Somehow, my friends, we did it again. We managed to survive the cold, dreary weeks without any college football to watch on Saturdays.

Piecing together a list of the best players in college football before the season begins is no easy task. It requires a mix of information, reporting and assumptions. While some choices are easy (Jeremiah Smith is good,

Neither The AP or USA TODAY had Illinois football players on their preseason all-America lists — the highest ranked team to be shut out.