AP – The Associated Press has released its All-America Teams for the year, providing us with a team of impressive players. Of the 75 players selected, nine are from the state of Texas. Here’s a quick list of those.
First Team
Baker Mayfield – OU – Lake Travis
Everyone knows him, if you watch college football. Coming off a Hiesman season, Mayfield could secure himself as one of the best in school history with a national championship this year.
James Washington – Oklahoma State – Stamford
Two of the bigger award winners in Mayfield and Washington hail from the Lone Star State. It’s no surprise they both ended up on the first team here. Washington was an NFL prospect before the season, and should be expected to go early in this years draft.
Josh Jackson – Iowa – Lake Dallas
Jackson had a huge year for the Hawkeyes. The junior had seven interceptions, five of which came against Ohio State and Wisconsin. It was his first year as a starter, but he has as many interceptions as anyone in the country. The season has reportedly led to Jackson weighing options on returning or turning pro.
DeShon Elliott – UT – Rockwall-Heath
Elliott has already declared for the draft after a great year with the Longhorns. The junior had 63 tackles, six interceptions, nine pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
Second Team
Ed Oliver – Houston – Westfield High School
This is the third award Oliver has gotten this offseason. The other two – The Outland Trophy and was named the American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year. He’s only a sophomore.
Malik Jefferson – UT – Poteet High School
Jefferson has yet to decide if he’s going to stay in Austin or head to the NFL. But, he’s pretty good and would probably be an early-round pick. He finished this year with more than 100 tackles and four sacks.
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo – OU – Alief Taylor
The hardest name to spell out of any one on the All-American teams. He finished this year with 71 total tackles, eight sacks and three forced fumbles.
Third Team
Ronald Jones II – USC – McKinney North
A few years back, Jones was committed to Oklahoma State. He changed his commitment to USC and it’s worked out well for him. Honestly, he could have been higher on this list and to some, he’s worth more to USC than quarterback Sam Darnold. Jones II finished with 1,486 and 18 touchdowns.
Armani Watts – Texas A&M – Forney North
Going into the season, his career total of 241 tackles made him the leader on the Aggie defense. He landed a spot on the All-American team this year as the only active player with at least 300 tackles and 10 interceptions.
Others Who Play At Texas Schools
Michael Dickson – UT – Sydney, Australia
Dickson, the Ray Guy Award winner, is averaging more than 48 yards a punt. His addition gives the Longhorns three All-American players.
Will Hernandez – UTEP – Las Vegas
Hernandez was named to the team for the second-straight year. But, we have more on that here.
Matt Boesen – TCU – California
TCU is a top 20 team and got one player on the AP All-America teams. Regardless of how that makes you feel, at least it was on the defensive side. The defensive end had 11.5 sacks this year. It’s crazy that 5.5 of those came against Baylor.
FulL Team
There are more players from Big 12 schools on the list. You can view it here.
Gerald Tracy is an assistant editor of Texas football for TexasHSFootball, covering prep football in the San Antonio region. Follow Gerald on Twitter, @GTracySports, and read more of his content here.
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