DALLAS (FWAA) The powerful Southeastern Conference, which has claimed the last six national football championships and has a chance for a seventh next month, has placed 11 of the 26 players on the 69th Football Writers Association of America All-America Team.
Among the star-studded lineup of players on the team was Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner Manti Teo of Notre Dame, Outland Trophy winner Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M.
The FWAA All-America Team, the second-longest continuously-published team in major college football, was announced on SiriusXM Radio's College Sports Nation this morning. Since 1944, the FWAA has named an All-America team, and this season an extra returner was added to increase the number of players on the team to 26.
Besides the SEC, the other conferences to place multiple players on the team were the Big 12 (three), Pac-12 (three), Atlantic Coast (two) and Mid-American (two). Nine of the 11 NCAA Bowl Subdivision conferences, however, were represented on the team. It is the first time the MAC has had more than a single player on the team.
Texas A&M and Alabama, two of the SEC's powerhouse teams, placed four and three players on the FWAA team, respectively. Alabama had center Barrett Jones, offensive tackle Chance Warmack and defensive back Dee Milliner. Texas A&M placed offensive tackles Joeckel and Jake Matthews, Manziel, and defensive end Damontre Moore on the squad. SEC teams LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Georgia also had one player each on the team.
Manziel, who is the first freshman quarterback in the 69-year history of the FWAA team, is the only freshman (redshirt) on the 2012 team. And there were only two sophomores, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina and wide receiver Marqise Lee of USC. Jones of Alabama and linebacker Jarvis Jones of Georgia were the only two repeaters from 2011.
The FWAA All-America Committee selected three wide receivers on the team because of the depth of talent at the position and dropped the tight end. Another oddity was the team included two Outland Trophy winners. Jones was the 2011 Outland winner as a junior when he played tackle.
The FWAA All-America Team was first selected three years after the organization was formed. The FWAAs inaugural team included Army·s Heisman Trophy tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and Georgia Tech·s Frank Broyles, who later became Arkansas· head football coach and athletic director.
Over the years, the FWAA Team has highlighted all the game·s great players in several media forums. From 1946-70, LOOK magazine published the FWAA team and brought players and selected writers to New York City for a celebration. During that 25-year period, the FWAA team was introduced on national television shows by such noted hosts as Bob Hope, Steve Allen, and Perry Como.
After LOOK folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films (later known as NCAA Productions), which produced a 30-minute television program. The team was part of ABC-TV's 1981 College Football Series. From 1983-90, the team was introduced on either ABC or ESPN. In 2002 and '03, the All-America team was honored with a banquet at the Citrus Bowl.
The same bowl, now the Capital One, also was a sponsor when the team was featured on ABC and ESPN from different locations on Disney properties from 2004-07. From 2008-10, the team had been the subject of a one-hour ESPN special.
For nearly seven decades the FWAA has selected an All-America team with the help of its members and an All-America Committee, which represents all the regions in the country. From that All-America team, the FWAA also selects the Outland Trophy winner (best interior lineman) and also the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner (best defensive player).
Some of the true greats of the writing profession have helped to select this team over the years: Grantland Rice, Bert McGrane, Blackie Sherrod, Furman Bisher, Pat Harmon, Fred Russell, Edwin Pope, Murray Olderman, Paul Zimmerman – and the list goes on and on. The FWAA All-America team is steeped in tradition and history and is selected by a writers' group with those same attributes.
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. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve
Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com or 972-713-6198.