AP’s midseason All-America teams include two Kentucky football stars

Kentucky linebacker Josh Allen and running back Benny Snell earned Associated Press Midseason All-America honors Tuesday.

Allen, a 6-5, 260 pound senior, earned first-team recognition. He has 37 tackles, including a team-leading 10.5 tackles for a loss and six sacks this season.

Snell, a 5-11, 223 pound junior, earned second team honors with his 720 rushing yards on 128 attempts and eight touchdowns.

The two have helped lead the Cats (5-1) to a No. 14 ranking by the AP. Kentucky next plays Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Kroger Field.

Elsewhere in the Southeastern Conference, Tua Tagovailoa was among five Alabama players on the AP’s midseason list.

Beating out Snell for first-team honors were Darrell Henderson of Memphis (1,133 yards, 13 TDs) and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor (950 yards, 8 TDs).

Tagovailoa, the prolific quarterback of the top-ranked Crimson Tide, has 21 touchdown passes and no interceptions without having to attempt a pass in the fourth quarter because Alabama has been so thoroughly dominant. The Tide is averaging 53.6 points per game.

Joining Tagovailoa on the first-team offense is receiver Jerry Jeudy and offensive linemen Jonah Williams and Ross Pierschbacher. Tide safety Deionte Thompson was selected to the first-team defense, and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams made the second team.

No. 5 LSU placed three players on the first-team defense: linebacker Devin White, cornerback Greedy Williams and safety Grant Delpit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

AP midseason All-America team

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE: QB—Tua Tagovailoa, sophomore, Alabama. RB—Jonathan Taylor, sophomore, Wisconsin; Darrell Henderson, junior, Memphis. T—Jonah Williams, junior, Alabama; Mitch Hyatt, senior, Clemson. G—Beau Benzschawel, senior, Wisconsin; Shane Lemieux, junior, Oregon. C—Ross Pierschbacher, senior, Alabama. TE—Jace Sternberger, junior, Texas A&M. WR—Laviska Shenault Jr., soph., Colorado; Jerry Jeudy, sophomore, Alabama. All-purpose—Greg Dortch, sophomore, Wake Forest. K—Andre Szmyt, freshman, Syracuse.

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE: DE—Clelin Ferrell, junior, Clemson; Chase Winovich, senior, Michigan. DT—Ed Oliver, junior, Houston; Gerald Willis III, senior, Miami. LB—Josh Allen, senior, Kentucky; Devin White, junior, LSU; Ben Burr-Kirven, senior, Washington. CB—Julian Love, junior, Notre Dame; Greedy Williams, sophomore, LSU. S—Deionte Thompson, junior, Alabama; Grant Delpit, sophomore, LSU. P—Braden Mann, junior, Texas A&M.

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE: QB—Dwayne Haskins, sophomore, Ohio State. RB—Travis Etienne, sophomore, Clemson; Benny Snell, junior, Kentucky. T—David Edwards, junior, Wisconsin; Greg Little, junior, Mississippi. G—Terronne Prescod, senior, North Carolina State; Ben Bredeson, junior, Michigan. C—Michael Jordan, junior, Ohio State. TE—Noah Fant, junior, Iowa. WR—Marquise Brown, junior, Oklahoma; John Ursua, junior, Hawaii. All-purpose—Rondale Moore, freshman, Purdue. K—Cole Tracy, senior, LSU.

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE: DE—Montez Sweat, junior, Mississippi State; Brian Burns, junior, Florida State. T—Jerry Tillery, senior, Notre Dame; Quinnen Williams, sophomore, Alabama. LB—Devin Bush, junior, Michigan; Porter Gustin, senior, Southern California; Curtis Bolton, senior, Oklahoma. CB—Deandre Baker, senior, Georgia; Adrian Frye, freshman, Texas Tech. S—Taylor Rapp, junior, Washington; Ugochukwu Amadi, senior, Oregon. P—Ryan Stonehouse, sophomore, Colorado State.