The preseason accolades will be changing significantly with the absence of the Big Ten and Pac-12, but no Notre Dame player who gets nominated will care much about that. Today, 247Sports and CBS Sports, in conjunction announced their 2020 preseason All-American teams.
There was only one Fighting Irish star to make the first team, offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg. The presumed leader of the offensive line should complete his Notre Dame career with plenty of pancakes. He will literally have quarterback Ian Book’s back for the season. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah made the second team, but safety Kyle Hamilton was omitted from the list. I think the experts overlooked the rising sophomore star as he was named to the USA Today preseason All-American second team yesterday.
It shouldn’t be ignored that head coach Brian Kelly garnered votes for coach of the year, even if another ACC coach was selected, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. Notre Dame should be able to navigate through their ACC schedule fairly easily, with the game against the Tigers in South Bend as the contest everyone has circled on their calendars. Kelly last took home coach of the year honors during the 2018 campaign, which he led the Irish to an undefeated regular season and berth into the College Football Playoffs.
These are big honors for Eichenberg and Owusu-Koramoah, as the culmination of their collegiate careers will hopefully be very fruitful. Also, keep an eye out for Kelly and Hamilton, they could potentially be in line for some postseason recognition.