Alabama Football Lands Five on Sporting News All-America Team
12/17/2019 9:00:00 AM | Football
Diggs, McKinney, Smith, Waddle and Wills Jr. earned All-America honors from Sporting News
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Five Alabama football student-athletes earned All-America honors from the Sporting News Tuesday morning. Sophomore wideout/return specialist Jaylen Waddle earned first-team recognition, while senior Trevon Diggs (CB), juniors Xavier McKinney (S), DeVonta Smith (WR) and Jedrick Wills Jr. (OL) received second-team honors.
FIRST TEAM
Jaylen Waddle, Returner
- The 2019 SEC Special Teams Player of the Year
- Leads the nation in punt return average at 24.9 yards per return with 19 returns for 474 yards and a score
- Has also returned four kickoffs for 152 yards and a touchdown
- Added 553 yards and six touchdowns on 32 catches as a wide receiver
SECOND TEAM
Trevon Diggs, Cornerback
- Totaled 37 tackles from his starting corner spot, including half a tackle for loss (-1 yard)
- Picked off three passes with a combined 79 yards in returns while adding eight pass breakups
- Recorded two defensive touchdowns this season, scoring on an 84-yard pick-six and a 100-plus yard fumble return
Xavier McKinney, Safety
- Ranks 12th in the SEC in tackles with 85, a total that leads all Alabama defenders
- Added 4.5 tackles for loss (-32 yards) and two sacks (-13 yards)
- Has forced four fumbles and added three interceptions to go with five breakups
- Returned one of his interceptions for an 81-yard touchdown
DeVonta Smith, Wide Receiver
- Leads the nation in yards after the catch with 731 for an average of 61.0 yards per game
- Ranks second in the SEC and is tied for fifth nationally in touchdown receptions (13)
- Leads Alabama in receiving yards with 1,200, a total that is second in the league and seventh nationally
- Has recorded a pair of 200-plus yard receiving games as a junior, the first Tide wideout to accomplish the feat since Amari Cooper in 2014
Jedrick Wills Jr., Offensive Tackle
- Has anchored an Alabama offensive line that has surrendered only 12 sacks in 381 pass attempts
- Graded out at over 91 percent, allowing only one sack and 3.5 quarterback hurries
- Missed a total of seven assignments across his 714 snaps for a 99.9 percent success rate
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
