UCF’s Richie Grant and Jordan Johnson have been named among the top players in America returning for the 2019 season. Street & Smith’s annual national college football preview is out in stores and placed both Knights on their Preseason All-America Team.
Grant was named second-team Preseason All-America as a defensive back, while Johnson earned second-team Preseason All-America accolades as an offensive lineman. UCF was one of just 10 teams in the nation to have multiple players named to the two Preseason All-America teams.
The Knights were ranked 15th in Street & Smith’s Preseason Top 25 and the team was projected to win the American Athletic Conference East Division for the third straight year.
A single Preseason All-AAC team was announced as well with UCF collecting a league-best seven honors. Cincinnati and Memphis each earned four honors from the publication, as the second highest total.
Street & Smith’s Preseason All-AAC
Offense
QB – D’Eriq King, Houston
RB – Michael Warren II, Cincinnati
RB – Greg McCrae, UCF
OL – Jake Brown, UCF
OL – Jordan Johnson, UCF
OL – Cole Schneider, UCF
OL – Dustin Woodard, Memphis
OL – Jovahn Fair, Temple
TE – Mitchell Wilcox, South Florida
WR – Marquez Stevenson, Houston
WR – James Proche – SMU
Defense
DL – Brendon Hayes, UCF
DL – Joseph Dorceus, Memphis
DL – Patrick Johnson, Tulane
LB – Nate Evans, UCF
LB – Shaun Bradley, Temple
LB – Perry Young, Cincinnati
LB – Bryce Huff, Memphis
DB – Richie Grant, UCF
DB – T.J. Carter, Memphis
DB – James Wiggins, Cincinnati
DB – Mike Hampton, South Florida
Specialists
K – Jake Verity, ECU
P – James Smith, Cincinnati
Finally, Street & Smith’s also gave out some superlative awards as we get set for the 2019 campaign, and the Knights picked up four of them.
Fastest Receiver – Tre Nixon
Most Elusive Running Back – Greg McCrae
Top NFL Prospect – Richie Grant
Best Facilities – UCF