Top 25 AAC Players 2025: Preseason Players of the Year and Stars To Know

Originally posted on College Football News | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 3:44 AM ET

The American Athletic Conference should be better and deeper than last year, but will Army and Navy be the league's powerhouses again? Will Memphis keep rolling, and will Tulane and USF become players for the conference title?

Potentially, yet to all of that, and it starts with the stars showing up and shining. There might be several lost parts, and some teams have near-wholesale changes at big positions, but there's plenty of talent in the league.

Here are the CFN 25 best players going into the 2025 AAC season.

2025 CFN College Football Preview: Best AAC Players

2025 CFN Preseason AAC Offensive Player of the Year

Byrum Brown, QB Jr. USF
Assuming there aren’t any hiccups and he’s totally healthy after missing a huge chunk of last season, Brown should be devastating.

Two years ago, he threw for almost 3,300 yards with 26 touchdowns, and he ran for over 800 yards and 11 scores. If he can do that this year, USF will be deep in the mix for the AAC title.

2025 CFN Preseason AAC Defensive Player of the Year

William Whitlow, DT Sr. Memphis
He’s undersized, the nine sacks and 16 tackles for loss over his three seasons are underwhelming, and it’s not like the Memphis defense should be anything amazing - but it’ll be better.

It’s loaded with transfers, and it needs a leader and spark plug to work around. Whitlow is strong, quick, and he’ll be the face of a team good enough to push for the CFP.

- CFN 2025 All-AAC Teams
- Every 2025 AAC Team Preview

2025 CFN Preseason AAC Top 25 Players

1. Byrum Brown, QB Jr. USF
2. Blake Horvath, Sr. Navy
3. William Whitlow, DT Sr. Memphis
4. Andon Thomas, LB Sr. Army
5. Derrick Graham, OT Sr. Tulane
6. Trey Fields, LB Sr. North Texas
7. Sam Brumfield, LB Sr. Memphis
8. Shadre Hurst, OG Sr. Tulane
9. Landon Robinson, NT Sr. Navy
10. Paolo Gennarelli, OG Jr. Army

11. Caden Veltkamp, QB Jr. Florida Atlantic
12. Kalib Fortner, LB Sr. Army
13. Ja'Marley Riddle, S Soph. East Carolina
14. Ben Purvis, OG Sr. Navy
15. Owen McCown, QB Jr. UTSA
16. Everett Roussaw Jr., LB Jr. Memphis
17. Easton Messer, WR Jr. Florida Atlantic
18. Sam Howard, LB Sr. Tulane
19. Jhalyn Shuler, LB Sr. USF
20. Drue Watts, LB Sr. Memphis
21. Jay Ducker, RB Sr. Temple
22. Cory Godinet, OG Sr. UTSA
23. Eli Ennis, LB Sr. UAB
24. Ty Morris, LB Jr. Rice
25. Bailey Despanie, S Sr. Tulane

- Every 2025 AAC Team Preview