Athlon Sports magazine tabs Army for fifth place, names center Brady Small an all-American

Army junior center Brady Small was named a preseason all-American by Athlon Sports college football magazine. In all, ten Black Knights were chosen as preseason all-stars in the American Athletic Conference.

In the preseason rankings, defending champion Army was picked to finish fifth in the AAC, trailing Tulane, Navy, South Florida and Texas San Antonio - the magazine predicts Tulane will beat Navy in the AAC title game. Following Army are Memphis at No. 6, East Carolina, North Texas, Florida Atlantic, Temple, Charlotte, Alabama Birmingham, Rice and Tulsa.

In year-two AAC scheduling, Army hosts North Texas (Sept 20), Charlotte (Oct. 11), Temple (Nov. 8) and Tulsa (Nov. 20), and visits East Carolina (Sept. 25), UAB (Oct. 4), Tulane (Oct. 18) and UTSA (Nov. 28 or 29).

First-team preseason AAC picks by Athlon are Small and lineman Paolo Gennarelli on offense and linebackers Kalib Fortner and Andon Thomas and safety Casey Larkin on defense.

Second-team picks are running back Hayden Reed; all-purpose Noah Short; and, cornerback Justin Weaver. Third-team selections are defensive lineman Kody Harris-Miller and cornerback Jaydan Mayes.

Small and Gennarelli, at right guard, were part of a unit that won the 2024 Joe Moore Award for most outstanding offensive line unit in college football. Fortner posted 81 total tackles, Thomas had 98 and Larkin 51, to go with four interceptions.

Recently, Phil Steele magazine picked Army to finish fourth. The Steele preseason stars mirrored Athlon's first two teams, with Harris-Miller on a third squad and fourth-team picks going to cornerback Justin Weaver, punter James Wagenseller and long snapper Owen Walter.

Army begins preseason practice on July 29. The season opener is Aug. 29 when Tarleton State visits.

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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Athlon Sports picks Army football for fifth, honors center Brady Small