UK football puts two on AP All-America First Team for first time in 67 years
For the first time since 1951, two University of Kentucky football players have been named to The Associated Press All-America First Team in the same season.
Right guard Bunchy Stallings and linebacker Josh Allen both were named to the team, announced Monday. They are the first Cats duo to earn the honors in the same season since quarterback Babe Parilli and center Doug Moseley were picked in 1951.
Stallings and Allen are the first UK players named to AP’s First Team since Randall Cobb was selected in 2010 as an all-purpose player. Before that, it was Derek Abney at kick returner in 2002.
Kentucky running back Benny Snell was named to this year’s All-America Third Team. The junior became the Cats’ all-time touchdown leader this season. Snell was second in the Southeastern Conference in rushing with 1,305 yards on 263 attempts after the regular season.
This is the latest in a long line of honors for Allen. The senior, who set UK career records for sacks in a career and season in 2018, brought home three trophies as the nation’s top defensive player this past week alone. His most recent was the Lott Impact Trophy presented late Sunday in California.
Allen, the consensus Defensive Player of the Year in the Southeastern Conference, has a league-best 14 quarterback sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles to go with his team-high 84 tackles. He broke the UK single-season and career sacks record (28.5) this season.
Stallings, also a senior, has been a central part of a Cats’ offensive line that has helped Snell to three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. UK ranked sixth in rushing this season in the SEC.
Snell, a junior, needs 107 yards to eclipse Sonny Collins as UK’s career rushing leader when the Wildcats play Penn State in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.
Snell is UK’s first Third-Team All-American since The Associated Press named guard Larry Warford to that team in 2012.
Kentuckian honored
Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore, a freshman from Trinity High School in Louisville, was named to the AP All-America First Team as an all-purpose player.
The 5-foot-9 Moore caught 103 passes for 1,164 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also rushed 18 times for 203 yards and a TD. Additionally, Moore returned 30 kickoffs for 599 yards and 11 punts for 82 yards.
Playoff teams come up big
The College Football Playoff semifinalists combined to place 10 players on the AP All-America First Team, including a high of four from No. 1 Alabama.
The Crimson Tide had six players chosen to the three All-America teams, more than any other school. No. 2 Clemson has three First-Teamers, No. 4 Oklahoma has two, including quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, and No. 3 Notre Dame had one.
The Tide and Sooners meet in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29 and the Tigers play the Fighting Irish at the Cotton Bowl that day.
The playoff teams combined for 17 overall selections on the teams chosen by a panel of AP poll voters..
The Tide placed two players on each side of the ball, with Outland Trophy winner Quinnen Williams highlighting the defense. Receiver Jerry Jeudy, offensive tackle Jonah Williams and safety Deionte Thompson also made the First Team while Tua Tagovailoa was the Second Team quarterback.
Clemson placed defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Clelin Ferrell on the First Team, and offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt. Cornerback Julian Love represented Notre Dame on the First Team.
▪ The SEC led all conferences with 11 players named to the First Team. Next best was the ACC with five, followed by the Big Ten with three and the Big 12 with two.
▪ The First Team included eight seniors, 12 juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.
Associated Press All-America teams
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Kyler Murray, junior, Oklahoma
Running backs — Jonathan Taylor, sophomore, Wisconsin; Darrell Henderson, junior, Memphis
Tackles — Jonah Williams, junior, Alabama; Mitch Hyatt, senior, Clemson
Guards — Beau Benzschawel, senior, Wisconsin; Bunchy Stallings, senior, Kentucky
Center— Garrett Bradbury, senior, North Carolina State
Tight end — Jace Sternberger, junior, Texas A&M
Wide receivers — Jerry Jeudy, sophomore, Alabama; Marquise Brown, junior, Oklahoma
All-purpose player — Rondale Moore, freshman, Purdue
Place-kicker— Andre Szmyt, freshman, Syracuse
DEFENSE
Ends — Clelin Ferrell, junior, Clemson; Sutton Smith, junior, Northern Illinois
Tackles — Quinnen Williams, junior, Alabama; Christian Wilkins, senior, Clemson
Linebackers — Josh Allen, senior, Kentucky; Devin White, junior, LSU; Ben Burr-Kirven, senior, Washington
Cornerbacks – Deandre Baker, senior, Georgia; Julian Love, junior, Notre Dame
Safeties – Grant Delpit, sophomore, LSU; Deionte Thompson, junior, Alabama
Punter – Braden Mann, junior, Texas A&M
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Tua Tagovailoa, sophomore, Alabama
Running backs — Travis Etienne, sophomore, Clemson; Trayveon Williams, junior, Texas A&M
Tackles — Dalton Risner, senior, Kansas State; Andrew Thomas, sophomore, Georgia
Guards — Dru Samia, senior, Oklahoma; Michael Dieter, senior, Wisconsin
Center — Ross Pierschbacher, senior, Alabama
Tight end — T.J, Hockenson, sophomore, Iowa
Wide receivers — Tylan Wallace, sophomore, Oklahoma State; Andy Isabella, senior, Massachusetts
All-purpose player — Greg Dortch, sophomore, Wake Forest
Place-kicker — Cole Tracy, senior, LSU
DEFENSE
Ends — Montez Sweat, senior, Mississippi State; Jachai Polite, junior, Florida
Tackles — Jerry Tillery, senior, Notre Dame; Gerald Willis III, senior, Miami
Linebackers — Devin Bush, junior, Michigan; David Long Jr., junior, West Virginia; Joe Dineen, senior, Kansas
Cornerbacks — Greedy Williams, sophomore, LSU; Byron Murphy, sophomore, Washington
Safeties — Taylor Rapp, junior, Washington; Amani Hooker, junior, Iowa
Punter — Mitch Wishnowsky, senior, Utah
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Dwayne Haskins, sophomore, Ohio State
Running backs — Benny Snell, junior, Kentucky; Eno Benjamin, sophomore, Arizona State
Tackles — Andre Dillard, senior, Washington State; Cody Ford, junior, Oklahoma
Guards — Terrone Prescod, senior, North Carolina State; Chris Lindstrom, senior, Boston College
Center — Michael Jordan, junior, Ohio State
Tight end — Noah Fant, junior, Iowa
Wide Receivers — A.J. Brown, junior, Mississippi; David Sills V, senior, West Virginia
All-purpose player — J.J. Taylor, sophomore, Arizona
Place-kicker — Matt Gay, senior, Utah
DEFENSE
Ends — Chase Winovich, senior, Michigan; Jaylon Ferguson, senior, Louisiana Tech
Tackles — Jeffery Simmons, junior, Mississippi State; Ed Oliver, junior, Houston
Linebackers — Paddy Fisher, sophomore, Northwestern; David Woodward, sophomore, Utah State; Te’Von Coney, senior, Notre Dame
Cornerbacks — Hamp Cheevers, junior, Boston College; Lavert Hill, junior, Michigan
Safeties — Andre Cisco, freshman, Syracuse; Jonathan Abram, senior, Mississippi State
Punter — James Smith, sophomore, Cincinnati
SELECTION PANEL
Rob Asmussen, Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette; Matt Baker, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times; Michael Barber, Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch; Matt Brown, The Athletic; Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station (Texas) Eagle; Rece Davis, ESPN; Pat Dooley, Gainesville (Fla.) Sun; Scott Hamilton, WECT-TV (Wilmington, N.C.); Eric Hansen, The South Bend (Ind.) Tribune; Brian Howell, Buffzone.com, Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera; Rob Long, WJZ FM 105.7 The Fan Baltimore; Sean Manning, The Dominion Post (Morgantown, W.Va.); Conor O’Neill, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal; Soren Petro, 810 WHB Kansas City, Mo.; Keith Sargeant, NJ.Com/Star-Ledger; Jon Wilner, San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News.
Citrus Bowl
No. 14 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Penn State
When: 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 1
Where: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
TV: ABC-36
This story was originally published December 10, 2018 at 12:44 PM.