advertisement

NIU’s Lynch named All-American

The honors keep coming for Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch.

After taking third place in the Heisman Trophy balloting Saturday evening in New York, Lynch was named Associated Press first-team All-American on Tuesday.

Lynch made the squad as an all-purpose player. Florida State’s Jameis Winston, the Heisman Trophy winner, was named first-team quarterback. Lynch is the first Huskie to earn first-team honors since LeShon Johnson in 1993.

The senior from Chicago will cap off a stellar Huskie career in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 26. Lynch has 4,557 total yards on the season, and If he rushes for 119 yards in San Diego, he’ll reach the 2,000 plateau.

NIU safety Jimmie Ward earned a spot as a third-team safety. Ward leads the Huskies with 89 tackles and six interceptions.

“It was a goal for me. I’ve been talking about it since last year,” Ward said following Tuesday’s practice at the Chessick Center. “Didn’t care if it was first team, I just wanted All-American to get next to my name.”

Other selections included Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley, Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton and Arizona running back Ka’Deem Carey. They were chosen for the second straight season.

Heisman winner Winston added All-American to his resume after a spectacular redshirt freshman season. Heisman finalists Andre Williams from Boston College also made the first team.

Mosley, a senior, was the leading tackler for a defense that ranked fifth in the country in yards allowed per game. Sutton was named Pac-12 defensive player of the year for the season straight season. Carey is second in the nation in rushing after leading last year.

Winston, who was a landslide Heisman winner last week, is joined on the first team by three Florida State teammates — center Bryan Stork, kicker Roberto Aguayo and cornerback Lamarcus Joyner — to give the top-ranked Seminoles more than any other school. Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan made the second team, along with offensive tackle Cameron Erving. The Seminoles had six players on the three teams, the most of any school.

No. 2 Auburn, which plays Florida State on Jan. 6 in the BCS championship game in Pasadena, Calif., placed Heisman finalists Tre’ Mason on the second team at running back and offensive lineman Reese Dismukes and Gregory Robinson on the third team.

Texas A&M Heisman finalist Johnny Manziel, last year’s Heisman winner and All-American quarterback, made the second team. Alabama’s AJ McCarron, another Heisman finalist, is the third-team quarterback for the second consecutive season.

The first-team receivers are Oregon State’s Brandin Cooks, who leads the nation in yards receiving (139.2 per game), and Texas A&M’s Mike Evans, who is averaging 20.3 yards a catch.

Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro is the first-team tight end. The senior leads all tight ends in catches (98) and yards (1,240).

Joining Stork on the offensive line are Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews and Alabama tackle Cyrus Kouandjio, as well as Baylor guard Cyril Richardson and Stanford guard David Yankey. Richardson and Yankey were second-team All-Americans last season.

Mosley and Sutton are on the first-team defense with Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who won the Nagurski and Bednarik awards as the nation’s best defensive player and the Outland and Lombardi as the country’s best lineman.

Missouri’s Michael Sam, the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year, and Jackson Jeffcoat, the Big 12 defensive player of the year, are the defensive ends. UCLA’s Anthony Barr and Ohio State’s Ryan Shazier round out the linebackers.

Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard, one of the leaders of the nation’s top-ranked defense, is the other cornerback with Joyner. The safeties are Mississippi’s Cody Prewitt and Washington State’s Deone Bucannon.

Tom Hornsey of Memphis made the first team as the punter.

Florida State helped the Atlantic Coast Conference put six players on the first team, to match the Pac-12 and SEC for the most from any conference.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.