Miami football will face four Florida preseason All-SEC players in season opener
![Florida Gators cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. (3) celebrates after a stop during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5472,h_3078,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2F200%2F01j58f8hzfkrmfrzm44m.jpg "Florida Gators cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. (3) celebrates after a stop during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
While the ACC only had first-team preseason All-Conference players, the SEC goes three deep. No Florida players were named first-team preseason All-SEC. Only four Gators were named preseason All-SEC. Florida returns 13 starters after finishing 5-7 in their second season under Billy Napier.
Running back Montrell Johnson Jr. is the only second-team preseason All-SEC selection. Johnson has been a consistent performer for Florida with over 800 yards in each of the past three seasons. Johnson has improved getting into the end zone with a career-high 12 touchdowns in 2023.
Cornerback Jason Marshall, punter Jeremy Crawshaw and kicker Trey Smack were all named third-team preseason All-SEC. Marshall should be a name Miami fans are familiar with. Marshall was a high-priority recruit for Miami in the 2021 class.
In three seasons with Florida Marshall has played in 38 games with 32 starts. Marshall has 78 tackles, six tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and 23 pass breakups in three seasons with Florida. Marshall will be a challenge for the Miami wide receivers in the season opener.
4️⃣ Gators earn All-SEC Preseason Honors!
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Crawshaw earned second-team All-SEC in 2023 after being named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2021. Crawshaw has improved in each of his three full seasons with Florida averaging a career-high for a full season, 48.9 yards per punt in 2023 with 13 fair catches forced,15 punts inside the 20 and 21 punts over 50 yards.
After being the Florida kickoff specialist over the final seven games in 2022, Trey Smack became the Florida kicker in 2023. Smack made 17 of 21 field goal attempts in 2023. Smack made all 11 of his field goal attempts from 20 to 39 yards, 4-7 from 40 or more yards and 2-3 from 50 plus.
On kickoffs, Smack averaged 63.4 yards. Smack's accuracy inside of 40 yards was flawless in 2023, but Miami should have a huge advantage at kicker in the season opener. Andres Borregales was 5-5 inside of 30 yards in 2023, 9-10 from 30-39 yards, 4-5 from 40-49 yards and 4-6 from 50 plus. Borregales averaged 63.01 yards per kickoff.
Next. Cam Ward Named Preseason POY, 5 Miami Players first-team All-ACC. Cam Ward Named Preseason POY, 5 Miami Players first-team All-ACC. dark
The Miami football team had five first-team preseason All-ACC players. Borregales was joined by quarterback Cam Ward, wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, defensive lineman Rueben Bain and linebacker Francisco Mauigoa as selections to the preseason All-ACC team.