DALLAS (FWAA) – The 2025 Football Writers Association of America All-America Team presented in partnership with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic has two repeat All-Americans and 23 players on teams competing in the College Football Playoff at the front of players from 33 different schools. Players from the Big Ten and SEC make up 32 – more than half – of the 54-member team with nine of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences represented plus an Independent.
The top four CFP seeds have 12 combined members of the two teams, including nine on the first team that includes its quarterback, top-ranked Indiana’s signal-caller and Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and Davey O'Brien Award winner Fernando Mendoza. Another member of the first-team backfield, Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy, will compete this weekend in the Playoff's first round, along with five other first-team players: offensive linemen Iapani Laloulu of Oregon and Kadyn Proctor of Alabama, Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell, the Lou Groza Award winner, and the Texas A&M tandem of defensive end Cashius Howell and all-purpose player KC Concepcion.
Indiana and Ohio State each placed four players on the team to lead all schools and have the two repeating two-time All-Americans in defensive back Ohio State's Caleb Downs, the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award winner, and linebacker Aiden Fisher (Indiana). Both schools have three members on the first team and combine to make up half their conference’s representatives.
Fisher is only the second two-time All-American in Indiana program history and it’s only the third time for Indiana to have two or more All-Americans (1945, 2024). Mendoza is the Hoosiers’ first All-American quarterback since Antwaan Randle El in 2002, and Indiana also has its first All-American wide receiver in Omar Cooper Jr., who is on the second team.
Downs is Ohio State’s fourth two-time FWAA All-American this decade. He joins Kadyn McDonald, Ohio State’s first first-team defensive lineman since 2019, and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who continues the program’s run on receivers giving them an All-American at the position in five of the last six seasons. Ohio State has had eight first-team FWAA All-Americans in the past four seasons and 11 overall.
The Big Ten and SEC tied with 16 players among the conferences while none other had more than six.
Part of the team has a Texas flair as Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Texas combined for nine players on the team. Texas also boasts being where more of the players (10) call home than any other.
Texas Tech, one of the newcomers to the CFP field, ties for third among all schools with three All-Americans. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who won the FWAA’s Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player as well as the Bednarik Award and the Butkus Award, is on the first team to no one’s surprise. Two defensive linemen join Rodriguez with David Bailey, one of the country’s sack leaders, on the first team and defensive tackle Lee Hunter on the second. Texas A&M is one of two teams, along with Notre Dame, to have an All-American on offense, defense and special teams. Howell is one of the nation’s sack leaders and KC Concepcion, the Paul Hornung Award winner, sparked the Aggies with his special teams play. Both are on the first team. Texas A&M wide receiver Mario Craver was named to the second team.
Texas and Notre Dame are the other schools with three All-Americans. Texas return specialist Ryan Niblett salvaged at least two wins for the Longhorns with dramatic punt returns late in those games and was honored on the first team as such. Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and defensive back Michael Taaffe are on the second team. Taaffee is the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy winner.
Notre Dame now has 15 FWAA All-Americans this decade with its three this season while sporting a first-team running back in Doak Walker Award winner Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame’s first All-America running back since Vagas Ferguson in 1979. First-team defensive back Leonard Moore is the Irish’s fifth All-American in the defensive backfield of the last six seasons, and Love’s backfield mate and special teams wizard Jadarian Price made the second team as an all-purpose player. Price is the Irish’s first All-American on special teams since Raghib Ismail in 1992.
Navy has its first All-American since 1983 in defensive tackle Landon Robinson, also its first on defense since 1975 and its first designated as a defensive lineman since 1961. Army now has All-Americans in consecutive seasons for first time since 1958-59 in offensive lineman Will Jeffcoat on the second team and only West Point’s second honoree since 1991. This marks the first time for Army and Navy to have All-Americans in the same year since 1957, when Army’s Bob Anderson and Navy’s Bob Reifsnyder earned the honors. The three service academies have never each had All-Americans in the same season.
Following is the complete 2025 FWAA All-America Team:
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana (6-5, 225, Jr., Miami, Fla.)
RB Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss (5-11, 210, So., Dallas, Texas)
RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame (6-0, 214, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.)
WR Makai Lemon, USC (5-11, 195, Jr., Los Alamitos, Calif.)
WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (6-3, 223, So., Miami Gardens, Fla.)
TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt (6-4, 235, Gr., Denton, Texas)
OL Spencer Fano, Utah (6-6, 308, Jr., Spanish Fork, Utah)
OL Iapani Laloulu, Oregon (6-2, 329, Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii)
OL Kadyn Proctor, Alabama (6-7, 366, Jr., Des Moines, Iowa)
OL Carter Smith, Indiana (6-5, 313, R-Jr., Powell, Ohio)
C Logan Jones, Iowa (6-3, 302, Gr., Council Bluffs, Iowa)
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DE David Bailey, Texas Tech (6-3, 250, Sr., Irvine, Calif.)
DE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M (6-2, 248, R-Sr., Kansas City, Mo.)
DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State (6-3, 326, Jr., Suwanee, Ga.)
DT Landon Robinson, Navy (6-0, 287, Sr., Fairlawn, Ohio)
LB CJ Allen, Georgia (6-1, 235, Jr., Barnesville, Ga.)
LB Aiden Fisher, Indiana (6-1, 233, Sr., Fredericksburg, Va.)
LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech (6-1, 235, Sr., Wichita Falls, Texas)
DB Mansoor Delane, LSU (6-0, 190, Sr., Silver Spring, Md.)
DB Caleb Downs, Ohio State (6-0, 205, Jr., Hoschton, Ga.)
DB Bishop Fitzgerald, USC (5-11, 205, R-Sr., Woodbridge, Va.)
DB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame (6-2, 195, So., Round Rock, Texas)
FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS
K Tate Sandell, Oklahoma (5-9, 182, R-Jr., Port Neches, Texas)
P Evan Crenshaw, Troy (6-4, 192, R-Jr., Ponte Vedra, Fla.)
RS Ryan Niblett, Texas (5-10, 187, So., Houston, Texas)
RS Kaden Wetjen, Iowa (5-9, 196, Gr., Williamsburg, Iowa)
AP KC Concepcion, Texas A&M (5-11, 190, Jr., Charlotte, N.C.)
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE: QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt; RB Cam Cook, Jacksonville State; RB Ahmad Hardy, Missouri; WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana; WR Mario Craver, Texas A&M; TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon; OL Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State; OL Will Jeffcoat, Army; OL Francis Mauigoa, Miami; OL Laurence Seymore, WKU; C Jake Slaughter, Florida. SECOND TEAM DEFENSE: DE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami; DE John Henry Daley, Utah; DT Lee Hunter, Texas Tech; DT R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma; LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas; LB Red Murdock, Buffalo; LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State; DB Hezekiah Masses, California; DB Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo; DB Faletau Satuala, BYU; DB Michael Taaffe, Texas. SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS: K Kansei Matsuzawa, Hawaii; P Keegan Andrews, Massachusetts; RS Caullin Lacy, Louisville; RS Jadarian Price, Notre Dame; AP Emmett Johnson, Nebraska.
Other notables from the first team bring a little history with them as well.
- Utah was one of seven programs to place two members on the All-America team, led by the FWAA’s Outland Trophy winner, offensive lineman Spencer Fano.
- Vanderbilt, a CFP contender for most of the season, boasts two All-Americans – John Mackey Award winning tight end Eli Stowers (first team) and quarterback Diego Pavia (second team) – the Commodores’ first on offense since 1958. Stowers also won the William V. Campbell Trophy.
- Offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor extends Alabama’s now 18-year streak of having at least one FWAA All-American, or every season since 2008. The Crimson Tide have had an offensive lineman on the All-America team in five of the last six seasons.
- USC has two All-Americans in the same season for the first time since 2022. Makai Lemon, the Biletnikoff Award winner, is the Trojans’ first first-team wide receiver since 2012, and Bishop Fitzgerald is USC’s first All-American at defensive back since 2008.
- Troy punter Evan Crenshaw is the Trojans’ first All-American. The Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Year averaged 45.7 yards per punt, the second-highest single-season average in program history. He placed 29 of his 68 punts inside the 20-yard line, the most in the nation, and recorded 21 punts of 50 yards or longer.
- Iowa center Logan Jones, the Rimington Trophy winner, and dynamic return specialist Kaden Wetjen give the Hawkeyes at least two All-Americans for a seventh consecutive season and in 8 of the last 9. Since 2022, all 10 of Iowa’s All-America selections have been on the first team.
Notes from the second team:
- The Mid-American Conference made another historic run on this year’s team by repeating its record three members from a year ago. The MAC trio – Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock, Toledo defensive back Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Massachusetts punter Keegan Andrews – each on the second team, was fifth among the conferences.
- Hawaii kicker Kansie Matsuzawa is the first Japanese player to earn FWAA All-America honors.
- WKU has its first All-American in program history in offensive lineman Laurence Seymore. He’s WKU’s first FWAA honoree of any kind since 2020 when it had players on the Freshman All-America team.
- Miami has two members on the second team in defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. and Francis Mauigoa, Miami’s first All-American on the offensive line since 2002.
- California has All-Americans in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1999-2000 with Hezekiah Masses at defensive back.
- Jax State now has All-Americans in consecutive seasons for the first in their program history. This is the program’s first FWAA award of any kind.
The Big 12 is third among the conferences with six All-Americans, followed by the ACC with four, the MAC and Notre Dame with three each, two each from the American and Conference USA, and one each from the Mountain West and the Sun Belt. There were 23 juniors on the team followed by 18 seniors, eight sophomores and five graduates. There were no freshmen.
The FWAA All-America Team was first selected in 1944, three years after the organization was formed. The FWAA's inaugural team included Army's Heisman Trophy tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and Georgia Tech's Frank Broyles, who later became Arkansas' head football coach and athletic director.
Since 1945, the FWAA All-America Team has been among the five teams used to formulate the NCAA's annual consensus All-America team, which will be announced later this week. Since the 2002 season, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), The Associated Press, The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation have joined the FWAA as the five designated selectors by the NCAA.
Over the years, the FWAA team has highlighted all the game's great players in several media forums. From 1946-70, LOOK magazine published the FWAA team and brought players and selected writers to New York City for a celebration. During that 25-year period, the FWAA team was introduced on national television shows by such noted hosts as Bob Hope, Steve Allen and Perry Como.
After LOOK folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films (later known as NCAA Productions), which produced a 30-minute television program. The team was part of ABC-TV's 1981 College Football Series. From 1983-90, the team was introduced on either ABC or ESPN. In 2002 and ‘03, the All-America team was honored with a banquet at the Citrus Bowl.
The same bowl also was a sponsor when the team was featured on ABC and ESPN from different locations on Disney properties from 2004-07. From 2008-10, the team had been the subject of a one-hour ESPN special.
For seven decades the FWAA has selected an All-America team with the help of its members and an All-America Committee, which represents all the regions in the country. From that All-America team, the FWAA also selects the Outland Trophy winner (best interior lineman) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner (best defensive player).
Some of the true greats of the writing profession have helped to select this team over the years: Grantland Rice, Bert McGrane, Blackie Sherrod, Furman Bisher, Pat Harmon, Fred Russell, Edwin Pope, Murray Olderman, Paul Zimmerman – and the list goes on and on. The FWAA All-America team is steeped in tradition and history and is selected by a writers' group with those same attributes.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.
The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will play host to a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal on Friday, Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The 90th Goodyear Cotton Bowl is the 17th Classic to be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will feature Ohio State vs. Texas A&M or Miami.