2021 College Football All-Americans & Players of the Year | Action Network

2021 College Football All-Americans & Players of the Year | Action Network article feature image
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Getty Images. Pictured, from left: Jordan Addison (3) of the Pitt Panthers, Kenneth Walker (9) of the Michigan State Spartans, Bryce Love (9) of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Aidan Hutchinson (97) of the Michigan Wolverines.

Below, you will find The Action Network's inaugural consensus first- and second-team All-Americans, along with our Players of the Year.

Collin Wilson, Stuckey, and I came up with these using an iterative process after first selecting our own individual teams and then coming together to discuss where we had differences.

We relied on basic statistics, advanced metrics, our own player ratings, and of course, the good ol' eye test, while taking into account number of snaps and level of competition.

We had plenty of tough decisions in front of us, which will surely make for a few disagreements — but that's what makes these lists fun.

In all, 39 schools were represented among our 52 first- and second-team All-Americans. Ten schools had multiple players: Alabama (4), Iowa (3), Cincinnati (2), Georgia (2), Michigan (2), Ohio State (2), Purdue (2), San Diego State (2), Utah (2) and Wisconsin (2).

Among the conferences, the Big Ten led with 15 selections, followed by the SEC (12), Pac-12 (5), AAC (4) and ACC (4).

Without further ado, The Action Network's 2021 college football All-Americans and Players of the Year:

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Action Network All-Americans


1st Team Offense

QB
Bryce Young
Alabama · Sophomore
RB
Kenneth Walker III
Michigan State · Junior
WR
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Ohio State · Sophomore
WR
Jordan Addison
Pitt · Sophomore
WR
David Bell
Purdue · Junior
TE
Trey McBride
Colorado State · Senior
OT
Darian Kinnard
Kentucky · Senior
OG
Zion Johnson
Boston College · Senior
C
Tyler Linderbaum
Iowa · Junior
OG
TJ Bass
Oregon · Junior
OT
Ikem Ekwonu
NC State · Sophomore

1st Team Defense

DE
Aidan Hutchinson
Michigan · Senior
DE
Will Anderson Jr.
Alabama · Sophomore
DT
Jonah Tavai
San Diego State · Senior
LB
Devin Lloyd
Utah · Junior
LB
Malcolm Rodriguez
Oklahoma State · Senior
LB
Nakobe Dean
Georgia · Junior
CB
Ahmad Gardner
Cincinnati · Junior
CB
Antonio Johnson
Texas A&M · Sophomore
S
Jordan Battle
Alabama · Junior
S
Jaquan Brisker
Penn State · Senior
DB
Jalen Pitre
Baylor · Senior

1st Team Special Teams

K
Harrison Mevis
Missouri · Sophomore
P
Matt Araiza
San Diego State · Junior
RET
Marcus Jones
Houston · Senior
AP
Brian Battie
South Florida · Sophomore

2nd Team Offense

QB
C.J. Stroud
Ohio State · Freshman
RB
Braelon Allen
Wisconsin · Freshman
WR
Skyy Moore
Western Michigan · Sophomore
WR
Jerreth Sterns
Western Kentucky · Junior
WR
Jameson Williams
Alabama · Junior
TE
Isaiah Likely
Coastal Carolina · Senior
OT
Abraham Lucas
Washington State · Senior
OG
Clark Barrington
BYU · Sophomore
C
Olusegun Oluwatimi
Virginia · Senior
OG
Blaise Andries
Minnesota · Senior
OT
Charles Cross
Mississippi State · Sophomore

2nd Team Defense

DE
George Karlaftis
Purdue · Junior
DE
Nik Bonitto
Oklahoma · Junior
DT
Zi'Yon Hill
Louisiana · Junior
LB
Darrian Beavers
Cincinnati · Senior
LB
Ivan Pace Jr.
Miami Ohio · Sophomore
LB
Leo Chenal
Wisconsin · Junior
CB
Roger McCreary
Auburn · Senior
CB
Riley Moss
Iowa · Senior
S
Brad Hawkins
Michigan · Senior
S
Lewis Cine
Georgia · Junior
DB
Kyler Gordon
Washington · Junior

2nd Team Special Teams

K
Caleb Shudak
Iowa · Senior
P
Adam Korsak
Rutgers · Senior
RET
Velus Jones Jr.
Tennessee · Senior
AP
Britain Covey
Utah · Junior
AP: All-Purpose player.

Players of the Year

Offensive Player of the Year

Bryce Young, Alabama


Defensive Player of the Year

Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan


Special Teams Player of the Year

Matt Araiza, San Diego State


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About the Author
Brett is "America's College Football Insider" for The Action Network. Brett was nominated twice for a Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting, but wasn’t a nominee finalist. A long-time voter in the AP Top 25 poll and for the Heisman Trophy, Brett was named the 2019 Beat Writer of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America. Before joining The Action Network, Brett’s previous stops included ESPN, CBS Sports, the New York Times, Stadium, AOL Fanhouse and the Tampa Tribune.

Follow Brett McMurphy @Brett_McMurphy on Twitter/X.

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