Eight Louisville Players Named Athlon Sports Preseason All-ACC Selections

Preseason watch list season is in full swing with the 2025 college football season just over two months away, and Athlon Sports is the latest to get into the mix.

They recently released their 2025 Preseason All-ACC Teams, with eight members of the Louisville football program being recognized. They tied for the ninth-most selections in the 17-member ACC, with Clemson leading the way with 16 selections.

Running back Isaac Brown, wide receivers Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy, plus center Pete Nygra headline the selections for Louisville. All four were named to the First-Team Offense.

Linebacker Stanquan Clark was named to the Second-Team Defense, while running back Duke Watson was earned a spot on the Third-Team Defense. Defensive end Clev Lubin and linebacker T.J. Quinn round out Louisville's selections, both making the Fourth-Team Defense.

Brown put together a dynamic true freshman campaign for the Cardinals this past season. Appearing in all 13 games and making nine starts, including the final eight, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound all-purpose back rushed for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns on 165 carries, while also catching 30 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown.

Brown's 7.1 yards per carry led the ACC, while his rushing yardage placed third in the league, and his rushing touchdown total placed fifth. Not only did Brown break Lamar Jackson's true freshman rushing mark at Louisville, he was named the ACC Offensive and Overall Rookie of the Year, and was named a Freshman All-American.

Bell has made steady improvements each year in college, and is coming off of a career year. Starting all 13 games in 2024, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound outside receiver caught 43 passes for 737 yards and four touchdowns, all of which were second on the team to Ja'Corey Brooks.

Lacy joined Louisville last offseason as a transfer from South Alabama, but suffered a broken collarbone on the final day of fall camp, causing him to miss the Cardinals' first three games of the 2024 season. When the 5-foot-10, 180-pound slot receiver returned to action, after playing four games, Lacy decided to preserve his redshirt and opt out for the remainder of the season - but later played in the Sun Bowl vs. Washington.

In his five games played, Lacy caught 18 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown, and five kick returns for 191 yards - including a 100-yard return for a touchdown against Miami. During the 2023 season with South Alabama, he caught 91 passes for 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns, with the receptions mark good for fifth in the FBS and the yardage mark coming in at sixth.

Nygra was an anchor in the middle of the Cardinals' offensive line, and one of the top centers in ACC. Starting all 13 games, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman allowed just one sack and 16 total pressure across 475 pass block snaps and 848 blocking snaps overall. His 71.1 offensive grade on PFF was the fourth-highest among centers in the ACC, and 20th among all offensive linemen in the league (min. 100 snaps).

After playing a key role in the linebacker rotation as a true freshman in 2023, Clark had a breakout 2024 season. Starting all 13 games, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound inside backer's 76 overall tackles and eight tackles for loss were both second on the team to T.J. Quinn. Not to mention he also caught two interceptions, forced two fumbles, and tallied two pass breakups.

Even with Brown getting most of the spotlight at running back, Watson put together a breakout true freshman year as well. Playing in all but one game last season, the 6-foot-0, 180-pound back rushed for 597 yards and seven touchdowns, and caught five passes for 60 yards and a score. His 8.91 yards per carry led all of the FBS (min. 75 percent of games played, 4.0 rushing attempts per game).

This past season, Lubin - a transfer from Coastal Carolina - was the Chanticleers' top pass rusher, and one of the top defenders in the Sun Belt. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound edge rusher's 12.0 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks not only led the team, but were fourth and third, respectively, in the conference. He also collected 44 total tackles (24 solo), three pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

The 2024 season marked the second year in a row that Quinn led the Cardinals in tackles, and was a consistent force in the run game. Starting all 13 games, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker collected 82 total tackles, including four for loss plus 1.5 sacks, as well as a pass breakup.

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