Tag: Associated Press

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named AP First Team All-American

What a season she’s had.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has had a special freshman season at Notre Dame, and now, we know exactly how special. She has joined USC’s JuJu Watkins as the fourth and fifth freshmen to be named to the AP All-American First Team since it began during the 1994-95 season. They join Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley and Texas’ Madison Booker.

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Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb obviously has seen Watkins up close and personal throughout this season, but she reserved praise for Hidalgo, too:

“We’ve had a front row seat to JuJu, but what Hannah’s done is unbelievable Coach Niele (Ivey) has done an incredible job.”

Ivey also was quoted in the AP story and said this about Hidalgo, the nation’s steals leader at 4.6 a game and its third-leading scorer at 23.3 points a game:

“She deserves to be listed amongst the best in women’s basketball. Hannah is a fierce competitor and an elite performer who rises to the occasion and has been extremely consistent and dominant this season.”

What has to be scary to opponents is that Hidalgo only is getting started. She likely will hold many Irish records by the time she’s done with the program. Irish fans will be anxious to find out how many of those records she holds in the end.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Associated Press releases pre-tournament Top 25, Duke firmly out of top 10

The Associated Press released one more top 25 before the NCAA Tournament is set to tip off, and the Blue Devils slid even farther down.

With March Madness finally here and the tournament field set, the Associated Press released one last top-25 ranking on Monday before the festivities really begin.

The Blue Devils, after the upset loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament, dropped two more spots down to 13th. The ranking reflects their position as the No. 4 seed in the South region, outside of the top 12 overall teams.

Duke finished the regular season and conference tournament with a 24-8 record, finishing with 834 points in the voting.

Defending national champion Connecticut moved back atop the rankings with Houston in second, followed by Purdue. Iowa State, despite being a No. 2 seed in the bracket, took the fourth spot ahead of North Carolina, who dropped to fifth.

Tennessee, Auburn, Marquette, Arizona, and Illinois made up the lower half of the top 10, with Creighton and Kentucky taking the spots ahead of Duke.

Eagles’ DT Jalen Carter named a finalist for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year

Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Carter has been named a finalist for the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

The NFL and The Associated Press have announced the finalists for their annual awards for the 2023 NFL season.

Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Dak Prescott are finalists for The Associated Press 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards.

For Eagles related news, Jalen Carter has been named a finalist for the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the playoffs began.

Award winners will be announced at NFL Honors presented by Invisalign, an Align Technology brand, on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas. NFL Honors, the league’s primetime awards special, will air live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network and NFL Network and stream live on Paramount+ and NFL+. The program may not air live in all time zones.

The full list of awards and finalists include:

Key takeaways and analysis from the 2023 NFL All-Pro teams

We’re looking at takeaways and analysis from the Associated Press’s 2023 NFL All-Pro Team

The Associated Press announced the 2023 NFL All-Pro team, and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Fred Warner, and Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill were unanimous choices for the roster, which was announced Friday.

The 49ers, who had the NFC’s best record, had three other first-team selections on offense: tight end George Kittle, left tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was a first-team selection in 2019 when he won the NFL MVP, also got the selection this year after passing for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns, running for 821 yards, and scoring five times on the ground.

Here are the first-team selections for the All-Pro Team:

Offense

Quarterback — Lamar Jackson, Baltimore

Running back — Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco

Fullback — Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco

Tight end — George Kittle, San Francisco

Wide receivers — Tyreek Hill, Miami; CeeDee Lamb, Dallas; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit

Left tackle — Trent Williams, San Francisco

Left guard — Joe Thuney, Kansas City

Center — Jason Kelce, Philadelphia

Right guard — Zack Martin, Dallas

Right tackle — Penei Sewell, Detroit

Defense

Edge rushers — Myles Garrett, Cleveland; T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh

Interior linemen — Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams; Chris Jones, Kansas City

Linebackers — Fred Warner, San Francisco; Roquan Smith, Baltimore; Quincy Williams; New York Jets

Cornerbacks — DaRon Bland, Dallas; Sauce Gardner, New York Jets

Slot cornerback — Trent McDuffie, Kansas City

Safeties — Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore; Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay

Special Teams

Placekicker — Brandon Aubrey, Dallas

Punter — AJ Cole, Las Vegas

Kick returner — Keisean Nixon, Green Bay

Punt returner — Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans

Special teamer — Miles Killebrew, Pittsburgh

Long snapper — Ross Matiscik, Jacksonville

With the selections now complete, here’s an analysis and takeaways from the choices.

Key takeaways and analysis from the 2023 NFL All-Pro teams

We’re looking at takeaways and analysis from the Associated Press’s 2023 NFL All-Pro Team

The Associated Press announced the 2023 NFL All-Pro team, and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Fred Warner, and Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill were unanimous choices for the roster, which was announced Friday.

The 49ers, who had the NFC’s best record, had three other first-team selections on offense: tight end George Kittle, left tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was a first-team selection in 2019 when he won the NFL MVP, also got the selection this year after passing for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns, running for 821 yards, and scoring five times on the ground.

Here are the first-team selections for the All-Pro Team:

Offense

Quarterback — Lamar Jackson, Baltimore

Running back — Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco

Fullback — Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco

Tight end — George Kittle, San Francisco

Wide receivers — Tyreek Hill, Miami; CeeDee Lamb, Dallas; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit

Left tackle — Trent Williams, San Francisco

Left guard — Joe Thuney, Kansas City

Center — Jason Kelce, Philadelphia

Right guard — Zack Martin, Dallas

Right tackle — Penei Sewell, Detroit

Defense

Edge rushers — Myles Garrett, Cleveland; T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh

Interior linemen — Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams; Chris Jones, Kansas City

Linebackers — Fred Warner, San Francisco; Roquan Smith, Baltimore; Quincy Williams; New York Jets

Cornerbacks — DaRon Bland, Dallas; Sauce Gardner, New York Jets

Slot cornerback — Trent McDuffie, Kansas City

Safeties — Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore; Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay

Special Teams

Placekicker — Brandon Aubrey, Dallas

Punter — AJ Cole, Las Vegas

Kick returner — Keisean Nixon, Green Bay

Punt returner — Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans

Special teamer — Miles Killebrew, Pittsburgh

Long snapper — Ross Matiscik, Jacksonville

With the selections now complete, here’s an analysis and takeaways from the choices.

Rashid Shaheed, Demario Davis named All-Pros by the Associated Press

New Orleans Saints playmakers Rashid Shaheed and Demario Davis were each named All-Pros by the Associated Press:

This is really cool: two members of the New Orleans Saints were selected for this year’s All-Pro teams by the Associated Press, with punt returner Rashid Shaheed named to the first team and linebacker Demario Davis picked for the second team.

Shaheed finished the year with the third-most punt return yards (339), having averaged 13.6 yards per return on 25 attempts. He led the NFL in all-purpose yards (1,479) thanks to his 384 kick return yards and 756 yards from scrimmage, 719 as a receiver and 37 as a rusher.

It’s the fifth year in a row that Davis has earned All-Pro recognition on either the first or second team; by earning a spot on the second team this year, Davis triggered a $500,000 bonus in his Saints contract. He’s continuing to play well late into his career, having celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday.

A handful of other Saints players earned votes for the All-Pro list, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell: cornerback Paulson Adebo, special teams ace J.T. Gray, and long snapper Zach Wood; and Shaheed got votes for his work as a kick returner, too. Hopefully they can all build off their successful individual seasons and get New Orleans back to the playoffs this time next year.

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LS Andrew DePaola makes second-team All-Pro

Minnesota Vikings long snapper Andrew DePaola earned a spot on the Associated Press’ All-Pro second team

After the Minnesota Vikings had three All-Pro selections in 2022, they have just one for the 2023 season. Long snapper Andrew DePaola has made the Associated Press’ All-Pro second team.

DePaola is a model of consistency for the Vikings. He consistently delivers accurate snaps on both punts and field goal opportunities. With special teams needing consistency more than anything, having a player like DePaola is massive for the Vikings.

Of course, you could make arguments for other Vikings to be named to the All-Pro team. Outside linebacker Danielle Hunter and tight end T.J. Hockenson had the resume to be on the All-Pro team but they weren’t selected.

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2023 All-Pro Teams announced: 4 Eagles honored

The Philadelphia Eagles had four players named to the Associated Press All-Pro team for the 2023 NFL season

The Eagles regressed in the standings after going 14-3 last season but were still well-represented on the Associated Press’s 2023 NFL All-Pro team.

The results were compiled by a national panel of 50 media members.

Star center Jason Kelce was named first-team All-Pro for the sixth time in his 13-year career. Kelce tied Chuck Bednarik and Reggie White for most first-team All-Pro selections in the Eagles’ franchise history.

Wide receiver A.J. Brown, kicker Jake Elliott, and tackle Lane Johnson were named second-team All-Pros.

Johnson was named to an All-Pro team for the fourth time; this is his second selection to the second team. Brown was named to his second All-Pro team, having also been selected to the second team last season.

Elliott was named an All-Pro for the first time in his career.

What the experts are predicting: Sun Bowl

What’s your pick for this game?

Notre Dame and Oregon State will face each other in a Sun Bowl that already is giving a real boost to the economy of El Paso, Texas. The least these teams can do is give the locals a thriller in a sold-out stadium. With so many regulars on both sides missing, that might happen purely on accident. This will be a must-watch.

There are plentiful predictions for this game. Here are some of them:

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo sweeps weekly awards

What a player.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] continues to make people wonder who she is exactly. Only time will tell, but the early returns are extremely promising. It’s become typical to expect her to win ACC Rookie of the Week almost weekly, but she now is taking that a couple of steps further.

In addition to grabbing the rookie honors for the past week, she was named the ACC Player of the Week, but that wasn’t all. For the first time in her career, she also is the AP National Player of the Week. That’s as good as a freshman can be in the ACC.

Hidalgo played only one game during the past week, but it was a good one. She achieved her first career triple-double against Western Michigan with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with five steals. No triple-double in Irish history has been higher scoring, and only one other true freshman has had a triple-double at all.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89