Portions Courtesy: Columbia, Harvard and Penn Athletic Communications

PHILADELPHIA — A total of five Ivy League football players have been named to the The Sports Network (TSN) Preseason FCS All-America team. The Ivy contingent includes three first-team selections - Columbia senior wide receiver/punt returner Austin Knowlin, Harvard senior offensive tackle James Williams and Penn junior kicker Andrew Samson.

A threat any time he touches the ball, Knowlin earned first team honors as a punt returner after returning a punt for a touchdown in consecutive weeks last season. He was also previously recognized by the Consensus Draft Services (CDSdraft.com) Preseason All-America team.

A second team All-Ivy League honoree at wide receiver, Knowlin was the team's co-MVP in 2008 after totaling a team-best 1,072 all-purpose yards with six touchdowns.

Williams, who has reached All-America status since his sophomore season, was previously recognized by the Consensus Draft Services (CDSdraft.com) Preseason All-America team. He has started every game since his sophomore season for the Crimson and has been a mainstay for a Harvard offense that has ranked among the nation's leaders in virtually every statistical category while winning back-to-back Ivy League championships.

This marks the second season that Williams has been tabbed to the preseason list from The Sports Network - which has also given him season-end honors since 2007.

Harvard has had at least one All-American in each of the last 10 years while posting the nation's best winning percentage this decade.

Penn's Samson was a first team All-Ivy last season. He set the school record for field goals in a season when his third field goal against Cornell in the season finale gave him a total of 16 on the year - which ranked him third in the nation. Also at Cornell, Samson tied and then broke the school record for consecutive made extra points. His second successful point after attempt in that game marked his 49th in a row since putting on a Penn uniform. He was 20-for-20 on PAT's in 2008, following his 29-for-29 effort in 2007.

The League's other honorees were Brown senior wide receiver Buddy Farnham and Penn senior cornerback Chris Wynn, who earned third team offense and second team defense accolades, respectively.