2011 FWAA Freshman All-America Team
Courtesy FWAA
January 9, 2012
NEW ORLEANS (FWAA) – The 11th annual Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team has been announced, with all six Bowl Championship Series conferences and Notre Dame well represented on the 26-man roster. A total of 23 players came from the Pac-12, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and Big East conferences and the independent Fighting Irish.
Southern California and Kansas State were the only schools with two players on the team. Two of the special teams selections hail from Australia.
West Virginia's first-year coach Dana Holgorsen claimed the first-year coaching honors after his Mountaineers won the Big East Conference championship and finished with a 10-3 record after routing Clemson, 70-33, in the Discover Orange Bowl.
The team and coach are selected by an 11-person panel of nationally-prominent writers led by Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News Sentinel. Both true freshmen (14 players) and redshirt freshmen (12 players) were considered for the team and are so noted.
| 2011 FWAA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM |
| OFFENSE |
| Pos. |
Player, School |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| QB |
Sean Mannion, Oregon State |
6-5 |
218 |
Pleasanton, Calif. |
| RB |
Giovani Bernard, North Carolina |
5-10 |
205 |
Davie, Fla. |
| RB |
Lyle McCombs, Connecticut |
5-8 |
172 |
Staten Island, N.Y. |
| WR |
Matt Miller, Boise State |
6-3 |
213 |
Helena, Mont. |
| WR |
• Marqise Lee, USC |
6-0 |
190 |
Inglewood, Calif. |
| WR |
• Sammy Watkins, Clemson |
6-1 |
200 |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
| AP |
• De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon |
5-9 |
173 |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| OL |
• Reese Dismukes, Auburn |
6-3 |
300 |
Spanish Fort, Ala. |
| OL |
B.J. Finney, Kansas State |
6-4 |
297 |
Andale, Kan. |
| OL |
Chaz Green, Florida |
6-5 |
306 |
Tampa, Fla. |
| OL |
• Kaleb Johnson, Rutgers |
6-4 |
298 |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
| OL |
Jake Smith, Louisville |
6-4 |
315 |
Jacksonville, Ala. |
| DEFENSE |
| Pos. |
Player, School |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| DL |
• Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina |
6-6 |
254 |
Rock Hill, S.C. |
| DL |
• Timmy Jernigan, Florida State |
6-3 |
297 |
Lake City, Fla. |
| DL |
• Aaron Lynch, Notre Dame |
6-6 |
265 |
Cape Coral, Fla. |
| DL |
Marcus Rush, Michigan State |
6-2 |
250 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| LB |
Dion Bailey, USC |
6-0 |
200 |
Lakewood, Calif. |
| LB |
Jeremy Grove, East Carolina |
6-1 |
230 |
Frederick, Md. |
| LB |
• A.J. Johnson, Tennessee |
6-3 |
245 |
Gainesville, Ga. |
| DB |
• Blair Burns, Wyoming |
5-10 |
170 |
Plano, Texas |
| DB |
Ibraheim Campbell, Northwestern |
5-11 |
205 |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
| DB |
• Quandre Diggs, Texas |
5-10 |
200 |
Angleton, Texas |
| DB |
Merrill Noel, Wake Forest |
5-10 |
180 |
Pahokee, Fla. |
| DB |
• Eric Rowe, Utah |
6-1 |
185 |
Spring, Texas |
| SPECIALISTS |
| Pos. |
Player, School |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| P |
Brad Wing, LSU |
6-3 |
184 |
Melbourne, Australia |
| K |
Michael Hunnicutt, Oklahoma |
6-0 |
175 |
Richardson, Texas |
| PR |
• Scott Harding, Hawaii |
5-11 |
195 |
Brisbane, Australia |
| KR |
• Tyler Lockett, Kansas State |
5-11 |
170 |
Tulsa, Okla. |
| HEAD COACH |
| Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia |
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,200 men and women who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.
| 2011 FWAA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA COMMITTEE |
| Marc Anderson |
Las Vegas Review Journal |
Mountain West |
| Marc Blaudschun |
Boston Globe |
ACC |
| Mike Griffith |
Knoxville News Sentinel |
SEC |
| Blair Kerkhoff |
Kansas City Star |
Big 12 |
| Paul Letlow |
Scout.Com |
Sun Belt |
| Phil Miller |
Minneapolis Star Tribune |
Big Ten |
| Brett Murphy |
Idaho Statesman |
WAC |
| George Schroeder |
Eugene Register-Guard |
Pacific-10 |
| Phil Stukenborg |
Memphis Commercial Appeal |
Conference USA |
| Tom Luicci |
Newark Star-Ledger |
Big East |
| Doug Zaleski |
Muncie Star Press |
MAC |
|