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Bama News
ESPN has released its 2020 All-America team, and it has a different twist than a lot of other outlets. No player that won’t take the field this fall due to a conference postponement or personal opt out is on the list.
Alabama leads the way with a whopping five selectionss to the team. Clemson is the only other school with multiple selections in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.
The 2020 college football season is already underway, but these guys won’t take the field until this weekend at the earliest. The ACC and Big 12 are scheduled to kickoff on Saturday, while the SEC will have to wait until Sept. 26.
How does ESPN’s team shape up? We took a look at it here at 247Sports as Power 5 football gets closer and closer.
QUARTERBACK - TREVOR LAWRENCE, JUNIOR, CLEMSON
Through two seasons, Lawrence has been totally as advertised when he arrived as a five-star recruit. He has thrown for 6,945 yards, 66 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. He'll once again be a Heisman Trophy favorite. With Lawrence as their starting quarterback, Clemson is a whopping 29-1. He and the rest of the Tigers have their eyes set on a national title, which would be Clemson’s third in the last five seasons.
RUNNING BACKS
Chuba Hubbard, senior, Oklahoma State
After leading the nation in rushing yards in 2019, Hubbard returns to the Cowboys with high expectations. The Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, native totaled 2,094 yards on the ground last year, and in doing so joined the legendary Barry Sanders as the only two Oklahoma State players to surpass 2,000 yards rushing in a single season.
Travis Etienne, senior, Clemson
This past season, Etienne rushed 207 times for 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns. He averaged 7.80 yards per carry. No other running back in college football in the top 16 in yards per carry carried the ball over 200 times. He is the only player in Clemson football history with multiple 1,500-yard rushing seasons and is one of only 16 Power Five players since 2000 to reach the 1,500-yard mark in multiple seasons.
WIDE RECEIVERS
DeVonta Smith, senior, Alabama
Smith, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game as a freshman in 2017, had a breakout junior season. He had 68 catches and led the team with 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns. With Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs gone to the NFL, look for Smith to have similar production.
Tutu Atwell, senior, Louisville
Louisville’s star slot threat, who’s been clocked at 4.27 seconds in the 40-yard dash, finished his sophomore season with 70 catches for 1,276 yards and 12 touchdowns. He led the ACC in yards and finished second in touchdowns.
TIGHT END - CHARLIE KOLAR, JUNIOR, IOWA STATE
Iowa State snagged Kolar out of Norman, Oklahoma, and he’s become the best tight end west of the Mississippi River. Kolar finished his redshirt sophomore season with 51 catches for 697 yards and seven touchdowns, earning second-team All-American honors from the FWAA..
OFFENSIVE TACKLES
Alex Leatherwood, senior, Alabama
There is a lot of buzz surrounding Alex Leatherwood this season. He is the next in line of great Alabama offensive linemen to enter the NFL ranks. He follows in the footsteps of Jonah Williams and Jedrick Wills who were first-round picks. Leatherwood could be the best of the trio as he is a fluid run blocker and pass protector. The Crimson Tide will rely on him to open holes for running back Najee Harris and a host of other playmakers. Leatherwood is versatile and has experience at right guard and left tackle.
Samuel Cosmi, junior, Texas
A first-team preseason All-American as selected by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and a member of the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy (nation’s top interior lineman), Cosmi was one of four players to be named a unanimous selection to the preseason All-Big 12 team.
OFFENSIVE GUARDS
Trey Smith, senior, Tennessee
Smith was a consensus preseason All-SEC pick, and he was named to the preseason watch lists for the Outland Trophy and Wuerffel Trophy. The Outland is presented annually to the best lineman in college football, while the Wuerffel “who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.”
Deonte Brown, senior, Alabama
Once Brown returned to the starting lineup from a suspension after a against Texas A&M in the sixth week of the 2019 season, this time at right guard, he solidified what turned out to be one of the top offensive lines in the entire country, which ranked third nationally, allowing just 0.92 sacks per game.
CENTER - CREED HUMPHREY, JUNIOR, OKLAHOMA
Humphrey has started 26 of his 28 career games, including all 14 a season ago. The 6-foot-5, 307-pound beast earned 2019 Second Team All-America honors by a number of organizations, including the Walter Camp Foundation. Others included the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News. Along with that, the Shawnee, Okla., native was one of three finalists for the 2019 Rimington Trophy—that’s awarded to the nation’s top center.
ALL PURPOSE - JAYLEN WADDE, JUNIOR, ALABAMA
Last year, Waddle averaged 24.35 yards per punt return attempt; only one other player since 2009 managed to average at least 21 yards per return. Waddle’s receiving numbers (33 catches, 560 yards, 3 TDs) were understated playing beside Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs and Smith, but they should increase this season with Jeudy and Ruggs in the NFL.
DEFENSIVE ENDS
Quincy Roche, senior, Miami
Roche, a graduate transfer from Temple, was American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He totaled 49 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. With Gregory Rousseau opting out, teams will be turning their attention to Roche even more so.
Chris Rumph II, redshirt junior, Duke
Rumph II won 30.8 percent of his pass rush attempts last season, per PFF College, the highest rate in the country. He finished as PFF College’s highest-rated edge defender on the season and earned All-American honors during a campaign in which he posted 47 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Marvin Wilson, senior, Florida State
The former five-star opted to pass on the 2020 NFL Draft despite drawing a first-round grade from the advisory committee. He finished his junior season with 44 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Wilson drew a 90.9 pass rush grade, per PFF College, which was the second-highest among all defensive tackles last season.
Darius Stills, senior, West Virginia
Stills was named First Team All Big 12 last season, and the Mountaineers got a big boost when he announced his return for his senior season. He finished the year with 47 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. His tackles for loss and sacks numbers both rank fourth in the entire Big 12 Conference.
LINEBACKERS
Dylan Moses, senior, Alabama
Moses earned All-American honors in 2018 after posting 86 tackles and 10 tackles for loss as a junior. He was expected to build on that last season but suffered a season-ending knee injury in fall camp.
Jeremiah Owuso-Koramoah, senior, Notre Dame
Owuso-Koramoah took off last season in his first full-time opportunity on the field, posting a team-high 80 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss. He also added 5.5 sacks, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles manning the Irish’s “rover” position, which is basically a hybrid linebacker and safety.
Jabril Cox, senior, LSU
A two-time FCS All-American at North Dakota State, Cox arrives to LSU as a graduate transfer. He won three FCS National Championships with the Bison. Last fall he finished the year with 92 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for loss.
SAFETIES
Trevon Moehrig, junior, TCU
Moehrig allowed just two of 17 contested targets to be caught in 2019 and took part in a team-leading seven takeaways. He finished second on the team with 62 tackles and interceptions with four.
Richard LeCounte, senior, Georgia
LeCounte finished his junior campaign with 61 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions. The Peach State native has allowed just a single completion of 30-plus yards 1,073 career coverage snaps.
CORNERBACKS
Derek Stingley Jr., sophomore, LSU
Stingley arrived at LSU as the top-rated cornerback in Top247 history. By the time he finished his first Tiger practice as an early enrollee, he’d already picked off Joe Burrow twice. That hype carried over into 2020 when he emerged as the nation’s top overall cornerback. Stingley finished his freshman season as a consensus All-American, picking off an SEC-best five passes.
Patrick Surtain II, junior, Alabama
Surtain had a good true freshman season in 2018 and built on that last year to become one of the nation’s top shutdown presences. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound former five-star had 42 tackles, three forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions last season. He’ll front an inexperienced Tide secondary in 2020.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker - Nick Sciba, junior, Wake Forest
Sciba set the NCAA record for consecutive field goals made when he converted 34 straight in a streak that started in 2018. Sciba made his final 11 attempts of the 2018 season and his first 23 tries in 2019. A 2019 first team All-ACC selection at placekicker, Sciba finished the season by making 24 of 25 field goal attempts and all 44 PAT tries.
Punter - Max Duffy, senior, Kentucky
The Perth, Australia native was an absolute weapon for the Wildcats in 2019. Kentucky led the nation in net punting with a 44.55-yard net average and Duffy led the nation in punting at 48.10 yards per punt.
Kick returner - Josh Youngblood, sophomore, Kansas State
The 5-foot-10, 181-pound Youngblood comes off a record-setting campaign, as he averaged 35.9 yards per kickoff and became the first true freshman in history to be named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year while amassing a nation-leading three kickoff-return touchdowns. He was the first FBS true freshman to return three kickoffs for a score in a decade.
