jason Henderson
Old Dominion · Senior
LB
Red Murdock
Buffalo · Senior
LB
Jordan Pollard
San Jose State · Senior
CB
Josh Moten
Southern Miss · Senior
CB
Al'Zillion Hamilton
Fresno State · Junior
S
Jacob Thomas
James Madison · Junior
S
Tyree Skipper
Louisiana · Senior
1st-Team Specialists
K
Jonah Delange
UAB · Sophomore
P
Luke Freer
Air Force · Senior
AP
Eli Heidenreich
Navy · Senior
AP All-Purpose Player
2nd-Team Offense
QB
Byrum Brown
USF · Senior
RB
Jai'Den Thomas
UNLV · Junior
WR
Anthony Smith
East Carolina · Senior
WR
Skyler Bell
UConn · Senior
TE
Blake Bosma
Western Michigan · Senior
OT
Pat McMurtrie
James Madison · Senior
OG
Paolo Gennarelli
Army · Junior
C
Aaron Fenimore
Liberty · Sophomore
OG
Caden Barnett
Wyoming · Senior
OT
Jordan Davis
South Alabama · Senior
2nd-Team Defense
DE
Santana Hopper
Tulane · Senior
DE
CJ Bazile Jr.
Liberty · Senior
DT
Payton Zdroik
Air Force · Senior
DT
Immanuel Bush
James Madison · Senior
LB
Tyquan King
UConn · Senior
LB
Marco Notarainni
Boise State · Senior
LB
Jordan Kwiatkowski
Central Michigan · Senior
CB
Avery Smith
Toledo · Senior
CB
A'Marion McCoy
Boise State · Senior
S
Ty Benefield
Boise State · Junior
S
Brylan Green
Liberty · Senior
2nd-Team Specialists
K
Dom Dzioban
Miami (OH) · Senior
P
Alex Smith
Georgia Southern · Junior
AP
Ja'Quez Cross
Arkansas State · Senior
AP All-Purpose Player
2025 Group of Five Preseason Players of the Year
Offensive Player of the Year
UTSA QB Owen McCown
Defensive Player of the Year
Buffalo LB Red Murdock
