AP All-America: Tide lead with 3 1st teamers
Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and Alabama teammates Will Anderson Jr. and Jameson Williams have been selected AllAmericans by The Associated Press, giving the top-ranked Crimson Tide more players on the first team than any other school.
The AP All-America team presented by Regions Bank, selected by a panel of Top 25 college football poll voters, was released Monday.
Young became the fourth Alabama player, and first Tide quarterback, to win the Heisman on Saturday night. Anderson, who leads the nation in sacks with 15.5, was fifth in the Heisman voting.
Alabama (12-1) will face No. 4
Cincinnati (13-0) in the College Football Playoff semifinals Dec. 31.
The Tide will bring five players who received AP All-American honors into their playoff game. Tackle Evan Neal made the second team and safety Jordan Battle was a third-team selection.
Cincinnati is represented on the first team by cornerback Ahmad Gardner, who was a secondteam All-American last season. Fellow Bearcats cornerback Coby Bryant made the second team.
The other playoff semifinal on New Year’s Eve, No. 2 Michigan (12-1) against No. 3 Georgia (12-1), will feature four more first-team All-Americans.
Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the Heisman runner-up, and kicker Jake Moody are All-Americans for the Wolverines. Georgia’s top-ranked defense is represented by defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean.
Michigan linebacker David Ojabo was chosen for the second team and running back Hassan Haskins was a third-team selection.
Georgia matched Alabama with five players across the three teams. Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and freshman tight end Brock Bowers made the second team and safety Lewis Cine was a third-team choice.
Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett made the second team and fellow Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud from Ohio State was the third-team QB.
Iowa State running back Breece Hall is the only player to repeat as a first-team AP All-American this season.
Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum and Texas A&M guard Kenyon Green each were first-team selections this season after making the second team in 2020.
Kentucky tackle Darian Kinnard and Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux went from third-team in 2020 to first-team in 2021.
The AP added two players, one on each side of the ball, to the teams this year, the first change to the AllAmerica structure since 2006. To reflect a game that features more passing than ever before — plus more schools playing major college football —- the offenses now feature three receivers and the defenses include an extra defensive back.
With more receiver spots to fill, Ohio State became the first school to have three wideouts earn All-America honors in the same season. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson made the second team and Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a third-team pick.
Add in Alabama’s Williams, an Ohio State transfer, and four receivers who played for the Buckeyes in 2020 made the AP AllAmerica teams.
The Buckeyes led all schools, placing eight players on the three teams. Joining the three receivers and Stroud were offensive linemen Thayer Munford and Nichola Petit-Frere, defensive lineman Haskell Garrett and kicker Noah Ruggles, who all made the second team.
BREAKDOWN
First-teamers by school Alabama — 3. Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M — 2.
Auburn, Baylor, Boston College, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Houston, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, San Diego State, Utah — 1.
First-teamers by conference
SEC — 9.
Big Ten — 5. Pac-12 — 3.
ACC — 3.
Big 12 — 3. American — 2. Mountain West — 2.