NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale Football's Abu Kamara has been named a 2026 Phil Steele Preseason All-American and the publication's Ivy League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Kamara continues to collect national preseason honors after earning a spot on the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team on July 13 and being named to the Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List on July 14.
Phil Steele also announced its 2026 Preseason All-Ivy League teams, with eight Bulldogs earning recognition.
First Team – Defense
Second Team – Defense
Second Team – Offense
Second Team – Special Teams
Yale is coming off a historic 2025 campaign that saw the Bulldogs finish 9-3 overall and 6-1 in Ivy League play. The Bulldogs defeated Harvard to claim the program's 19th Ivy League championship and secure the conference's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
Yale also earned its first NCAA FCS playoff victory, rallying from a 35-7 halftime deficit with 29 unanswered points to defeat No. 15 Youngstown State in the opening round before falling to eventual national champion Montana State in the second round.
The Bulldogs open the 2026 season on Sept. 19 at Holy Cross before beginning Ivy League play on Sept. 26 at Cornell. Yale's home opener is set for Oct. 3 against Merrimack.
