Seven Buffs Earn Preseason Honors From Athlon, Street & Smith

BOULDER—Headlined by DL Mustafa Johnson and WR Laviska Shenault Jr. on the first team, Athlon Sports revealed its Preseason All-Pac-12 team Tuesday and a total of seven Colorado Football players earned mention in the publication.

The Buffs were one of six Pac-12 teams that had a first-team selection on both offense and defense. In addition to Johnson and Shenault, Nate Landman was named second team at linebacker while DB Ronnie Blackmon was named third team at punt returner. On the fourth team were P Alex Kinney, OL Tim Lynott Jr. and LB Davion Taylor.

Additionally, Shenault has received some early draft rankings as Mel Keiper Jr. revealed his first 2020 Big Board with Shenault coming in at No. 19 and Bleacher Report's Matt Miller revealed his early top 10 prospects where he comes in at No. 6.

Shenault was the nation's leading receiver last season despite missing three games due to injury. He finished the season with 86 catches for 1,011 yards and six touchdowns and added five more touchdowns rushing. He led the nation with 9.6 receptions per game and led the Pac-12 and was fourth nationally with 112.3 receiving yards per game. He was the only player nationally to score five-plus touchdowns rushing and receiving. Of his 103 offensive touches, he was tackled by one player just 24 times and he accumulated 634 yards after the catch and 346 yards after contact.

Johnson was a first-team All-Pac-12 performer last season and led the CU defensive linemen with 73 tackles. He had 8.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback pressures. His 73 tackles were the most by a defensive lineman in 21 seasons and his 18 tackles for loss were the most in the last 25 seasons. His 8.5 sacks were the third most in the last decade and his 16 quarterback pressures matched the highest total for a CU player since 2006.

Landman led the Buffs with 123 tackles and had 13 tackles for loss, four sacks and 12 tackles for zero. He added five pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Blackmon averaged 8.7 yards per punt return a season ago and his 262 yards were the most for a punt returner at CU in a decade. Kinney is returning to the Buffs after punting in just four games due to injury last season. The senior ranks No. 11 on CU's career punting chart and has the second most kicks inside the 20 (73) of anybody in CU history. He was on point in the spring averaging over 50 yards per punt.

Lynott moved to center during spring football and looks to be completely healthy for the first time since his sophomore season. He has started since his freshman season and this is the third time he's picked up preseason all-conference honors. Taylor is playing just his second season of football for the Buffs and just fourth in his life. He will play the Buffs hybrid Star position and should stuff the stat sheet. Last season he had 75 tackles, 12 for a loss and had 11 third down stops, 11 quarterback pressures, two pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Athlon is the first of several publications that will pick preseason teams this summer.

Seven Buffs Earn Preseason Honors From Athlon, Street & Smith

Players Mentioned

Mustafa Johnson

Alex Kinney

Nate Landman

Tim Lynott

Davion Taylor

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