NGT: USA Today All American Team

I guess this could be considered our draft day menu. Penny intrigues me as a possible 2nd/3rd round pick if he's still there.

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

QB: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma

The Heisman Trophy winner and unquestioned first-team pick put together a second season in a row that ranks among the best by a quarterback in Football Bowl Subdivision history.

RB: Bryce Love, Stanford

Stanford’s big-play star may have slowed down a bit in the second half, but Love’s 1,973 yards and 17 scores on 8.3 yards per carry make him a no-brainer pick.

RB: Rashaad Penny, San Diego State

The nation’s rushing leader at 2,027 yards, Penny closed the regular season with four games in a row of 200 or more yards.

WR: James Washington, Oklahoma State

Washington topped the FBS during the regular season with 1,423 receiving yards and averaged 20.2 yards per catch as the Cowboys’ explosive downfield threat.

WR: Anthony Miller, Memphis

The former walk-on had another fantastic year as a senior, ranking second nationally with 17 touchdown grabs for a Memphis team that spent much of the regular season with a national ranking.

TE: Mark Andrews, Oklahoma

Andrews has been one of the nation’s most productive tight ends (58 receptions for 906 yards) and a matchup nightmare for defenses.

OL: Orlando Brown, Oklahoma

The third member of Oklahoma’s offense to earn first-team accolades, Brown was outstanding from his spot on Mayfield’s blind side.

OL: Will Hernandez, UTEP

Hernandez put together another dominant season along the interior of the offensive line while toiling in relative obscurity for the lone winless team in the country.

OL: Billy Price, Ohio State

Price won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s best center to put a nice bow on one of the top careers by an offensive lineman in Ohio State’s history.

OL: Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame

The Irish will round out the offense with two starting linemen, with Nelson once again putting together an underrated yet praiseworthy season at guard.

OL: Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame

McGlinchey was great all around but at his best on the ground, where he set the tone and cleared the path for Notre Dame’s vastly improved running game.


SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg tells you which players to have on your radar this bowl season. USA TODAY Sports

DEFENSE

DL: Bradley Chubb, North Carolina State

Chubb more than lived up to preseason expectations and justified his decision to return for his senior season in leading the Atlantic Coast Conference in sacks and tackles for loss.

DL: Maurice Hurst, Michigan

The numbers may not pop — though he did notch 13.5 tackles for loss — but Hurst’s impact on another elite Michigan defense went far beyond the box score.

DL: Ed Oliver, Houston

Unstoppable and often simply impossible for any single offensive lineman to handle, Oliver was even better than during his breakout true freshman campaign.

DL: Sutton Smith, Northern Illinois

Other linemen and defenders earned far more national praise and attention, but Smith paced the entire FBS with 28.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.

LB: Josey Jewell, Iowa

Once a two-star recruit with no FBS offers other than Iowa, Jewell led the Big Ten in tackles and two interceptions and 4.5 sacks.

LB: Roquan Smith, Georgia

Smith serves as the backbone of Georgia’s defense and stands as one of the main reasons why the Bulldogs were able to win the Southeastern Conference and reach the Rose Bowl.

LB: T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin

After injuries decimated Wisconsin’s linebacker corps, Edwards stepped up with 75 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four interceptions to get the Badgers within one win of the Playoff.

CB: Denzel Ward, Ohio State

The Buckeyes’ latest All-America defensive back, Ward often negated the opposition’s top target and showed a nose for the football with 15 pass breakups.

CB: Joshua Jackson, Iowa

Jackson led the FBS with seven interceptions, three coming in the Hawkeyes’ win against Ohio State, and returned two for touchdowns.

S: Derwin James, Florida State

After missing almost all of last season due to injury, James rebounded to again stand among the top safeties and defenders in college football.

S: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama

From defending the pass, doing the dirty work against the run and even getting after the quarterback, Fitzpatrick compiled one of the most complete seasons of any player in the country.

SPECIALISTS

K: Matt Gay, Utah

Gay made an FBS-best 27 field goals and connected on five of his six attempts of 50 or more yards.

P: Michael Dickson, Texas

Coaches in the Big 12 Conference call Dickson not just the best punter in college football this year but one of the best at his position in recent history.

RET: Dante Pettis, Washington

Pettis returned four punts for touchdowns to give him nine such scores in his career, a new NCAA record.