The 2024 Associated Press preseason All-America teams were announced Monday, and the first- and second-team quarterback picks created a stir.
Georgia's Carson Beck led the first team, while Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (who played at Oklahoma in 2023) snagged the second-team spot. Absent was Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, who enters the 2024 season as a top NFL prospect.
(Full disclosure: Sanders also was left off the Sporting News preseason All-America teams in favor of Beck on the first team and Quinn Ewers of Texas on the second team.)
While Sanders put up some impressive numbers last year, so did Beck and Gabriel — and it's tough to say with confidence that neither of them deserve the honor.
Here's everything to know about Sanders' 2023 stats and how they compare to Beck and Gabriel after the Colorado QB's preseason All-America snub.
MORE: Sporting News selects 2024 preseason All-America team
Shedeur Sanders stats comparison with Carson Beck, Dillon Gabriel
When comparing Sanders' 2023 stats to those of Beck and Gabriel, the AP's selections for its first- and second-team All-America offenses make sense. Here's a look at all three quarterbacks' stat lines from last season.
| Player | School | Record (W-L) | Completion % | Passing yards | Passing touchdowns | Rushing yards | Rushing touchdowns | Sacks | Interceptions |
| Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | 4-8 | 69.3 | 3,230 | 27 | -77 | 4 | 52 | 3 |
| Carson Beck | Georgia | 13-1 | 72.4 | 3,738 | 22 | 126 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| Dillon Gabriel | Oklahoma | 10-3 | 69.3 | 3,660 | 30 | 373 | 12 | 17 | 6 |
Also, while quarterbacks aren't solely responsible for their team's win-loss count, Sanders & Co. won just one conference game in the Pac-12's final year, finishing dead last and on a six-game losing streak.
Beck and Gabriel, albeit with better supporting casts, finished near the top of their respective conferences and remained competitive throughout the season.
Still, when it comes to completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns, it's worth considering Sanders played fewer games than both Beck and Gabriel. That would make his 29 passing touchdowns and 3,230 passing yards slightly more impressive, considering his numbers aren't too different from theirs.
One area in which Sanders does not quite compare to Beck and Gabriel is in the rushing category, where he performed below average in 2023, finishing with minus-77 yards. Nevertheless, he still matched Beck with four rushing touchdowns.
It's worth noting Sanders was sacked more than 50 times last season, indicating he did not have the protection he would need to perform at his best. Beck and Gabriel combined for fewer sacks than that, a testament to the support they had around them while competing throughout the year.
MORE: Shedeur Sanders leads EA Sports 25 QB ratings
Social media reacts to Shedeur Sanders' preseason All-America snub
Of course, there were mixed reactions to Sanders' name being left off the AP preseason All-America teams. Some agreed with the decision, others did not, and still more college football fans simply used it as a way to poke fun at the Buffs.
Here are a few of the best reactions to the news on social media.