Stanford junior right guard David DeCastro has been named a first team All-American by The Associated Press.
Quarterback Andrew Luck and left tackle Jonathan Martin were named to the second team while tight end Coby Fleener earned third-team honors, it was announced Wednesday.
A consensus All-American, DeCastro also has earned first team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, along with AP. He was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy honoring the nation’s top interior lineman.
DeCastro has made 37 consecutive starts at his right guard position. This year’s line has allowed the ninth-fewest sacks in the nation while paving the way for a Cardinal running game to average 209.0 yards per game.
Stanford’s offensive line has allowed just 22 sacks over the past three seasons with DeCastro in the lineup, while helping the running game average 214.0 yards on the ground.
Heisman Trophy recipient Robert Griffin III of Baylor was named AP’s first-team quarterback. He is joined in the backfield by fellow Heisman finalists Montee Bell of Wisconsin and Trent Richardson of Alabama.
Luck was the recipient of the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s Player of the Year and Maxwell Awards as the nation’s top player. Martin is also a Walter Camp All-American and was a finalist for the Lombardi Award.
Fleener, who led the team in touchdown receptions with 10, earned third-team honors as a tight end.
Stanford head coach David Shaw, meanwhile, has been named one of 10 finalists for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award.
Shaw joins Bret Bielema of Wisconsin, Art Briles of Baylor, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State, Brady Hoake of Michigan, Les Miles of LSU, Nick Saban of Alabama, Bill Snyder of Kansas State and Kevin Sumlin, formerly of Houston now with Texas A&M and Dabo Swinney of Clemson as finalists for this year’s award.
In his first season as Stanford’s head coach, Shaw has guided the Cardinal to its second straight 11-1 regular season record and its first back-to-back 10-win seasons in program history. Under his leadership, the Cardinal has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll for a school-record 22 consecutive weeks and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches poll on Nov. 6.
Shaw is just the ninth major college head coach in history to post 11 or more wins in his first season and the first since Chris Peterson (13-0) of Boise State and Bielema (12-1) of Wisconsin accomplished the feat in the 2006 season.
The 26th annual Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards event is slated to take place on January 19 in Houston, Texas.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports