Three Pac-12 Players Named to AP First-Team All-America Football Squad

Three Pac-12 players were named to the Associated Press college football All-America first team, and all three are on defense.

The AP's first-, second- and third-team All-America squads, which were selected by a vote of Top 25 college football poll voters from the media, were released Monday.

Oregon had two players named to the first team -- defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and safety Verone McKinley III -- and Utah had the other -- linebacker Devin Lloyd.

Lloyd was the Pac-12 defensive player of the year, and he finished the regular season with 22 tackles for loss, which ranks second in the country, and three interception.

McKinley has six interceptions, which leads the nation.

Thibodeaux played in 11 of Oregon's 13 games and has 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks, eight quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. He benefited from considerable publicity before and during the season as one of the top NFL prospects. He is expected to be among the top few picks in the 2022 NFL draft, and could even be the No. 1 overall selection.

No offensive Pac-12 players were named to the AP's first- or second-team All-America squads, although two USC players were named to the third team on offense -- wide receiver Drake London and guard Andrew Vorhees.

London is likely to be a first-round draft pick and he probably would have been a first-team All-America choice if he had stayed healthy the entire season. Despite missing four full games and a large part of a fifth, London still finished the 2021 season with 88 receptions and 1,084 receiving yards. His 88 receptions were the 12th-most in the country, and his 11.0 receptions per game and 135.5 receiving yards per game both would lead the country if he had played in enough games to qualify.

He was named the Pac-12 offensive player of the year despite his limited playing time.

Alabama had three players named to the first team, and Oregon was one of four teams with two first-team picks.

The Southeastern Conference had nine first-team selections, and the Big Ten was next with five.

Here is the entire first-team All-America team

OFFENSE

Quarterback -- Bryce Young, sophomore, Alabama.

Running backs -- Kenneth Walker III, junior, Michigan State; Breece Hall, junior, Iowa State.

Tackles -- Ikem Ekwonu, junior, North Carolina State; Darian Kinnard, senior, Kentucky.

Guards --Kenyon Green, junior, Texas A&M; Zion Johnson, senior, Boston College.

Center -- Tyler Linderbaum, junior, Iowa.

Tight end -- Trey McBride, senior, Colorado State.

Receivers -- Jordan Addison, sophomore, Pittsburgh; David Bell, junior, Purdue; Jameson Williams, junior, Alabama.

All-purpose player -- Deuce Vaughn, sophomore, Kansas State.

Kicker -- Jake Moody, senior, Michigan.

DEFENSE

Edge rushers -- Aidan Hutchinson, senior, Michigan; Kayvon Thibodeaux, junior, Oregon.

Linemen -- Jordan Davis, senior, Georgia; DeMarvin Leal, junior, Texas A&M.

Linebackers -- Will Anderson, Jr., sophomore, Alabama; Nakobe Dean, junior, Georgia; Devin Lloyd, junior, Utah.

Cornerbacks -- Ahmad Gardner, junior, Cincinnati; Roger McCreary, senior, Auburn.

Safeties -- Verone McKinley III, sophomore, Oregon; Jalen Pitre, senior, Baylor.

Defensive back -- Marcus Jones, senior, Houston.

Punter -- Matt Araiza, junior, San Diego State.

Cover photo of Devin Lloyd by Kelvin Kuo, USA TODAY Sports

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