Three Michigan football players tabbed as preseason All-Americans by Walter Camp

Walter Camp released its preseason All-America teams ahead of the 2024 campaign, which will be the publication’s 135th year in existence. Three Michigan Wolverines football players landed on Walter Camp’s lists, including two on the first team in junior tight end Colston Loveland and junior cornerback Will Johnson. Junior defensive tackle Mason Graham was tabbed as a preseason second-team All-American.

Michigan is one of six schools with multiple preseason first-team All-Americans, with Georgia (3), Alabama (2), Notre Dame (2), Ohio State (2) and Tennessee (2) being the others.

U-M has two of the five Big Ten players that were listed on the first team, with Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State defensive lineman Tyleik Williams, Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins and USC kick returner Zachariah Branch also on the list.

It comes as a bit of a surprise that Graham wasn’t a first-team member, after both Lindy’s and Athlon Sports listed him there in their preseason All-America releases.

Loveland, a 6-foot-5, 245-pounder out of Gooding, Idaho, recorded 649 receiving yards last season, the most by a Michigan tight end in a campaign since two-time All-American Jake Butt registered 654 in 2015. He added 4 touchdowns on 45 receptions. PFF named him the top returning tight end in the nation. He was tabbed as first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and second-team by the media.

Michigan tight ends coach Steve Casula said this spring that Loveland is working to have a ‘400-level’ understanding of the position.

“He wants to be coached, and he’s fun to coach,” Casula said. “He’s super into football. Obviously, he’s unbelievably gifted, but he works and earns that every single day.”

Graham was listed by PFF as the top interior defensive lineman in the country, and Johnson holds the top spot among cornerbacks. The 6-foot-3, 318-pounder enjoyed a breakout season last year, earning second-team All-American honors from Sporting News and first-team All-Big Ten recognition from the coaches. He was also the Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl. Graham posted 35 tackles, including 7.5 for loss and 3 sacks.

“Mason is a guy where you can see he was a high school wrestler,” Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito said this spring. “He plays with great leverage, he understands the transfer of weight and he understands his hands and he’s just getting better and better and better.”

A former five-star prospect, Johnson was a lockdown cornerback for Michigan in 2023. He was a first-team All-American (Sports Illustrated) and consensus first-team All-Big Ten performer, registering 27 tackles and 4 interceptions.

“The dude just cares about his teammates,” Michigan defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator LaMar Morgan said during spring ball. “He’s very genuine, he always wants to learn, he always wants to coach each other. I learn a lot from him. You’ve got a new coach coming here and asking you to change some techniques, he’s open. He’s just a very unique player, man.