LSU Tigers

Feldman's All-America teams: Deep D-line talent makes for some tough cuts

Published Dec. 11, 2015 1:50 p.m. ET

Bruce Feldman

My colleague Stewart Mandel had trouble narrowing down the list of running backs, but for me this year, by far the toughest position to sort out was on the D-line. At one point, I had Oklahoma State's Emmanuel Ogbah on the first team. Then, as I went through my process, he got bumped down to second team, and then I had to make room for someone else I felt like I just couldn't leave off, and so the talented Cowboys player was left off.

Something similar happened with UCLA's standout DT, Kenny Clark. I just couldn't leave off Clemson's Shaq Lawson after all the plays he made this fall for a terrific D that lost so many outstanding players from its front seven.

Pitt's Ejuan Price emerged as a star (19.5 TFLs) for new coach Pat Narduzzi, but I just couldn't find a spot for him. Same thing for Mizzou's super soph Charles Harris (18.5 TFLs), whom SEC coaches keep raving about to me. And same for Jon Bullard of Florida.

FIRST TEAM

POSITION	PLAYER	TEAM	RUNDOWN
QB	Deshaun Watson	Clemson	Superb soph had a 30-11 TD-INT ratio, also ran for 11 more touchdowns for the nation's No. 1 team
RB	Christian McCaffrey	Stanford	The nation's most versatile weapon, McCaffrey broke Barry Sanders' NCAA record for most all-purpose yards.
RB	Derrick Henry	Alabama	Averaged 209 rushing yards in 'Bama's last six games against SEC opponents
WR	Corey Coleman	Baylor	Emerged as the nation's top big-play threat for Baylor; Coleman had 74 catches for 1,363 yards and 20 touchdowns despite the Bears' QB situation becoming a mess in the last third of the season
WR	Josh Doctson	TCU	Trevone Boykin's go-to guy had 79 catches for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns despite being hobbled late in the season.
TE	Hunter Henry	Arkansas	Terrific as a blocker and a receiver
OL	Ronnie Stanley	Notre Dame	The latest in a long line of quality Irish O-linemen, Stanley figures to go as a Top 10 pick.
OL	Spencer Drango	Baylor	The leader of one of the nation's top lines
OL	Ryan Kelly	Alabama	One D-line coach told me the heady senior is the best center he's faced in years.
OL	Joshua Garnett	Stanford	In 13 games Garnett had 104 pancakes.
OL	Landon Turner	North Carolina	The cornerstone of the Tar Heels' surprising season
DL	Andrew Billings	Baylor	The strongest man in football is also the guy rival Big 12 coaches say is the best player in their league.
DL	Carl Nassib	Penn State	A former walk-on, he had 19.5 TFLs and 15.5 sacks.
DL	A'Shawn Robinson	Alabama	The anchor of the nation's No. 1 defense
DL	Shaq Lawson	Clemson	The nation's leader in TFLs (22.5), Lawson has sparked a Tiger D that has played fantastic despite having lost so many key guys to the NFL.
LB	Jaylon Smith	Notre Dame	The most athletic linebacker the Irish may have ever produced
LB	Kentrell Brothers	Mizzou	Led the nation in tackles at 13 stops per game.
LB	Reggie Ragland	Alabama	Made plays all over the field; a guy NFL scouts say was one of the most improved LBs in the nation
DB	Vernon Hargreaves	Florida	Does everything well -- and has from the moment he set foot on campus -- for a very tough defense
DB	Desmond King	Iowa	A junior, King ranked second in the nation with eight interceptions.
DB	Jeremy Cash	Duke	Do-everything guy for the Blue Devils had 18 TFLs, more than 100 tackles and three forced fumbles
DB	Vonn Bell	Ohio State	Was great down the stretch for the Buckeyes last season and carried it all over to 2015
K	Ka'imi Fairbairn	UCLA	Not only converted 20-of-23 field goals and all 44 of his point-after-kicks this season for the Bruins, but also displayed a huge leg, connecting on a 60-yarder against Cal.
P	Tom Hackett	Utah	In games against ranked opponents, he averaged more than 53 yards per punt.
Ret.	Morgan Burns	K-State	Returned four kickoffs for touchdowns and also scored on a blocked punt

SECOND TEAM

POSITION	PLAYER	TEAM	RUNDOWN
QB	Baker Mayfield	Oklahoma	The Texas Tech transfer has thrown for 3,389 yards and 35 touchdowns, while rushing for seven more TDs.
RB	Leonard Fournette	LSU	A bruising sophomore with terrific speed, Fournette has rushed for a school-record 1,741 yards and has scored 18 touchdowns.
RB	Dalvin Cook	Florida State	Averaged 7.9 yards per carry despite running behind a rebuilt O-line
WR	Will Fuller	Notre Dame	No top receiver averaged as much per catch as Fuller's 20.5 ypc.
WR	Gabe Marks	Washington State	No one made any more clutch catches than than the 6-foot, 190-pound junior. In all, he produced 99 catches and 14 TDs for a prolific offense that triggered a stunning 8-4 year in Pullman.
OL	Jack Allen	Michigan State	Faced a lot of terrific D-lineman and always more than held his own
OL	Sebastian Tretola	Arkansas	Tied with Ryan Kelly as the top O-lineman in the SEC
OL	Jack Conklin	Michigan State	Massive junior OT had 65 knockdown blocks this season
OL	Jordan Walsh	Iowa	Steady guard is the best of a terrific Hawkeye front wall
OL	Vadal Alexander	LSU	Helped pave the way for the SEC's top rushing offense
TE	Jake Butt	Michigan	No TE makes more big catches in traffic than Butt.
DL	Joey Bosa	Ohio State	Had 16 tackles for loss for the Buckeyes despite sitting out their opener and dealing with double- and sometimes triple-teams
DL	DeForest Buckner	Oregon	Piled up 16 TFLs as the Pac-12's best defender
DL	Malik McDowell	Michigan State	When he flips the switch, he's unblockable. Had 12 TFLs and 2 forced fumbles.
DL	Myles Garrett	Texas A&M	Was a dominator and a game-changer from Week One all the way through. Had 18.5 TFLs despite being double- and triple-teamed and often was held. Also, his attitude helped raise the level of play of A&M DE Daeshon Hall.
LB	Blake Martinez	Stanford	Great run stopper who piled up 132 tackles -- about 70 more than anyone else at Stanford
LB	Tyler Matakevich	Temple	A tackling machine for the Owls, making 126 for a very stout D
LB/DB	Su'a Cravens	USC	Fast, versatile and very smart, Cravens made 78 tackles, 14.5 for loss.
DB	Jourdan Lewis	Michigan	Junior DB was all over the field for Michigan, making 21 pass breakups
DB	Shawun Lurry	NIU	Led the nation in picks with nine and came up with 273 return yards
CB	William Jackson III	Houston	Long, physical CB, battled through injuries and still set AAC record for PBUs with 21
DB	Jayron Kearse	Clemson	Freaky 6-5 safety is the nephew of former Florida star Jevon Kearse and cousin of Miami great Phillip Buchanon; did everything for Tigers' D this fall.
KR	Evan Berry	Tennessee	Led the nation in kick returns and scored three TDs
K	Conrad Ukropina	Stanford	The most improved kicker in the country, was 17-of-19 including the game-winner on the last second vs. Notre Dame
P	Drew Kaser	Texas A&M	Averaged 48 yards per punt for the Aggies this fall