New stars emerge each college football season. At the end of spring, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel wasn’t even guaranteed to start. Arizona running back Ka’Deem Carey, the nation’s leading rusher, had been only a part-time player. Who had really heard of Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton?
The new mixed with the old (such as Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o) for another thrilling season … and we’ve put together the best of the best. The teams playing for the national championship — Alabama and Notre Dame — have five players each represented below.
Here are Lindy’s 2012 postseason All-America teams:
First Team
Offense
QB — Johnny Manziel, Fr., Texas A&M
RB — Ka’Deem Carey, So., Arizona
RB — Johnathan Franklin, Sr. UCLA
WR — Marqise Lee, So., USC
WR — Terrance Williams, Sr., Baylor
TE — Zach Ertz, Sr., Stanford
C — Barrett Jones, Sr., Alabama
OG — Chance Warmack, Sr., Alabama
OG — Jonathan Cooper, Sr., North Carolina
OT — Luke Joeckel, Jr., Texas A&M
OT — Taylor Lewan, Jr., Michigan
AP — Tavon Austin, Sr., West Virginia
K — Cairo Santos, Jr., Tulane
Defense
DL — Jadeveon Clowney, So., South Carolina
DL — Will Sutton, Jr., Arizona State
DE — Stephon Tuitt, So., Notre Dame
DL — Damontre Moore, Jr., Texas A&M
LB — Jarvis Jones, Jr., Georgia
LB — Manti Te’o, Sr., Notre Dame
LB — C.J. Mosley, Jr., Alabama
CB — Dee Milliner, Jr., Alabama
CB — Johnthan Banks, Sr., Mississippi State
S — Phillip Thomas, Sr., Fresno State
S — Eric Reid, Jr., LSU
P — Ryan Allen, Sr., Louisiana Tech
Second Team
Offense
QB — Collin Klein, Sr., Kansas State
RB — Montee Ball, Sr., Wisconsin
RB — Kenjon Barner, Sr., Oregon
WR — Stedman Bailey, Jr., West Virginia
WR — DeAndre Hopkins, Jr., Clemson
TE — Tyler Eifert, Sr., Notre Dame
C — Dalton Freeman, Sr., Clemson
OG — Cyril Richardson, Jr., Baylor
OG — Lane Taylor, Sr., Oklahoma State
OT — David Yankey, Jr., Stanford
OT — D.J. Fluker, Jr., Alabama
AP — Dri Archer, Jr., Kent State
K — Dustin Hopkins, Sr., Florida State
Defense
DL — Bjoern Werner, Jr., Florida State
DL — Sharrif Floyd, Jr., Florida
DL — Star Lotulelei, Sr., Utah
DL — Sam Montgomery, Jr., LSU
LB — Anthony Barr, Jr., UCLA
LB — Chase Thomas, Sr., Stanford
LB — Kevin Minter, Jr., LSU
CB — Jordan Poyer, Sr., Oregon State
CB — Desmond Trufant, Sr., Washington
S — Matt Elam, Jr., Florida
S — Tony Jefferson, Jr., Oklahoma
P — Kyle Christy, So., Florida
Third Team
Offense
QB — Tajh Boyd, Jr., Clemson
RB — Stepfan Taylor, Sr., Stanford
RB — Stefphon Jefferson, Jr., Nevada
WR — Quinton Patton, Sr., Louisiana Tech
WR — Cobi Hamilton, Sr., Arkansas
TE — Austin Seferian-Jenkins, So., Washington
C — Braxston Cave, Sr., Notre Dame
OL — Larry Warford, Sr., Kentucky
OL — Eric Fisher, Sr., Central Michigan
OL — Zack Martin, Sr., Notre Dame
OL — Jake Matthews, Jr., Texas A&M
AP — Giovani Bernard, So., North Carolina
K — Caleb Sturgis, Sr., Florida
Defense
DL — Jordan Hill, Sr., Penn State
DL — Cornellius “Tank” Carradine, Sr., Florida State
DL — John Simon, Sr., Ohio State
DL — Kawann Short, Sr., Purdue
LB — Arthur Brown, Sr., Kansas State
LB — Khaseem Greene, Sr., Rutgers
LB — Trent Murphy, Sr., Stanford
CB — Bradley Roby, Jr., Ohio State
CB — Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, So., Oregon
S — Jason Verrett, Jr. TCU
S — Ty Zimmerman, Jr., Kansas State
P — Josh Hubner, Sr., Arizona State