USC Trojans’ Caden Chittenden Selected to Walter Camp Preseason All-American Team

Michigan senior kicker Dominic Zvada was named to Walter Camp Preseason First-Team Offense All-American. Zvada was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selected in 2024. He also earned First-Team All-American honors and was named the Big Ten kicker of the year. 

Walter Camp is the nation's oldest college football All-America team. Named after Walter Camp, a former coach and running back for Yale, where he won three national championships, is considered the "The Father of American football,” because of his influence on the game in the late 1800s. 

Chittenden transferred to USC during the winter transfer portal window in December after a successful freshman campaign with UNLV. He went 24 for 30 on field goal attempts, with a long of 52 yards last season for the Rebels. He handled kickoff duties, recording 56 touchbacks on 87 kickoffs. 

The Las Vegas native earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Mountain West honors. He was named to the 247Sports Freshman All-American team and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, awarded annually to the nation's top kicker.

Chittenden fills an immediate need for the Trojans at kicker, with graduate transfer Michael Lantz exhausting his eligibility and preferred walk-on Denis Lynch, who handled kicking duties in 2022 and 2023, entering the transfer portal. 

The kicking game was a struggle for the Trojans at times in 2024, highlighted by a missed field goal from Lantz in overtime against then No. 4 ranked Penn State in week seven and a blocked field in week eight against Maryland that led to the Terrapins game-winning touchdown with less than a minute remaining in regulation. 

Ohio State sophomore receiver Jeremiah Smith and junior safety Caleb Downs, and Indiana junior cornerback D’Angelo Ponds headline the Big Ten players on the preseason All-America teams, each earning first-team nods. 

Tabbed as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, Smith was instant star in Columbus. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Smith caught 72 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. He lead the conference in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. His signature performance came against Oregon in the College Football Semifinal when he reeled in seven passes for a career-high 187 yards and two touchdowns. 

Downs transferred to Ohio State from Alabama last January after legendary coach Nick Saban retired following the conclusion of the 2023 season. Downs followed up an incredible freshman season, where he earned first-team All-American honors and was named the Shaun Alexander national freshman of the year, with even better sophomore campaign. 

The Georgia native earned unanimous first-team All-American honors and claimed the Big Ten Conference's Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year award. Downs could become the first safety selected in the top 10 of the NFL Draft since Jamal Adams in 2017. 

Ponds transferred from James Madison to Indiana last season, where he had a breakout campaign for the Hoosiers. He led the team with nine pass breakups and recorded three interceptions, which earned him second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honors.