PonyFans.com

Pro Football Weekly released its 2012 All-America team today. Not everyone is going to agree on every vote, of course, but this team is hard to figure, especially at the quarterback position. The Syracuse QB, Ryan Nassib, had a good year (completing 63.2 of his passes for 3,619 yards, 301.6 passing yards per game, 24 touchdown passes, 9 interceptions), and Bridgewater and McCarron had good years, too, but am I the only one who finds it odd that neither Kansas State's Collin Klein or Texas A&M's Jonny Manziel (who won some big trophy this year) got honorable mention recognition? Anyway ... here's the press release:


The authority on pro football, Pro Football Weekly, is proud to announce its annual All-America team, as chosen by draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki.

PFW’s All-America team annually honors college football’s most talented players and is determined based on extensive evaluation and considerable feedback from NFL evaluators, taking into consideration how players grade out both in their assignments and by the quality of critical playing traits. PFW honors are distinguished by the premium placed on skill, football temperament and instincts and seek to recognize players we expect will become outstanding pros. Players are expected to have contributed for the bulk of the season to qualify. Production is considered, but not weighed nearly as heavily as how much of an impact players make on their teams. Extra attention is paid to traits such as toughness, intelligence and competitiveness, all traits that we believe correlate heavily to future NFL success.



EDITOR’S NOTE: Juniors are marked by one asterisk (*), draft-eligible sophomores have two (**) and true sophomores have three (***).


2012 All-America team

OFFENSE

Quarterback
Ryan Nassib, Syracuse

HONORBALE MENTION
Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville***
AJ McCarron, Alabama*

Running back
Montee Ball, Wisconsin

HONORABLE MENTION
Eddie Lacy, Alabama*
Johnathan Franklin, UCLA

Fullback
J.C. Copeland, LSU*

HONORABLE MENTION
Trey Millard, Oklahoma*

Wide receivers
Marqise Lee, USC***
Sammy Watkins, Clemson***

HONORABLE MENTION
Terrance Williams, Baylor
DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson*
Justin Hunter, Tennessee*
Quinton Patton, Louisiana Tech

Tight end
Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame

HONORABLE MENTION
Zach Ertz, Stanford*
Gavin Escobar, San Diego State*

Offensive tackles
Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M*
Eric Fisher, Central Michigan

HONORABLE MENTION
Taylor Lewan, Michigan*
Jake Matthews, Texas A&M*
D.J. Fluker, Alabama*
Brian Winters, Kent State

Offensive guards
Chance Warmack, Alabama
Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina

HONORABLE MENTION
Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State*
Cyril Richardson, Baylor*

Center
Travis Frederick, Wisconsin*

HONORABLE MENTION
Barrett Jones, Alabama

DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE ENDS
Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina***
Bjoern Werner, Florida State*

HONORABLE MENTION
Damontre Moore, Texas A&M*
Sam Montgomery, LSU*
Ezekiel Ansah, Brigham Young
Morgan Breslin, USC*

DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Sylvester Williams, North Carolina
Bennie Logan, LSU*

HONORABLE MENTION
Stephon Tuitt, Notre Dame***
Star Lotulelei, Utah
Sheldon Richardson, Missouri*
Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State*

INSIDE LINEBACKER
Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

HONORABLE MENTION
Kevin Minter, LSU*
Max Bullough, Michigan State*

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
Dion Jordan, Oregon
Jarvis Jones, Georgia*

HONORABLE MENTION
C.J. Mosley, Alabama*
Michael Mauti, Penn State

CORNERBACKS
Dee Milliner, Alabama*
Logan Ryan, Rutgers*

HONORABLE MENTION
Darius Slay, Mississippi State
Jamar Taylor, Boise State

SAFETIES
Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma*
Kenny Vaccaro, Texas

HONORABLE MENTION
Eric Reid, LSU*
D.J. Swearinger, South Carolina
Zeke Motta, Notre Dame

Specialists
PLACEKICKER
Dustin Hopkins, Florida State

HONORABLE MENTION
Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State

PUNTER
Ryan Allen, Louisiana Tech

HONORABLE MENTION
Kyle Christy, Florida***

RETURN SPECIALIST
Tavon Austin, West Virginia

HONORABLE MENTION
Ace Sanders, South Carolina*
Giovani Bernard, North Carolina**

Looks like a pretty solid team to me. I didn't think Manziel was that good this season anyway.

I mean we totally shut him down for close to a half!

Do they just focus on seniors? Are they all seniors?

The PonyGrad wrote:Do they just focus on seniors? Are they all seniors?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Juniors are marked by one asterisk (*), draft-eligible sophomores have two (**) and true sophomores have three (***).

I assume draft-eligible sophomores are redshirt sophomores. Doesn't mention freshmen at all. Isn't there an age limit in the NFL for draft-eligibility?

[/quote]I assume draft-eligible sophomores are redshirt sophomores. Doesn't mention freshmen at all. Isn't there an age limit in the NFL for draft-eligibility?[/quote]

There isn't an exact age limit. Unless it has changed, I believe the cut off is three years after High School Graduation - So after your Junior Year or Red Shirt Sophomore year.