There are still a little 11 Saturdays left between now and the first college football Saturday of the 2024 season, but there’s already plenty of reasons to start looking ahead to what’s to come.
The 2024 season will be unique for many reasons—most notably the introduction of a 12-team playoff and major shakeups in conference realignment—and, in all likelihood, it will be one of the most memorable years in recent history.
As college football fans start to gear up for what’s to come, college football experts around the nation are starting to put together their predictions for what will happen in 2024. Pro Football Focus, or PFF, has put together its “Way-Too-Early” All-American Team for the upcoming season, and three Big 12 superstars made the list.
Here’s a look at who made the cut and what PFF had to say about them.
RB: Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State
The nation’s leading rusher from 2023 is simply at a different level compared to most running backs. The Cowboys started heavily relying on Gordon in Week 4 last year, and he helped carry their offense every game after that, including with back-to-back games of tallying more than 270 rushing yards. Gordon finished second in the FBS in yards after contact (1,056).
WR: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
If you haven’t yet heard of McMillan, now is the time to start buying his draft stock. The 6-foot-5 true sophomore appears to have great chemistry with Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita and started to break out as soon as the team made Fifita the starter.
A 266-yard game in Week 13 helped McMillan finish with 1,396 receiving yards on the year (fourth in FBS), and he dropped only two of his 130 targets.
FLEX: Travis Hunter, Colorado
It would be almost impossible for any other player to fill this role better than the Shohei Ohtani of college football. Hunter played 1,074 snaps last season (622 on defense, 452 on offense and 30 on special teams). Not only does he play both sides of the ball, but he is very good at both, earning 70.0-plus PFF grades in almost every category.
Hunter actually recorded more receiving yards (721) than he allowed on defense as a cornerback (414) in 2023. It will be interesting to see how Colorado utilizes him this season and the type of impact he’ll have on the team.
