![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25224644753676-1100x733.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Desmond Howard, an AP All-America receiver and Heisman Trophy winner at Michigan, points at a portrait of Michigan’s Athony Carter at Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Aug. 6, 2025. (AP Photo\/Larry Lage)<\/p>\n
(AP) Desmond Howard walked up a ramp in Schembechler Hall, looking at black-and-white pictures hanging on a white wall where Michigan honors its All-America football players.<\/p>\n
The 1991 Heisman Trophy winner stopped to point out the image of two-time AP All-America receiver Anthony Carter, who starred for the program several seasons before Howard crossed the Ohio border to become a Wolverine.<\/p>\n
Howard grinned after taking a few more steps and seeing his high-top fade hairstyle captured in a photo that cemented his legacy for the college football program with the most wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re remembered as one of the greats, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Howard told the AP. \u201cYou put on the V-neck sweater with the maize block \u2018M,\u2019 and you take your picture and you know that you\u2019re in a special group.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the 2025 season here, the AP named an all-time All-America team to mark the 100th anniversary of the first team from the early days of the sport. Many outlets have named All-America teams over the decades, but only a few such as AP have stuck around. A number of player sspoke with AP about what the honor meant:<\/p>\n
Hugh Green, Pittsburgh<\/p>\n
When the three-time All-America defensive end is asked who was the most influential people in his life, he says Bob Hope.<\/p>\n
Hope\u2019s annual Christmas specials featured AP All-Americanss from 1971 to 1994 and Green recalled the late comedian pulling him aside during commercial breaks to rave about his play in games that were not on TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids today might take it a bit different, but we should always have a person that has his credentials do the AP All-American show every year,\u201d Green said. \u201cThat was something very special and unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herschel Walker, Georgia<\/strong><\/p>\n Walker won a national championship as a freshman with the Bulldogs and said he got too much credit over teammates like the offensive linemen who paved the way for his success. The three-time All-America running back is proud, though, to have shown that someone from Wrightsville, Georiga, with a population of about 3,000 people, could make it big.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to inspire people from my little hometown \u2014 or kids from small towns around this country \u2014 to let them know you can do it too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Anthony Carter, Michigan<\/strong><\/p>\n The late Bo Schembechler was known for a run-heavy offense at Michigan, but that didn\u2019t stop a 155-pound freshman from becoming a big-play threat right away and eventually a two-time AP All-America.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one thought I would last in the Big Ten,\u201d Carter said. \u201cTo be an All-American means a lot, coming out of Michigan because we didn\u2019t throw the ball a lot. I wouldn\u2019t have achieved what I did without a lot of great teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n Orlando Pace, Ohio State<\/strong><\/p>\n Buckeye Grove is a small patch of land with a sea of trees a few steps south of Ohio Stadium, a place where Ohio State honors its All-America football players with a buckeye tree and a plaque.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you get older, you kind of appreciate those things,\u201d said Pace, a two-time All-America offensive tackle. \u201cI have kids that go to Ohio State, and I always tell them to go by and check out my tree.\u201d<\/p>\n Greg Jones, Michigan State<\/strong><\/p>\n He played in 20 games, including the playoffs, as a rookie linebacker for the New York Giants when they won the Super Bowl in 2012. His NFL career ended after a six-game stint the next season in Jacksonville. His back-to-back All-America honors, however, still shine as accomplishments.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s etched in history,\u201d Jones said, holding one of the plaques with his All-America certificate. \u201cObviously, you can get cut from an NFL team, you can lose your job, but that can stay forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Braylon Edwards, Michigan<\/strong><\/p>\n The Wolverines\u2019 all-time leader in receptions, yards receiving and touchdown catches was aware two decades ago that there were a lot of college football All-America teams, but recalled one being the most coveted.<\/p>\n \u201cThe AP was the one I that cared about,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cThe writers telling me that I was the player that deserved to be All-American, that was the one that I was waiting for.\u201d<\/p>\n James Laurinaitis, Ohio State<\/strong><\/p>\n When the three-time All-America linebacker takes recruits on tours as an assistant coach, Buckeye Grove is always a stop on the visit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool to kind of honor that tradition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska<\/strong><\/p>\n He is the only Associated Press College Football Player of the Year to exclusively play defense, but still laments that he finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. He was an AP All-America in 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Associated Press saw something special in me that the Heisman didn\u2019t,\u201d Suh said. \u201cI am all 10 toes down with The Associated Press.\u201d<\/p>\n Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan<\/strong><\/p>\n As the son of second-team AP All-America defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson, earning a spot on the All-America wall alongside his father was a goal for Aidan Hutchinson during his senior year four years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of All-American teams, but AP is different,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s legendary.\u201d<\/p>\n Terrion Arnold, Alabama<\/strong><\/p>\n The Crimson Tide recognizes its All-America players on a wall in their training facility, intentionally putting the displays in a room recruits visit on campus, and at various locations at Bryant-Denny Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cJust walking in there and being a little kid and just thinking, one day that would be me, and then just going out there and fulfilling that dream,\u201d Arnold said. \u201cIt\u2019s also one of those things when I take my future family to Alabama, and look at it, `Son, this is what your dad was like.’\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n