York, Owens & Bisontis named to 2023 Freshman All-SEC Team

First-year sensations Taurean York, Rueben Owens and Chase Bisontis landed Freshman All-SEC Team recognition, the league announced Thursday afternoon.

Texas A&M is one of three programs with three players on the team.

Last season, the Aggies were represented by Evan Stewart, Shemar Stewart and Matthew Wykoff.

LB Taurean York

A prodigious — yet criminally underrated — athlete out of Temple High School, York started all 12 games in his debut campaign and finished just second to First Team All-SEC linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in tackles (66) alongside three sacks and one forced fumble. His 8.5 tackles-for-loss ranked 23rd in all of the Southeastern Conference.

York quickly defied recruiting pundits who rated him as only a three-star prospect by leading a nationally-ranked Aggie defense in tackles three times this season. He was recently awarded Freshman Defensive Player of the Year by Dave Campbell's Texas Football and SEC Freshman of the Week in late September for his career-high 11 tackles vs. Auburn.

Bringing valuable experience into his second year, York will remain a centerpiece of the A&M defense under whoever Mike Elko chooses as his defensive coordinator.

RB Rueben Owens

Owens certainly lived up to his five-star label. He appeared in all 12 games and made four starts to rank second on the team and among all true freshmen in the SEC in all-purpose yards with 692. The El Campo native’s 392 rushing yards were also good enough for second in his class. Owens twice eclipsed 100 all-purpose yards against Miami and Abilene Christian.

Against the Wildcats, Owens rushed 18 times for 106 yards and one touchdown to become the first freshman running back to surpass the 100-yard rushing mark since De’Von Achane in the 2021 Orange Bowl.

Overall, Owens averaged an impressive 46.9 all-purpose yards per game.

OL Chase Bisontis

Bisontis, along with York, was also named an On3 Freshman All-American.

Starting at right tackle, he was one of three offensive linemen that started all 12 games. He played an important part in helping A&M allow less than two sacks in eight games, in addition to helping his running backs amass over 200 yards on three occasions.

2023 SEC All-Freshman Team

Offense
QB: Chris Parson, Mississippi State
RB: Sedrick Alexander, Vanderbilt
RB: Rueben Owens, Texas A&M
WR: Eugene Wilson III, Florida
WR: London Humphreys, Vanderbilt
TE: Brett Norfleet, Missouri
OL: Earnest Greene, Georgia
OL: Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
OL: Lance Heard, LSU
OL: Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M*
OL: Andrew Chamblee, Arkansas*
OL: Trovon Baugh, South Carolina*
C: Connor Lew, Auburn

Defense
DL: T.J. Searcy, Florida
DL: Keldric Faulk, Auburn
DL: Donterry Russell, Mississippi State
DL: Kelby Collins, Florida
LB: Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss
LB: Taurean York, Texas A&M
LB: Raylen Wilson, Georgia
DB: Caleb Downs, Alabama
DB: Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina
DB: Jaylon Braxton, Arkansas
DB: Jordan Castell, Florida

Special Teams
PK: Alex McPherson, Auburn
P: Jackson Ross, Tennessee
RS: Isaiah Sategna, Arkansas
KOS: Alex McPherson, Auburn
LS: Walker Himebauch, Kentucky

* - Ties (ties are not broken)