Crimson Tide Preseason All-Americans

As we count down to the start of college football season, different publications and foundations announce its preseason awards. Today the Walter Camp Football Foundation named six Crimson Tide players to its first and second teams. DeVonta Smith made the first team, Alex Leatherwood, Najee Harris, Dylan Moses, Patrick Surtain II and Jaylen Waddle were named to the second team.

Walter Camp Football Foundation is one of the organizations that is recognized by the NCAA. The foundation is named for Walter Camp. Camp played halfback for Yale for 1876-82. He then coached college football from 1888-95 for Yale and Stanford. He then spent the rest of his life writing books and articles about the young game of football.

Smith is the only Alabama player to make the first team after a 2019 season where he recorded 68 receptions, 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns. Smith produced at a high level despite sharing targets with two NFL first-round draft picks, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III. Smith is expected to have a productive season with the Crimson Tide as the clear cut top target. He needs 1,354 yards and eight touchdowns in his senior year to become Alabama's most productive receiver in the history of the program.

Leatherwood and Harris were named to the Walter Camp Second-Team All American team on offense. Leatherwood is a two-year starter on the offensive line and projects as as one of the top offensive linemen in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Harris took over the Crimson Tide backfield midway through the 2019 season and managed to carry the ball for 1,224 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also hauled in 37 receptions for 356 yards and seven touchdowns. Harris is 1,214 yards away from over taking Derrick Henry as Alabama's all-time leading rusher.

Moses and Surtain Jr. both were named to the second-team on the defensive side of the football. Moses missed all of 2019 with an ACL injury but likely would have been a first round draft pick had he not been injured. Surtain Jr. is the son of former NFL All-Pro Patrick Surtain Sr. and has been a lock-down cover corner since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2018.

According to sports-reference.com, Surtain has forced seven turnovers and defended 15 passes in his first two seasons at the Capstone, he and Moses are expected to lead the 2020 Alabama defense back to the standard of years past.

Waddle, a junior made the second-team as a kick returner. The electric player out of Bellaire, Texas has three return touchdowns in his career so far, two off punts and one off a kickoff. Waddle is electric with the ball in his hand, he averages almost 22 yards per return through two seasons. Additionally, Waddle has 78 receptions and 1,408 yards and 13 touchdowns as the third receiving option over the last two years.