All-American – Syndication Server

Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts becomes two-time consensus All-American

The Irish will miss him after this season.

Notre Dame safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] has a bright future in football. The NFL is calling him, and he hopefully will have a nice career there. For now though, he continues to rack up accolades as part of the Irish.

Watts has repeated as a consensus All-American, becoming the first Irish player to do so since [autotag]Aaron Taylor[/autotag] in 1993 and the first Irish defensive back to achieve it since [autotag]Todd Lyght[/autotag] in 1990.

When the Irish face Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Watts will have chance to add onto his five interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, nine passes defended and 49 tackles. He has earned one honor after another this season, and a college football team usually can’t get far without a player of his caliber.

Hopefully, Watts enjoys what will be his final game at Notre Dame Stadium on Friday win or lose. And if you’re interested in his thoughts about these honors, here’s what he recently said on WNDU-TV:

The Irish are lucky to have him for sure.

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Florida C Jake Slaughter named to AP All-America First Team

The postseason honors keep coming for Florida center Jake Slaughter, who was named an AP All-America First Teamer on Monday.

The Associated Press named Florida center [autotag]Jake Slaughter[/autotag] to the All-America First Team on Monday.

It’s Slaughter’s third All-America honor after being named to the first team by Pro Football Focus and second team by CBS Sports/247Sports. USA TODAY Sports included him on the All-SEC First Team, as did the AP, but the SEC did not name Slaughter in the All-Conference three-deep list. He was also snubbed as a finalist for The Rimington Award, given to the nation’s best collegiate center.

Slaughter is the third center in program history to be named to the AP All-America First Team, following in the footsteps of Bill Carr (1966) and Maurkice Pouncey (2009). He’s the second Gator to make the list under Billy Napier after guard O’Cyrus Torrence earned his brick in 2022. Torrence was selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Slaughter anchored Florida’s offensive line, playing 728 of 746 offensive snaps this season. Pro Football Focus graded him as Florida’s best offensive player (81.2), pass blocker (83.8) and run blocker (79.1) this year. Those figures rank fifth, 18th and sixth, respectively, among FBS centers who played at least 475 snaps.

He allowed just eight quarterback pressures — six hurries, one sack — earned a 98.7 efficiency rate and drew threw penalty flags all year.

Slaughter has one year of eligibility remaining but could opt to turn pro as a redshirt junior. The transfer portal is also an option, but he’s a player Florida would fight to keep if losing him came into question. Slaughter must decide by Jan. 15.

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Oregon football boasts a trio of AP All-Americans

The Associated Press announced their All-American teams and there are three Ducks included.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel might have missed out on the Heisman Trophy, but he has plenty of other honors coming his way.

Gabriel, along with defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and offensive tackle Josh Conerly, Jr. has been selected to the Associated Press All-American team.

Harmon is on the Second Team All-American defensive team while Gabriel and Conerly are on the Third Team.

Coming from Michigan State via the transfer portal, Harmon just picked up where he left off in East Lansing, Mich. He fit into the Oregon culture right away and had a great season for the No. 1 Ducks. Harmon had 42 tackles, nine for loss to go with five sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He was also voted to the All-Big Ten Third Team.

Gabriel had an outstanding year, his first and only year with the Ducks. So far, he has 3,558 passing yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions. The Oregon quarterback also has a 73 completion percentage. the highest for his career.

Conerly is also having the best season of his career as he his the heart of the Oregon offensive line. He could declare for the NFL draft after this season is over, but the Ducks are hoping to retain his services for one more year.

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Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts repeats as AP First Team All-American

This kid is good.

If anyone needed a clear-cut example of who the leader of Notre Dame’s vaunted defense is, they have it now. For the second consecutive season, safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] has been named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press. He and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter of Colorado are the only holdovers from the previous season’s first team.

Although Watts’ five interceptions this season are fewer than the seven he had in 2023, he still leads all safeties in that category. The 12 he has in his collegiate career are the most for any Irish player since 1996.

He also has one fumble recovery this season, making him responsible for six of the 28 Irish takeaways that the lead the country. None were more explosive than the first 100-yard interception return in Irish history that might have been the most memorable touchdown of the victory over USC, and there were quite a few scores in that game:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3nlB9YIJFAI

Congratulations to Watts on this honor, and best of luck to him on the rest of the season.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball defeats UConn for third straight season

That’s three wins over top-five teams, too.

Notre Dame and UConn is as anticipated a matchup as you’ll find in women’s basketball. With numerous former Irish players on hand along with a sellout crowd at Purcell Pavilion, not to mention [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag], all eyes were on whether the Irish could beat a top-five opponent for the third time this season.

With the university nearing final exams, the Irish passed its own exam and won, 79-68, for their third victory over the Huskies in as many seasons. That means UConn, Texas and USC are a combined 0-3 against the Irish but 26-0 against everyone else.

The Irish (8-2) led the Huskies (8-1) for most of the game but never by more than 13 points. That lead was cut to one in the waning seconds of the third quarter, but [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] hit her career-high sixth 3 at the buzzer, and the Irish proceeded to score the first six points of the fourth quarter to go back up 10.

Although the Huskies got within six with 3:12 left, the Irish doubled their lead over the next two minutes, and that was that. This was the latest in a series of statement wins:

Hidalgo led all scorers with 29 points to get the better of fellow All-American Paige Bueckers, who had 25 points. She achieved a double-double with 10 rebounds and also had a game-high eight assists.

[autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] had her own double-double with 16 points and 12 boards. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] overcame an early ankle injury to also score 16 points.

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USC’s Eddie Czaplicki named a 2024 college football All-American

In a brutal season for USC, a few really bright lights stood out. Eddie Czaplicki is one of them, and he is now an All-American. Congratulations, Eddie!

The 2024 football season has been a disastrous one for USC. Despite the team’s 6-6 record, however, one Trojan will still be taking home hardware. On Wednesday, USC senior punter Eddie Czaplicki was officially named a First Team All-American by The Athletic. He becomes the 177th All-American in school history. Czaplicki is also just the second USC punter to earn such honors, with the lone other being Tom Malone in 2003.

This season, Czaplicki averaged 48.5 yards per punt, good for third most in the country. His 45.7 net yards average led the FBS.

Czaplicki is the seventh Trojan to earn First Team All-American honors under head coach Lincoln Riley. In 2022, quarterback Caleb Williams, offensive linemen AndrewVorhees and Brett Neilon, defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu, and safety Calen Bullock all received such recognition. Last year, Zachariah Branch was named a First Team All-American at kick returner.

USC will conclude its 2024 season against Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 27.

Florida’s starting center named CBS Sports Second Team All-American

Jake Slaughter anchored Florida’s offensive line all season and is getting some national recognition for his All-American performance.

CBS Sports and 247Sports named Florida center [autotag]Jake Slaughter[/autotag] to the All-American Second Team on Wednesday. The two services combined efforts this year to honor players “who shined the brightest on the gridiron over the last three-plus months.”

He allowed just eight quarterback pressures — six hurries, one sack — earned a 98.7 efficiency rate and drew threw penalty flags all year.

The SEC office did not include Slaughter on any of its three all-conference teams

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Notre Dame star named as a first-team All-American by CBS Sports

Is this the beginning of another big award season for the Irish star?

While it looks like Notre Dame football star safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] might not bring home an individual national award like he did last fall, that doesn’t mean he’s not getting recognized for his elite play this season.

CBS Sports announced its All-American team on Wednesday, with Watts making the first-team after a season where he had 50 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered one with 5 interceptions, one of them being taken back for a score.

It’s a great honor for Watts, who was named as a Unanimous All-American last fall, and could very well be on his way to the same honor this season.

While the individual accolades are impressive, you can be assured that Watts only goal right now is to bring home a championship to South Bend. They’ll have that opportunity in a little over a week, as they begin the College Football Playoff by hosting Indiana, in what we hope is a long run with the new 12-team format.

Day after: Final thoughts on Notre Dame’s top-25 win over Louisville — Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates after an interception against the Louisville Cardinals in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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On3 names DJ Lagway a True Freshman All-American

The Florida Gators have the best first-year quarterback in the country on its roster in DJ Lagway, an On3 True Freshman All-American.

The Florida Gators might have the best young quarterback in the country in [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], and On3 named the first-year phenom to its True Freshman All-America Team on Friday.

Lagway started the year as the backup to senior Graham Mertz. He made his first start in Week 2 against Samford while Mertz recovered from a concussion and set a program record for true freshmen with 456 passing yards. Lagway continued to earn playing time as a backup from then on, finally taking over the reins to the offense midway through the Tennessee matchup after Mertz tore his ACL.

Lagway missed the Texas game with a hamstring injury after suffering against Georgia but returned a week later against LSU. He finished the season 4-0 in games that he started and finished. Over 11 total appearances, Lagway totaled 1,610 yards on 93 of 157 passing (59.2%), 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing 46 times for 97 yards.

“No true freshman quarterback had more of an effect on winning at their respective program than DJ Lagway,” On3 national news reporter Thomas Goldkamp wrote. “Lagway took over for Florida following the season-ending injury for Graham Mertz and led the Gators to wins in four of their last five games, providing a bunch of positive momentum heading into the offseason in Gainesville.”

Goldkamp noted Lagway’s “top-shelf arm,” sturdy pocket presence and scrambling ability to support Lagway’s placement on the list. He also questioned whether the injury Lagway suffered hampered him from playing at full strength. True freshmen rarely play their best ball in Year 1, which means an already high ceiling for Lagway could be an underestimate.

Pro Football Focus gave Lagway a 71.8 overall offensive grade, good for 4th among true freshman quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks. His 75.5 passing grade is first along the same criteria.

Even more impressive, Lagway’s 97.3 passing grade on deep balls (20 yards or more) leads all FBS quarterbacks. He threw 30 deep balls this year, making up 18.6% of his total attempts.

On3 2025 True Freshman All-American List

Offensive True Freshman of the Year – WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State

QB – DJ Lagway, Florida

RB – Isaac Brown, Louisville

RB – Ahmar Hardy, Louisiana-Monroe

WR – Ryan Williams, Alabama

WR – Cam Coleman, Auburn

OL – Jordan Seaton, Colorado

OL – Anthonie Knapp, Notre Dame

OL – Cash Cleveland, Colorado

OL – Tyler Mercer, North Texas

Bonus – RB Caden Durham, LSU

Defensive True Freshman of the Year – EDGE Dylan Stewart, South Carolina

EDGE – Colin Simmons, Texas

EDGE – Kyran Duhon, UTEP

DL – Jayden Jackson, Oklahoma

LB – Sammy Brown, Clemson

LB – Simeon Coleman, Cincinnati

CB – OJ Frederique, Miami

CB – Jay Crawford, Auburn

CB – Eli Bowen, Oklahoma

S – Koi Perich, Minnesota

S – KJ Bolden, Georgia

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Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles introduced before exhibition game

Welcome back, Liv!

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] scored a game-high 13 points in a 76-53 Notre Dame win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 23, 2023. At the time, it was a typical game for her other than the fact that it was the Irish’s final home game of the regular-season.

What we didn’t know was that 615 days would pass before Miles graced the Purcell Pavilion floor during a game again. She injured her knee at Louisville a few days later and wound up missing both the postseason and all of the following season.

Finally, after a lengthy period of setbacks, false hope and transfer rumors, Miles is playing for the Irish again. The moment of truth came when she started her team’s lone exhibition game this season against Davenport.

Irish fans packed Purcell Pavilion, and they were given an opportunity to show how much they loved and missed Miles. Needless to say, those fans did not disappoint when she was announced.

Here’s to a healthy and productive season for the former All-American.

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