NORMAL, Ill. – A quartet of Illinois State football standouts were named preseason All-Americans by Phil Steele on Friday, as Amir Abdullah, Hunter Zambrano, Daniel Sobkowicz and Mason King were each selected to the annual list by one of football's most respected publishers.
All four were previously named Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason First-Team All-League selections, while King and Abdullah also garnered preseason All-America honors from Stats Perform. Steele tabbed Abdullah, Zambrano and Sobkowicz as preseason All-America First-Team selections, while King was named a Fourth-Team pick.
In his first season with the Redbirds following a transfer from Nebraska-Kearney, Abdullah earned Third-Team All-America honors from Stats Perform, FCS Football Central, and the Associated Press last season and was selected as a Second-Team All-American by Phil Steele.