WSU’s O’Connell makes first team All-America; UW gets two on second team
Washington State guard Cody O’Connell was named to the Associated Press All-America first team that was released Monday, making him WSU’s first All-American since Deone Bucannon in 2013.
O’Connell, a junior, is in his first year as a starter at WSU. He is the fifth Cougar since 1990 to be selected to the first team, which is chosen by a panel of voters who participate in the weekly Top-25 polls.
Washington wide receiver John Ross and Huskies safety Budda Baker were picked to the second team offense and defense, respectively.
The 6-foot-8, 350-pound O’Connell has been named to a litany of All-American lists in the last week, including those by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated, but was conspicuously left off the Pac-12’s All-Conference team.
O’Connell is the first consensus First-Team All-American from WSU since running back Jerome Harrison in 2005, and the sixth in school history. If he is named to the American Football Coaches Association’s first team on Wednesday, he will be just the second unanimous All-American to ever play for the Cougars.
O’Connell was also one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, which is given to the nation’s top interior lineman.
Other highlights:
No. 1 Alabama placed four players on the team, most of any school, and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson and fellow Heisman Trophy finalists Jabrill Peppers of Michigan and Dede Westbrook of Oklahoma were also first-team selections.
The Crimson Tide and No. 2 Ohio State tied for the most players on the three All-America teams with six. No. 3 Clemson had five players on the three teams, but none on the first team.
Jackson won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, finishing well ahead of Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. The three quarterbacks lined up similarly on the All-America teams with Watson second-team and Mayfield third-team.
The Crimson Tide’s top-ranked defense placed three players on the first team, one at each level: Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen; linebacker Reuben Foster; defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. Offensive tackle Cam Robinson was the fourth Tide All-American. Outside linebacker Tim Williams and tight end O.J. Howard were second-team selections.
Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver is the first freshman to be selected to the first-team since 2011 when Clemson’s Sammy Watkins made it as an all-purpose player and LSU punter Brad Wing also was picked.
Oliver had 19 tackles for loss to help lead a defense that ranks second in the nation in rushing defense at 2.83 yards per carry.
This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 10:18 PM with the headline "WSU’s O’Connell makes first team All-America; UW gets two on second team."