Tag: Freshman All-American

Another honor for Notre Dame’s star freshman offensive lineman

Who would have thought this would have happened before the season started

Not many of us thought that offensive tackle Joe Alt would made a contribution to the team for a few years. The converted tight end from Minnesota was looked at as more of a project, but that wasn’t how it turned out to be.

After an injury to fellow classmate Blake Fisher, Alt was thrown to the wolves, but he didn’t act like a pup. Actually, once Alt was added to the starting offensive line, the run game looked like last years and the offense took off.

Already garnering multiple Freshman All-American honors, Alt received yet another one today, as he was named to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American first-team.

A very bright future for Alt and the Irish offensive line over at minimum the next two seasons.

Michigan State football LB Cal Haladay named Freshman All-American by Football Writers Association

Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay named a Freshman All-American

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Cal Haladay was something of a revelation for Michigan State football this year. The freshman came in and earned a starting job this summer despite the presence of some veterans in the linebackers corps. Because of his strong season, Haladay is the first MSU player to be named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association since Donnie Corley in 2016.

Haladay is the first defensive player to make the team since Malik McDowell in 2014.

Haladay led the team in tackles with 96, five of those coming for a loss. He also forced two fumbles and had two interceptions for a touchdown.

The former 3-star recruit only played on special teams as a true freshman but came in during his redshirt freshman season and turned a lot of heads, it’s great to see him recognized for a phenomenal season.

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LSU DT Maason Smith named to FWAA’s Freshman All-American team

Some accolades coming the way of freshman DT Maason Smith.

The FWAA released their Freshman All-American team on Monday. With plenty of talented newcomers, the LSU defense was still able to get one man on the list this year.

The lone LSU Tiger to make the list was defensive tackle Maason Smith. Not shocking considering his level of impact on the defense. Smith was asked to play both inside and outside on the defensive line due to injuries on the edge. Smith should be a high-impact defender next season under the guidance of new defensive line coach Jamar Cain, who comes over from Oklahoma.

Maason Smith of LSU was the nation’s top prep defensive lineman in the fall of 2020 and became a coaches’ pick as an All-SEC Freshman in 2021. He earned three starts toward the end of the season and was third on the team with four sacks. Smith gives LSU a defensive member of the team in five of the last six seasons.

Smith finished out his freshman campaign with 19 total tackles, five TFLs, and four sacks. His presence can’t be understated from this past season where the health of the defensive line was a major concern. Heading into 2022, Smith should be a major breakout star on that side of the ball for Matt House’s defense.

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Texas WR Xavier Worthy named finalist for Shaun Alexander Award

Xavier Worthy continues to be recognized for his outstanding freshman season.

It seems like every week Texas’ star wideout Xavier Worthy gets nominated for a new award.

This time Worthy has been named a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Award which is given to the top freshman in college football.

Worthy is joined on the list by some of the elite talents in college football.

The 2022 Shaun Alexander Award Finalist:

  • RB Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
  • TE Brock Bowers, Georiga
  • RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio St
  • QB CJ Stroud, Ohio St
  • WR Xavier Worthy, Texas

The winner of the award will be announced by the Maxwell Foundation Club on Jan. 10, 2022.

Winning the Shaun Alexander Award would add to Worthy’s already impressive resume. The speedster has already taken home Big 12 offensive freshman of the year and freshman All-American honors.

After his breakout freshman campaign, Worthy seems poised to mark his name among the best wide receivers the Texas football history.

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Texas WR Xavier Worthy named freshman All-American by PFF

The accolades continue to roll in for Xavier Worthy.

Wide receiver Xavier Worthy broke out as a superstar for the Longhorns in his freshman campaign. Worthy did not enroll until the summer but quickly proved himself as Texas’ WR1.

The entire conference took notice of Worthy after his three-touchdown game against Texas Tech and his historic 261-yard performance against Oklahoma two weeks later.

The speedster finished just shy of 1,000 yards and hauled in an impressive 12 touchdowns, leading the Big 12 in both categories.

The accolades have already started pouring in for Worthy. He was named first-team All-Big 12 and Big 12 Freshman Offensive Player of the year. Worthy was the first Longhorn since Colt McCoy in 2006 to receive such honors.

On Tuesday, Pro Football Focus named Worthy to their 2021 All-True Freshman All-American Team. PFF gave Worthy a receiving grade of 80.3 on the season, tops among freshman wideouts.

Worthy has set himself up to potentially end his career as one of the best wide receivers in Texas football history. If the Horns have a bounce-back 2022 season, Worthy will be a major reason why.

Checkout Worthy’s 2021 highlight video curiosity of Texas football’s Twitter:

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One Notre Dame player makes 247Sports true freshman All-American team

Nobody expected this

If you asked many of us who would make the biggest impact from the incoming freshman class the likely answers would have been wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr., offensive tackle Blake Fisher or linebacker Prince Kollie.

That was not the case at the end of the year, as Styles Jr. got plenty of time flashing his potential, Fisher’s season was cut short by an injury and Kollie never really was able to crack the lineup. It was Minnesota freshman offensive tackle Joe Alt that ultimately stepped up into Fisher’s spot and once the converted tight end got rolling, it was hard for him to be stopped.

Alt was named today as a true-freshman All-American by 247Sports, an honor that we all did not expect to see this year. It’s a fantastic story, Alt’s transition from tight end to offensive tackle went as smooth as one could have expected. It’s safe to say that the Irish are in good hands at offensive tackle when Fisher returns from his injury and with Alt having extremely valuable experience during his freshman season.

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Rivals names Texas running back Bijan Robinson to freshman All-American team

Let the accolades continue to pile up for Texas running back Bijan Robinson.

The accolades keep rolling in for the talented five-star running back from Tuscon, Arizona. Continue reading “Rivals names Texas running back Bijan Robinson to freshman All-American team”

Notre Dame’s Mayer recognized as an All-American

The talented true-freshman was recognized by 247Sports as one of the best true freshman in the country.

The hype for Michael Mayer out of high school has been warranted, as a former 5-Star out of Kentucky there were big expectations after Cole Kmet took his talents to the NFL a year early. Mayer showed not only Notre Dame fans but the country that the Irish have reloaded at the position, as he was named to the 247Sports True Freshman All-American team.

Mayer’s final stat line was impressive for a first-year player, finishing with 35 receptions for 388-yards and two scores. It was plays like this that have everyone in South Bend drooling about his future potential.

Over the course of the season, Mayer has become a security blanket for quarterback Ian Book, finding the talented freshman and watching him truck over defenders.

The future is extremely bring for Mayer and this is just the beginning of a Notre Dame career that should see more hardware being handed to him before he ultimately leaves early and becomes a star in the NFL. Tight End U is alive and well.

Texas running back Bijan Robinson named to 247Sports’ freshman All-American team

Following the spectacular freshman season by Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson, 247Sports named him to their All-American team.

There is no denying that when Texas freshman running back Bijan Robinson touches the ball special things happen. Continue reading “Texas running back Bijan Robinson named to 247Sports’ freshman All-American team”

Texas DL Alfred Collins named to Freshman All-American Team

Although Texas represented one player on the Preseason Freshman All-American Team, running back Bijan Robinson was absent from the list.

If you’ve been keeping up with Texas football this offseason, there’s very strong cases to be made for two freshman players. Continue reading “Texas DL Alfred Collins named to Freshman All-American Team”