Alabama Football Lands Six on Sporting News All-America Team

Postseason honors continue to roll in for the Alabama football team as six Crimson Tide student-athletes earned first team All-America honors from the Sporting News Tuesday. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and offensive linemen Ross Pierschbacher and Jonah Williams were named on offense, while defensive back Deionte Thompson and defensive lineman Quinnen Williams were tabbed on defense.

Jonah Williams has now earned consensus All-America honors by virtue of his first-team accolades from the Sporting News, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Associated Press (AP) and Walter Camp. He has also been recognized as a first-teamer by The Athletic and Sports Illustrated this season. The junior anchors an Alabama offensive front that has cleared the way for a Tide offense that leads the SEC and is second nationally in scoring at 47.9 points per game.

Quinnen Williams has also earned consensus first-team honors from the Sporting News, FWAA, AP, Walter Camp and has been recognized by The Athletic and Sports Illustrated as a first team All-American as well. The redshirt sophomore took home the Outland Trophy on Dec. 6, in recognition of his breakout season in his first year as a starter. Williams leads all Tide defensive linemen with 66 tackles and paces the team in tackles for loss with 18 (-85 yards).

Jeudy, who was honored with the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver last week, has earned first team All-America honors from the Sporting News, AP, Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated and The Athletic. The sophomore was also a first team All-SEC selection by both AP and the league coaches. He has caught 59 passes for a team-leading 1,103 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. His touchdown total ranks No. 2 in school history for a season and the yardage is third in UA single-season history.

Pierschbacher was a Rimington Trophy finalist this season and has earned first-team All-America honors from the Sporting News along with second-team nods from AP and Sports Illustrated. The redshirt senior made 42 career starts at left guard in his first three years at UA before transitioning to center and starting all 13 games in 2018. He captains an offensive line that is a finalist for the Joe Moore Award for the third time in his career. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native was also a first team All-SEC honoree this season.

Tagovailoa led UA to its 27^th Southeastern Conference championship and fifth-straight College Football Playoff appearance in his first season as the Tide’s starting quarterback. His list of honors this season already includes the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Sporting News Player of the Year awards. The sophomore also received SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors and first team All-America recognition from Sporting News and Walter Camp, as well as second-team honors from the FWAA, AP, The Athletic and Sports Illustrated.

Thompson has now received first-team honors from the Sporting News, AP and Sports Illustrated and second-team recognition from Walter Camp and the FWAA this season. Thompson leads all Tide defensive backs and is second on team in tackles with 71 stops. He has also forced a team-high four fumbles and contributed 3.5 tackles for loss (-7 yards), two interceptions, five pass breakups and a fumble recovery this season. He was a first team All-SEC selection by the conference coaches and a second-team pick by the Associated Press.