LSU’s Daniels tops seasoned AP All-America group

Dec 11, 2023, 12:40 PM ET

Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels from LSU was among seven players in either their fifth or 6th season of college football selected to The Associated Press’ All-America team revealed Monday.Daniels, a fifth-year quarterback, won the Heisman and AP player of the year honors recently after accounting for 50 goals and nearly 5,000 backyards of offense this season.He was joined in the backfield by Missouri’s Cody Schrader, a sixth-year running back and previous Division II player who leads the country at 124.9 rushing lawns per game.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated The other sixth-year player on the AP first team was NC State linebacker Payton Wilson, who won the Chuck Bednarik Award as national protective player of the year.Kansas State guard Cooper Beebe, edge rushes Laiatu Latu from UCLA and Jalen Green from James Madison, and Texas defensive take on T’Vondre Sweat were the other fifth-year players to make the first team.College players who remained in school during the 2020 pandemic season were approved an extra year of eligibility, and they are still making their existence felt around the country.Eleven more fifth-year players made the second and 3rd teams, and there were eight sixth-year players selected to those groups, including Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the Heisman runner up. Penix and the second-ranked Huskies face No. 3 Texas in the College Football Playoff’s Sugar Bowl semifinal Jan. 1. Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt and Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. were selected first-team All-Americans for the second straight year. Beebe and Georgia tight end Brock Bowers moved up from second team last season to

first this year.No. 5 Alabama led all groups with 3 first-team All-Americans, all on the defensive side: cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold and linebacker Dallas Turner.The Crimson Tide, seeded fourth in the College Football Playoff, faces No. 1 Michigan in the

Rose Bowl CFP semifinal Jan. 1. The SEC has the most first-team choices with nine, followed by the Big 10 (6), Pac-12( 4), Big 12 (3), independents(2)and the ACC, MAC and Sun Belt with one

each.The AP All-America team was chosen by a panel of 18 college Top 25 poll voters.FIRST TEAM (offense) Quarterback: Jayden Daniels, fifth-year, LSU.Running backs: Ollie Gordon II, second-year, Oklahoma State; Cody Schrader, sixth-year, Missouri.Tackles: Joe Alt, third-year, Notre Dame; Olu Fashanu, fourth-year, Penn State.Guards: Cooper Beebe, fifth-year, Kansas

State; Zak Zinter, fourth-year, Michigan.Center: Jackson Powers-Johnson, third-year, Oregon.Tight end: Brock Bowers, third-year, Georgia.Wide receivers: Malik Nabers,

third-year, LSU; Marvin Harrison Jr., third-year, Ohio State; Rome Odunze, fourth-year, Washington.All-purpose player: Travis Hunter, second-year, Colorado.Kicker: Graham Nicholson, third-year, Miami (Ohio ). FIRST STRING( defense)Edge rushers: Laiatu Latu, fifth-year, UCLA; Jalen Green, fifth-year, James Madison.Interior linemen: T’Vondre

Sweat, fifth-year, Texas; Jer’Zhan Newton, fourth-year, Illinois.Linebackers: Payton Wilson, sixth-year, North Carolina State; Edgerrin Cooper, fourth-year, Texas A&M; Dallas Turner, third-year, Alabama.Cornerbacks: Cooper DeJean, third-year, Iowa; Kool-Aid McKinstry, third-year, Alabama.Safeties: Malaki Starks, second-year, Georgia; Xavier Watts, fourth-year, Notre Dame.Defensive back: Terrion Arnold,

third-year, Alabama.Punter: Tory Taylor,

fourth-year, Iowa.SECOND TEAM(offense )Quarterback: Michael Penix Jr., sixth-year, Washington.Running backs: Audric Estime, third-year, Notre Dame; Omarion Hampton, second-year, North Carolina.Tackles: Taliese

Fuaga, fourth-year, Oregon State; JC Latham, third-year, Alabama.Guards: Tate Ratledge, fourth-year, Georgia&M;; Clay Webb, fifth-year, Jacksonville

State.Center: Sedrick Van Pran, fourth-year, Georgia.Tight ends: Dallin Holker, fifth-year, Colorado State.Wide receivers: Troy Franklin, third-year, Oregon; Malik Washington,

fifth-year, Virginia; Luther Problem III, second-year,

Missouri.All-purpose player: Ashton Jeanty, second-year, Boise State.Kicker: Jose Pizano, third-year, UNLV.SECOND TEAM(defense)Edge rushes: Jonah Elliss, third-year,

Utah; Jared Verse, fourth-year, Florida State.Interior linemen: Byron Murphy II, third-year, Texas; Howard Cross III, fifth-year, Notre Dame.Linebackers: Jeremiah Trotter Jr., third-year, Clemson; Jason Henderson, third-year, Old Dominion; Jay Higgins, fourth-year, Iowa.Cornerbacks: Quinyon Mitchell, fourth-year, Toledo; Beanie Bishop Jr., sixth-year, West Virginia.Safeties: Tyler Nubin, fifth-year, Minnesota; Caleb

Downs, first-year, Alabama.Defensive back: Kris Abrams-Draine, fourth-year, Missouri.Punter: Matthew Hayball, sixth-year, Vanderbilt.THIRD GROUP(offense)

Quarterback: Bo Nix, fifth-year, Oregon.Running backs: Blake

Corum, fourth-year, Michigan

; Kimani Vidal, fourth-year,

Troy.Tackles: Javon Foster, sixth-year, Missouri; Troy Fautanu, fifth-year, Washington.Guards: Christian Haynes, sixth-year, UConn; Luke Kandra, fourth-year, Cincinnati.Center: Zach Frazier, fourth-year, West Virginia.Tight end: Ben Sinnott, fourth-year, Kansas State.Wide receivers: Ricky White, fourth-year, UNLV; Brian Thomas Jr., third-year, LSU; Tetairoa McMillan, second-year, Arizona.All-purpose player: Xavier Worthy, third-year, Texas.Kicker: Will Reichard,

fifth-year, Alabama.THIRD GROUP(defense )Edge rushers: Slice Robinson, third-year, Penn State; Bralen Trice, fifth-year, Washington.Interior linemen: Kris Jenkins, fourth-year, Michigan; Braden Fiske, sixth-year,

Florida State.Linebackers: Nathaniel Watson,

sixth-year, Mississippi State; Edefuan Ulofoshio, sixth-year, Washington; Danny Stutsman, third-year, Oklahoma.Cornerbacks: Ricardo Hallman, third-year, Wisconsin; T.J. Tampa, fourth-year, Iowa State.Safeties: Trey Taylor, fifth-year, Air Force; Dillon Thieneman, first-year,

Purdue.Defensive back: Sebastian Castro, fifth-year, Iowa.Punter: James Ferguson-Reynolds, second-year, Boise State.