Top 20 Notre Dame, Independent & Pac-12 Players: College Football Preview 2024

From the 2024 College Football News preview, which Notre Dame players made the cut among the 20 best players from the independent and two Pac-12 programs?

Oct 14, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison (20) celebrates after an interception in the second quarter against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

With Army now a part of the American Athletic Conference there are only three Independents left in college football. Notre Dame dabbles in the ACC and UMass is off to the MAC next season, meaning UConn is the one true independent.

Oregon State and Washington State are Pac-12 teams - or Pac-2 - and they're Netflix and chilling with the Mountain West.

Out of the five programs that aren't all in with one of the Power Four or Group of Five conferences, who are the 20 best players?

Yeah, okay, talent-wise this could and should be a list of 20 guys on Notre Dame, so this is based on projected production for this season and not all-around talent. If any of the top players on the other four schools were that great, they'd be part of the Fighting Irish.

So with that in mind, to give these players their due in the preseason, from CollegeFootballNews.com, here are the 20 best Independent - and Pac-12/2 - players going into 2024.

2024 Preseason All-Independent Team

CFN 2024 Preseason Independent Offensive Player of the Year

Riley Leonard, QB Sr. Notre Dame: As long as he's healthy, the spotlight will be on as the Duke transfer has the talent and all-around skill to rise up into a Heisman contender, a top NFL pick, and a playmaker who can lead the Irish to a huge season. He has to stay healthy, but all the tools are there to be terrific.

CFN 2024 Preseason Independent Defensive Player of the Year

Benjamin Morrison, CB Jr. Notre Dame: Possibly the nation's best cornerback - or close to it - Morrison is buying his time before being some NFL team's shutdown man on one side. He made 64 tackles with nine picks and 14 broken up passes in his first two seasons, but few will dare throw his way this year.

Independent Team Previews & Breakdowns
Notre Dame | Oregon State | UConn
UMass | Washington State

CFN Preseason Top 20 Independent and Pac-12 Players

1. Benjamin Morrison, CB Jr. Notre Dame
2. Xavier Watts, S Sr. Notre Dame

3. Riley Leonard, QB Sr. Notre Dame
4. Howard Cross, NT Sr. Notre Dame
5. RJ Oben, EDGE Sr. Notre Dame

6. Mitchell Evans, TE Sr. Notre Dame
7. Rylie Mills, DT Sr. Notre Dame
8. Kyle Thornton, LB Sr. Washington State

9. Jack Kiser, LB Sr. Notre Dame
10. Joshua Gray, OG Sr. Oregon State
11. Kris Mitchell, WR Sr. Notre Dame
12. Pryce Yates, DE Jr. UConn
13. Rod Heard, S Sr. Notre Dame

14. Anthony Simpson, WR Sr. UMass
15. Jayden McDonald, LB Sr. UConn
16. Tosh Baker, OT Sr. Notre Dame

17. Kyle Williams, WR Sr. Washington State

18. Malik Dixon-Williams, S Sr. UConn
19. Jeremiyah Love, RB Soph. Notre Dame

20. Rante Jones, S Sr. UConn