Preseason All-Pac-12 Football Selections 2022: Oregon and USC lead the way

The Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans, who both changed coaches this offseason, tie for the most selections on the Preseason All-Pac-12 Teams.

The Pac-12 is largely regarded as the weakest Power Five conference in college football, and it’s hard to argue against this stereotype. Since the inception of the College Football Playoffs during the 2014-15 season, only two Pac-12 teams have made appearances. Oregon gained entrance in 2014-15 behind Marcus Mariota, while a loaded Washington squad made it in 2016-17. That means Alabama has more College Football Playoff National Championships and second-place finishes than the Pac-12 has produced playoff teams.

Despite its recent shortcomings, the Pac-12 features talented players of all ages and backgrounds. Recent rule changes to the college football landscape have made the west coast a destination for transfers, who have retooled and revitalized several programs. Today, we’ll predict which Pac-12 players will shine the brightest during the 2022 season.

This is the fourth part in an extended offseason series that will cover all Power Five teams and Group of Five conferences. You can check out the Preseason All-Conference Teams I’ve already finalized below.

All-Big Ten Team l All-ACC Team l All-SEC Team

Feel free to leave any questions or feedback in the comments, or you can reach me on Twitter @Sam_Teets33. I do my best to respond to everyone, so don’t feel shy about reaching out.

First Team Offense

Quarterback: Caleb Williams, USC

Running Back: Travis Dye, USC

Running Back: Tavion Thomas, Utah

Wide Receiver: Jordan Addison, USC

Wide Receiver: Jacob Cowing, Arizona

Wide Receiver: Jake Bobo, UCLA

Tight End: Brant Kuithe, Utah

All-Purpose: Damien Moore, Cal (RB)

Offensive Tackle: Jaxson Kirkland, Washington

Offensive Tackle: Braeden Daniels, Utah

Guard: Andrew Vorhees, USC

Guard: T.J. Bass, Oregon

Center: Brett Neilon, USC

First Team Defense

Defensive End: Ron Stone Jr., Stanford

Defensive End: Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Washington

Defensive Tackle: Brandon Dorlus, Oregon

Defensive Tackle: Kyon Barrs, Arizona

Linebacker: Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington

Linebacker: Noah Sewell, Oregon

Linebacker: Darius Muasau, UCLA

Cornerback: Clark Phillips III, Utah

Cornerback: Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford

Safety: Daniel Scott, Cal

Safety: Cole Bishop, Utah

Transfers are the name of the game in the Pac-12. Six of the 13 offensive players on the Preseason First Team have transferred to their current schools (including five this offseason alone). Muasau is the only transfer on defense. He spent several years with Hawaii before making the jump to UCLA.

USC dominated the First Team’s offense, earning five of the 13 spots. Three of those Trojans transferred into the program this offseason, completely reforming the offensive skill positions. Williams followed head coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to the west coast while Addison, the reigning Fred Biletnikoff Award winner, left Pittsburgh to catch passes from the sophomore Heisman candidate.

Utah matched USC with five selections, including former Cincinnati transfer Tavion Thomas. Oregon and Washington were the only other programs to have three or more players earn First Team honors. Arizona, Cal, Stanford, and UCLA settled for two.

The Huskies boast three of the most boom-or-bust options on the First Team. Kirkland planned to enter the NFL this past draft but withdrew after learning he needed ankle surgery. Tupuola-Fetui and Ulofoshio have been fantastic in limited stretches, but neither has stayed healthy enough to play 300 defensive snaps in a season yet.

Arizona State, which has suffered a mass exodus amidst an NCAA investigation into program recruiting violations, Colorado, Oregon State, and Washington State failed to have players appear on the First Team.

Second Team Offense

Quarterback: Cameron Rising, Utah

Running Back: Zach Charbonnet, UCLA

Running Back: Xazavian Valladay, Arizona State

Wide Receiver: Elijah Higgins, Stanford

Wide Receiver: Tahj Washington, USC

Wide Receiver: Rome Odunze, Washington

Tight End: Benjamin Yurosek, Stanford

All-Purpose: Aaron Dumas, Washington (RB)

Offensive Tackle: Walter Rouse, Stanford

Offensive Tackle: Brandon Kipper, Oregon State

Guard: Marco Brewer, Oregon State

Guard: Justin Dedich, USC

Center: Alex Forsyth, Oregon

Second Team Defense

Defensive End: Tuli Tuipulotu, USC

Defensive End: Bradyn Swinson, Oregon

Defensive Tackle: Nesta Jade Silvera, Arizona State

Defensive Tackle: Popo Aumavae, Oregon

Linebacker: Josh Chandler-Semedo, Colorado

Linebacker: Justin Flowe, Oregon

Linebacker: Daiyan Henley, Washington State

Cornerback: Mekhi Blackmon, USC

Cornerback: Dontae Manning, Oregon

Safety: Khoury Bethley, Arizona State

Safety: Bennett Williams, Oregon

Transfers continued arising as a notable trend on the Second Team. Five of the offensive players were transfers at some point, including the three running backs. Six of the 11 defensive players have transferred to their current teams.

All 12 programs in the Pac-12 have had at least one player appear on the Preseason All-Conference teams at this point. After getting shut out on the First Team, Arizona State rebounded with three Second Team selections. Oregon State (two), Colorado (one), and Washington State (one) also ensured they wouldn’t go unrepresented.

Oregon led all programs with six players on the Second Team thanks to five defensive selections. USC (four), Arizona State (three), Stanford (three), and Washington (three) were the only other schools with at least three selections. Colorado, UCLA, Utah, and Washington State had one player selected, while Arizona and Cal didn’t make appearances.

Two of Oregon’s defensive selections come with significant projections. Manning was below average in his redshirt freshman season, but the Ducks have high expectations for the former five-star. Flowe, who also completed his redshirt freshman season in 2021, was a five-star and the nation’s No. 6 recruit in 2020. He’s a premier breakout candidate.

Rising was a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection in 2021, but he dropped to the Second Team in this exercise. He’s joined by Zach Charbonnet and Alex Forsyth, who were Second Team selections this past year and failed to make the jump up a level.

Third Team Offense

Quarterback: Cameron Ward, Washington State

Running Back: Micah Bernard, Utah

Running Back: Byron Cardwell, Oregon

Wide Receiver: Mario Williams, USC

Wide Receiver: Dont'e Thornton, Oregon

Wide Receiver: De'Zhaun Stribling, Washington State

Tight End: Dalton Kincaid, Utah

All-Purpose: R.J. Sneed, Colorado (WR)

Offensive Tackle: Raiqwon O'Neal, UCLA

Offensive Tackle: Joshua Gray, Oregon State

Guard: Ben Coleman, Cal

Guard: Atonio Mafi, UCLA

Center: Drake Nugent, Stanford

Third Team Defense

Defensive End: Gabriel Murphy, UCLA

Defensive End: Grayson Murphy, UCLA

Defensive Tackle: Junior Tafuna, Utah

Defensive Tackle: Jacob Sykes, UCLA

Linebacker: Merlin Robertson, Arizona State

Linebacker: Cam Bright, Washington

Linebacker: Mohamoud Diabate, Utah

Cornerback: Christian Roland-Wallace, Arizona

Cornerback: Armani Marsh, Washington State

Safety: Jordan Lee, Washington State

Safety: Calen Bullock, USC

The final transfer update delivers more of the same for Pac-12 teams. Four of the offensive players and six of the eleven defensive players on the third team are products of the transfer portal this year. That means 28 of the 72 players who appear in this article went through the transfer portal to arrive at their current schools.

Those numbers don’t even take into account the plethora of other projected starting Pac-12 quarterbacks outside of Ward and Williams who went through the portal this offseason (Jayden de Laura- Arizona, Emory Jones- Arizona State, Bo Nix- Oregon, Michael Penix Jr.- Washington, and Jack Plummer- Cal). Colorado’s projected starter, JT Shrout, transferred to the program in 2021.

Every Pac-12 team had at least one player make the Third Team. Oregon and USC had two selections, but Utah (four), Washington State (four), and UCLA (five) led the way. Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, Stanford, and Washington brought up the rear with one selection each.

The Bruins were quiet up to this point in the exercise, only producing three All-Pac-12 players on the first two teams. However, the transfer portal helped Chip Kelly’s program gain ground on its competition. Four of UCLA’s Third Team members are recent transfer additions, including Gabriel Murphy (North Texas), Grayson Murphy (North Texas), Raiqwon O'Neal (Rutgers), and Jacob Sykes (Harvard).

Ward is the biggest tossup among all players on the Third Team. 247 Sports classified Ward as a four-star transfer when he left Incarnate Word to join the Cougars. This past season, the former zero-star recruit destroyed Incarnate Word’s lackluster competition on his way to amassing 4,648 yards, 47 touchdowns, and ten interceptions while completing 65% of his throws.

Unlike the previous All-Conference teams, where Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Ohio State dominated the competition, the Pac-12 produced a reasonably even field. Oregon and USC tied for the lead with 11 players selected across the three Preseason All-Conference Teams. Utah (ten), UCLA (eight), and Washington (seven) weren’t far behind.

Stanford (six) and Washington State (five) also had solid totals. Arizona State (four), Arizona (three), Cal (three), Oregon State (three), and Colorado (two) weren’t very competitive.

Honorable Mentions Offense

Jayden de Laura, QB Arizona

Emory Jones, QB Arizona State

Tanner McKee, QB Stanford

Bo Nix, QB Oregon

Chance Nolan, QB Oregon State

Michael Penix Jr., QB Washington

Jack Plummer, QB Cal

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB UCLA

Deshaun Fenwick, RB Oregon State

Alex Fontenot, RB Colorado

Michael Wiley, RB Arizona

Gary Bryant Jr., WR USC

Devaughn Vele, WR Utah

Keyan Burnett, TE Arizona

Luke Musgrave, TE Oregon State

Brady Russell, TE Colorado

Paiton Fears, OT Arizona

Tommy Brown, G Colorado

Chris Martinez, G Arizona State

Ryan Walk, G Oregon

Matthew Cindric, C Cal

Jake Levengood, C Oregon State

Honorable Mentions Defense

David Bailey, EDGE Stanford

Van Fillinger, EDGE Utah

Korey Foreman, EDGE USC

Brennan Jackson, EDGE Washington State

Chance Main, EDGE Colorado

Tuli Letuligasenoa, IDL Washington

Sam Taimani, IDL Oregon

Travion Brown, LB Washington State

Eric Gentry, LB USC

Shane Lee, LB USC

Nate Rutchena, LB Cal

Jackson Sirmon, LB Cal

Kyle Soelle, LB Arizona State

Omar Speights, LB Oregon State

Alex Austin, CB Oregon State

Collin Gamble, CB Cal

Christian Gonzalez, CB Oregon

Lu-Magia Hearns III, CB Cal

Devin Kirkwood, CB UCLA

Jordan Perryman, CB Washington

Mishael Powell, CB Washington

Chau Smith-Wade, CB Washington State

Xavion Alford, S USC

Kenny Churchwell III, S UCLA

Alton Julian, S Oregon State

Kitan Oladapo, S Oregon State

Asa Turner, S Washington