Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, Texas running back Bijan Robinson, Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter and Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. provide major star power for USA TODAY teams Sports All America 2022.
The eighth Heisman Trophy winner in program history, Williams was the obvious choice as a first-team quarterback after delivering 47 combined touchdowns and nearly leading the Trojans to the college football playoffs.
USC led all teams with three first-team selections: Williams, offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees and defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu. Michigan had two first-team members in running back Blake Corum and center Olusegun Oluwatimi.
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The selection of the second team quarterback was not so easy. While TCU senior Max Duggan finished second to Williams in Heisman voting, All-America honors went to Alabama junior Bryce Young, the Heisman winner last year.
With 27 touchdowns and 3,007 passing yards, Young nearly carried the Crimson Tide to the playoffs despite playing alongside an inexperienced receiving corps and an underperforming offensive line.
Another position that featured a debate over multiple candidates was running back. Michigan’s Robinson and Blake Corum were selected to the first team and Alabama-Birmingham’s DeWayne McBride and Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn took second-team accolades, edging out candidates such as Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, Israel Abanikanda of Pittsburgh and Quinshon Judkins of Mississippi.
On defense, the most obvious choices were Carter, Anderson, Cincinnati linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. and Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III.
Among the Power Five, the Big Ten led all conferences with 15 picks, followed by the SEC with 10, the Big 12 with seven, and the ACC and Pac-12 with six. The teams included two representatives from Notre Dame and six players from the Group of Five.
Six programs were tied with three picks: USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama and Kansas State. In addition to Vaughn, the Wildcats had a first-team defensive lineman in Felix Anudike-Uzomah and a second-team offensive lineman in guard Cooper Beebe.
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
QC: Caleb Williams, USC
RB: Blake Corum, Michigan
RB: Bijan Robinson, TX
WR: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
WR: Jalin Hyatt, TN
AND : Brock Bowers, Georgia
OL: Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan
OL: John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota
OL: Peter Skoronski, North West
OL: O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida
OL: Andrew Vorhees, USC
DEFENSE
LD: Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State
LD: Jalen Carter, Georgia
LD: Tuli Tuipulotu, USC
LD: Tyree Wilson, Texan Technician
KG: Will Anderson Jr., Alabama
KG: Jack Campbell, Iowa
KG: Ivan Pace Jr., Cincinnati
CC: Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
CC: Clark Phillips III, Utah
S: Kamren Kinchens, Miami, Florida
S: Chris Smith, Georgia
SPECIALISTS
K: Christopher Dunn, North Carolina State
P: Adam Korsak, Rutgers
RET: Jaylin Lucas, Indiana
ALL PURPOSE: Will Shipley, Clemson
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
QC: Bryce Young, Alabama
RB: DeWayne McBride, Alabama-Birmingham
RB: Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State
WR: Nathaniel DellHouston
WR: Charlie Jones, Purdue
AND : Michel Mayer, Notre Dame
OL: Joe Alt, Notre Dame
OL: Steve Avila, TCU
OL: Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
OL: Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State
OL: Jason Kirkland, Washington
DEFENSE
LD: Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh
LD: Jose Ramirez, Eastern Michigan
LD: Jonah Tavai, San Diego State
LD: Jared Verse, Florida State
KG: Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
KG: Jason Henderson, Former Dominion
KG: Drew Sanders, Arkansas
CC: Emmanuel Forbes, State of Mississippi
CC: Devon Weatherspoon, Ill.
S: Sydney Brown, Ill.
S: Jamie Robinson, Florida State
SPECIALISTS
K: Jake Moody, Michigan
P: Tory Taylor, Iowa
RET: Anthony Gould, Oregon State
ALL PURPOSE: Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama
