Ole Miss CB Senquez Golson of Pascagoula named first-team AP All-American

The Associated Press

16009298-smallThe College Football Playoff participants are well represented on The Associated Press All-America team.

Florida State leads the way with three first-team All-Americans: tight end Nick O’Leary, guard Tre Jackson and kicker Roberto Aguayo, who is an All-American for the second straight season.

Oregon and Alabama each have two, including a couple of Heisman Trophy finalists.

Ole Miss senior cornerback Senquez Golson was named a first-team All-American as the honors keep rolling in for him.

Last week, he was named to the 125th Walter Camp All-American team.

Golson was previously named first-team All-America by CBS Sports and first- team All-SEC by the AP and league coaches.

He was one of three unanimous choices by the AP.

A finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which goes to the national defensive player of the year, he leads the SEC and ranks second nationally with nine interceptions.

His interception in the back of the end zone sealed the Rebels’ 23-17 win over No. 1 Alabama. He also has 41 tackles, three tackles for loss, eight pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
Heisman winner Marcus Mariota is the first Ducks quarterback to be an All-American. He is joined by Ducks cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.

The second-seeded Ducks will play third-seeded Florida State on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl.

Crimson Tide receiver Amari Cooper, third in the Heisman voting, made the first team along with his teammate, safety Landon Collins. The top-ranked Tide will face fourth-seeded Ohio State and All-Americadefensive end Joey Bosa on New Year’s Day in the Sugar Bowl.

Florida State also had the most players on the three All-America teams with six. Receiver Rashad Greene and safety Jalen Ramsey made the second team and defensive tackle Eddie Goldman was a third-team selection.

Here are some things to know about the 89th AP All-America team.

SHAQ ATTACK

Washington’s Shaq Thompson played both offense and defense this season and excelled both ways, making him the perfect guy to be the first-team all-purpose player.

Thompson scored six touchdowns, three by fumble return, two rushing and one by interception return. He has 456 yards rushing and is averaging 7.5 per carry. He also has 71 tackles, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.

The Huskies joined Florida State as the only teams with three players on the first team. Washington also was represented by defensive tackle Danny Shelton and linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, who leads the nation in sacks with 18.

KICKING IT

Aguayo is the first kicker to be a two-time All-American since Ohio State’s Mike Nugent, though Nugent did not make the first team in consecutive seasons like the Seminoles’ star.

Nugent was a first-team selection in 2002 and again in 2004.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF ALL-AMERICAN

A couple of traditional basketball powers were represented on the All-America team for the first time in a while.

Duke guard Laken Tomlinson became the first Blue Devils player selected AP All-American since receiver Clarkston Hines made the first team in 1989.

Indiana running back Tevin Coleman is the first Hoosiers player to be an All-American since running back Vaughn Dunbar was a firstr-teamer in 1991.

CONFERENCE CALL

The Pac-12 led the way with seven players on the first team, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference with six.

The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten each had four players chosen to the first team. The Big 12 had three. The lone player from outside the Big Five conferences to make the first team was Colorado State receiver Rashard Higgins.

QUICK HITS

— Alabama guard Arie Kouandjio was a second-team selection. His brother Cyrus, who played tackle at Alabama and is now in the NFL, was an All-American last season.

— The only freshman to make any of the three teams were Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, a redshirt freshman, and Oklahoma running Samaje Perine, who both made the third team.

— This is the third straight year Ekpre-Olomu has received All-America honors. He made the third team as a sophomore and a junior before moving to the first team this season.

— UAB, which shuttered its football program after it finished the season, has a representative on the All-America teams. Receiver J.J. Nelson was selected to the third team as an all-purpose player. Nelson is 10th in the nation in all-purpose yards and leads the country in kickoff return average at 38.3 yards, with four touchdowns.

Here are the All-Americans:

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Marcus Mariota, junior, 6-foot-4, 219 pounds, Oregon

Running backs — Melvin Gordon, junior, 6-1, 213, Wisconsin; Tevin Coleman, junior, 6-1, 210, Indiana.

Tackles — Brandon Scherff, senior, 6-5, 320, Iowa; Spencer Drango, junior, 6-6, 310, Baylor.

Guards — Tre Jackson, senior, 6-4, 330, Florida State; Laken Tomlinson, senior, 6-3, 320, Duke.

Center — Reese Dismukes, senior, 6-3, 296, Auburn.

Tight End — Nick O’Leary, senior, 6-3, 247, Florida State.

Wide receivers — Amari Cooper, junior, 6-1, 210, Alabama; Rashard Higgins, sophomore, 6-2, 188, Colorado State.

Kicker — Roberto Aguayo, sophomore, 6-1, 203, Florida State.

All-purpose player — Shaq Thompson, junior, 6-1, 228, Washington.

DEFENSE

Ends — Joey Bosa, sophomore, 6-5, 278, Ohio State; Vic Beasley, senior, 6-3, 235, Clemson.

Tackles — Malcolm Brown, junior, 6-2, 320, Texas; Danny Shelton, junior, 6-2, 339, Washington.

Linebackers — Scooby Wright III, sophomore, 6-1, 246, Arizona; Hau’oli Kikaha, senior, 6-3, 246, Washington; Paul Dawson, senior, 6-2, 230, TCU.

Cornerbacks — Senquez Golson, senior, 5-9, 176, Mississippi; Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, senior, 5-10, 195, Oregon.

Safeties — Landon Collins, junior, 6-0, 222, Alabama; Gerod Holliman, sophomore, 6-2, 213, Louisville.

Punter — Tom Hackett, junior, 5-11, 187, Utah.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Trevone Boykin, junior, TCU

Running backs — James Conner, sophomore, Pittsburgh; Ameer Abdullah, senior, Nebraska.

Tackles — La’el Collins, senior, LSU; Andrus Peat, junior, Stanford.

Guards — Arie Kouandjio, senior, Alabama; A.J. Cann, senior, South Carolina.

Center — Hroniss Grasu, senior, Oregon.

Tight End — Maxx Williams, sophomore, Minnesota.

Wide receivers — Kevin White, senior, West Virginia; Rashad Greene, senior, Florida State.

Kicker — Brad Craddock, junior, Maryland.

All-purpose player — Tyler Lockett, senior, Kansas State.

DEFENSE

Ends — Shane Ray, junior, Missouri; Nate Orchard, senior, Utah.

Tackles — Leonard Williams, junior, Southern California; Robert Nkemdiche, sophomore, Mississippi.

Linebackers — Eric Kendricks, senior, UCLA; Benardrick McKinney, junior, Mississippi State; Jaylon Smith, sophomore, Notre Dame.

Cornerbacks — Vernon Hargreaves III, sophomore, Florida; Jacoby Glenn, sophomore, Central Florida.

Safeties — Jalen Ramsey, sophomore, Florida State; Cody Prewitt, senior, Mississippi.

Punter — JK Scott, freshman, Alabama.

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — J.T. Barrett, redshirt freshman, Ohio State.

Running backs — Jay Ajayi, junior, Boise State; Samaje Perine, freshman, Oklahoma.

Tackles — Cedric Ogbuehi, senior, Texas A&M; Jake Fisher, senior, Oregon.

Guards — Shaquille Mason, senior, Georgia Tech; Ben Beckwith, senior, Mississippi State.

Center — Jack Allen, junior, Michigan State.

Tight End — Clive Walford, senior, Miami.

Wide receivers — Justin Hardy, senior, East Carolina; Nelson Agholor, junior, Southern California.

Kicker — Josh Lambert, sophomore, West Virginia.

All-purpose player — J.J. Nelson, senior, UAB.

DEFENSE

Ends — Shawn Oakman, junior, Baylor; Randy Gregory, junior, Nebraska.

Tackles — Michael Bennett, senior, Ohio State; Eddie Goldman, junior, Florida State.

Linebackers — Denzel Perryman, senior, Miami; Mike Hull, senior, Penn State; Eric Striker, junior, Oklahoma.

Cornerbacks — Trae Waynes, junior, Michigan State; Kendall Fuller, sophomore, Virginia Tech.

Safeties — Kurtis Drummond, senior, Michigan State; Su’a Cravens, sophomore, Southern California.

Punter — Austin Rehkow, sophomore, Idaho.