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The 12 teams that will duke it out in the 2025 College Football Playoff were announced Sunday, and to nobody\u2019s surprise, there was very little controversy.<\/p>\n
OK, maybe a little.<\/p>\n
We expect nothing less at On3 as we unveil our 2025 All-America team. It was a collaborative effort in selecting the team with coaches, NFL scouts and media colleagues who cover the sport all weighing in.<\/p>\n
Indiana and Ohio State, the top two seeds in the playoff, lead the way with a combined 14 first- or second-team selections.<\/p>\n
OFFENSE<\/p>\n
QB: Diego Pavia<\/a>, Vanderbilt<\/strong> RB: Jeremiyah Love<\/a>, Notre Dame<\/strong> RB: Ahmad Hardy<\/a>, Missouri<\/strong> WR: Jeremiah Smith<\/a>, Ohio State<\/strong> WR: Makai Lemon<\/a>, USC<\/strong> TE: Kenyon Sadiq<\/a>, Oregon<\/strong> OT: Spencer Fano<\/a>, Utah<\/strong> OG: Olaivavega Ioane<\/a>, Penn State<\/strong> C: Jake Slaughter<\/a>, Florida<\/strong> OG: Emmanuel Pregnon<\/a>, Oregon<\/strong> OT: Francis Mauigoa<\/a>, Miami<\/strong> All-Purpose: Emmett Johnson<\/a>, Nebraska<\/strong> DEFENSE<\/p>\n Edge: David Bailey<\/a>, Texas Tech<\/strong> DT: Kayden McDonald<\/a>, Ohio State<\/strong> DT: Tyrique Tucker<\/a>, Indiana<\/strong> Edge: Caden Curry<\/a>, Ohio State<\/strong> OLB: Arvell Reese<\/a>, Ohio State<\/strong> LB: Jacob Rodriguez<\/a>, Texas Tech<\/strong> LB: CJ Allen<\/a>, Georgia<\/strong> CB: Mansoor Delane<\/a>, LSU<\/strong> CB: Leonard Moore<\/a>, Notre Dame<\/strong> S: Caleb Downs<\/a>, Ohio State<\/strong> S: Louis Moore<\/a>, Indiana<\/strong> SPECIAL TEAMS<\/p>\n PK: Tate Sandell<\/a>, Oklahoma<\/strong> P: Brett Thorson<\/a>, Georgia<\/strong> Return Specialist: Kaden Wetjen<\/a>, Iowa<\/strong> Second-Team All-America<\/p>\n QB: Fernando Mendoza<\/a><\/strong>, Indiana Edge: Rueben Bain Jr.<\/a><\/strong>, Miami PK: Kansei Matsuzawa<\/strong><\/a>, Hawaii
Quarterback was easily the most difficult choice, but no player had a greater impact on his team this season than Pavia. The Commodores won 10 games for the first time in school history, and Pavia was the heart and soul of the team. He finished first among Power 4 players in total offense (4,018 yards) and accounted for 36 touchdowns (27 passing and nine rushing).<\/p>\n
His blend of strength, balance and acceleration makes Love the quintessential running back and one of the most electric players in college football. Love rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns and led all FBS players who had more than 160 rushing attempts (199) with an average of 6.89 yards per carry.<\/p>\n
A true sophomore, Hardy was sensational in his first season at Missouri after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe. He led the FBS with 1,111 yards after contact and was equally explosive. He ripped off 10 runs of 30 yards or longer, which led all Power 4 players, and topped all SEC players with 968 rushing yards in eight league games.<\/p>\n
For the second straight season, Smith was the most dynamic player in the country. He would have been the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft last year and would be again this year if he were eligible. The 6-3, 223-pound sophomore has it all \u2013 size, ability to separate, great hands and incredible body control. He led the Buckeyes with 80 catches for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Lemon went from a really good receiver in 2024 to an elite receiver this season. The 5-11, 195-pound junior led all Power 4 players with 1,156 receiving yards, including 718 yards after the catch. He led the Big Ten with 64 receptions and nine touchdowns in nine league games and had just two dropped passes in 108 targets.<\/p>\n
The Ducks were plagued by injuries to wide receivers Evan Stewart and Dakorien Moore this season, but Sadiq filled a huge void in the passing game. He led the team with 40 receptions, and his eight touchdown catches led all FBS tight ends. The 6-3, 245-pound Sadiq is hardly just a pass-catcher. He\u2019s also a punishing blocker.<\/p>\n
A multi-year All-American and the premier offensive tackle in college football, the 6-6, 308-pound Fano has been a fixture at right tackle the past two seasons for the Utes. He was a starter at left tackle as a true freshman. Fano didn\u2019t allow any sacks or hits on the quarterback in 382 pass-blocking situations this season.<\/p>\n
Versatility is the name of Ioane\u2019s game. He\u2019s a two-year starter for the Nittany Lions at left guard, but he\u2019s played every position on the offensive line at some point in his career. The 6-4, 328-pound redshirt junior is a physical blocker in pass protection, the interior run game and even downfield when he\u2019s on the move.<\/p>\n
Slaughter has started 33 games over the past three seasons for the Gators and has been a rock in the middle of that offensive line. The 6-4, 303-pound redshirt senior allowed just one sack this season and further validated his position as the most complete center in college football after earning All-America honors a year ago.<\/p>\n
Pregnon is well-traveled, but he\u2019s made the most of his only season at Oregon after previously playing at USC and Wyoming. A sixth-year senior, the 6-5, 318-pound Pregnon has lined up primarily at left guard but also played some snaps at right guard. He didn\u2019t allow any sacks and is also a mauler in the run game. The Ducks were among the best in the country this season in generating yards before contact.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes have played the 6-6, 335-pound Mauigoa at right tackle, and he\u2019s been a starter since the day he stepped on campus. His athleticism for such a massive guy is off the charts. He even caught a screen pass for a touchdown this season and made it look effortless. He\u2019s allowed just three sacks in the past two seasons and only four hurries in 12 games this season.<\/p>\n
The old clich\u00e9 that \u201cHe\u2019s just a football player\u201d perfectly sums up Johnson, who can run, catch and protect the passer. He led all FBS players with an average of 151.8 all-purpose yards per game and led Nebraska in rushing (1,451 yards) and pass receptions (46). Johnson was the only Power 4 player this season to rush for more than 1,000 yards and have more than 300 receiving yards (370).<\/p>\n
The stat stuffer of all stat stuffers this season on defense was Bailey, who was unblockable off the edge. He was second among Power 4 players with 17.5 tackles for loss and led all Power 4 players with 13.5 sacks. Texas Tech struck gold in the portal in getting Bailey away from Stanford, and he\u2019s a major reason the Red Raiders are 12-1 and headed to the playoff for the first time.<\/p>\n
Ohio State\u2019s front-seven on defense is scary talented, and the 6-3, 326-pound McDonald is the enforcer in the middle of the Buckeyes\u2019 defensive line from his nose guard position. He\u2019s a brick wall against the run and is constantly pushing the pocket. McDonald collected eight tackles for loss, including three sacks, and was named the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year.<\/p>\n
Tucker is one of several players who followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Indiana and was an underrated piece of the Hoosiers\u2019 defense that ranked third nationally against the run (77.6 yards per game) and allowed just five rushing touchdowns in 13 games. The 6-foot, 302-pound Tucker finished with 11.5 tackles for loss, an impressive total for an interior defensive lineman.<\/p>\n
Curry was dominant in the Big Ten championship game and led the Big Ten with 11 sacks, but it was his consistency throughout the season that made him one of the cornerstones of an Ohio State defense that finished first in both scoring and total defense. The 6-3, 230-pound senior led the team with 16.5 tackles for loss and six quarterback hurries.<\/p>\n
The Buckeyes are laden with future pros on defense, and Reese is poised to be a top-5 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He\u2019s a hybrid player from his outside linebacker position and has blossomed into one of the more disruptive defenders in the country after being a rotational player last year as a sophomore. Reese is second on Ohio State\u2019s team with 62 total tackles, including 10 for loss.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez had a Heisman Trophy-caliber season, even though defenders are rarely considered for the award. His story is amazing after starting his career as a situational quarterback at Virginia and then transferring to Texas Tech, where he led all FBS players this season with seven forced fumbles to go along with four interceptions and 117 total tackles.<\/p>\n
Allen has been the leader of Georgia\u2019s defense for the past two seasons. The junior captain led the team this year with 85 total tackles, including eight for loss. He was a do-it-all linebacker for the Bulldogs, who were second in the SEC this season in scoring defense. His quick return from minor surgery last month to repair meniscus damage rallied the entire team.<\/p>\n
Another \u201cDBU\u201d product, Mansoor is LSU\u2019s latest star cornerback, a true cover cornerback who\u2019s at his best in man coverage. Mansoor\u2019s lone season at LSU was a productive one after starting his career at Virginia Tech. Mansoor had two interceptions and led LSU with 11 pass breakups. He was one of three finalists for the Thorpe Award as the top defensive back in the country.<\/p>\n
Moore\u2019s college debut a year ago produced one of the best seasons in the country by a true freshman. As a sophomore, he took it to another level and established himself as one of the top cornerbacks in the country. Moore tied for fourth nationally with five interceptions, one he returned 46 yards for a touchdown against Syracuse.<\/p>\n
Downs was this season\u2019s winner of the Lott Impact Trophy, named after the legendary Ronnie Lott, and is awarded to the defensive player who makes the biggest impact. That perfectly describes Downs, who\u2019s a difference-maker in every facet of the game, be it making big tackles in the open field or breaking up passes on key downs.<\/p>\n
From junior college to Indiana to Ole Miss and now back to Indiana, Moore has found stardom with the Hoosiers. A sixth-year player who sued the NCAA and won, Moore tied for second nationally with six interceptions and was third on Indiana\u2019s team with 74 tackles. In his last six games, he allowed a total of 3 yards after the catch and missed just one tackle in that stretch.<\/p>\n
Yes, Sandell rocks the short shorts, but he has a booming left leg and was a big reason Oklahoma made the playoff this season. Sandell made 23 of his 24 field-goal attempts and was 7-of-7 from 50 yards or longer, including three from 50-plus in the 33-27 road win at Tennessee. Any time the Sooners get close to the 40, Sandell is a threat.<\/p>\n
Thorson played keep-away this season from opposing punt returners. Only four of his 42 punts were returned for a total of 19 yards, which led the country. He had 22 punts downed inside the 20 and a net punting average of 42.9 yards, which tied for second among all Power 4 punters.<\/p>\n
Wetjen, aka \u201cTo The House,\u201d became the first player in history to repeat as Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year. He returned three punts for touchdowns and also returned a kickoff for a touchdown, a 100-yarder against Rutgers in the Big Ten opener. A former walk-on, Wetjen averaged 28.3 yards on punt returns and 30.5 yards on kickoff returns.<\/p>\n
RB: Kewan Lacy<\/a><\/strong>, Ole Miss
RB: Kaytron Allen<\/a><\/strong>, Penn State
WR: Skyler Bell<\/a><\/strong>, UConn
WR: Carnell Tate<\/a><\/strong>, Ohio State
TE: Eli Stowers<\/a><\/strong>, Vanderbilt
OT: Carter Smith<\/a><\/strong>, Indiana
OG: Keylan Rutledge<\/a><\/strong>, Georgia Tech
C: Parker Brailsford<\/a><\/strong>, Alabama
OG: Beau Stephens<\/a><\/strong>, Iowa
OT: Kadyn Proctor<\/a><\/strong>, Alabama
All-Purpose: Wayne Knight<\/a><\/strong>, James Madison<\/p>\n
DT: A\u2019Mauri Washington<\/a><\/strong>, Oregon
DT: A.J. Holmes Jr.<\/strong><\/a>, Texas Tech
Edge: Stephen Daley<\/a><\/strong>, Indiana
LB: Aiden Fisher<\/a><\/strong>, Indiana
LB: Sonny Styles<\/a><\/strong>, Ohio State
CB: D\u2019Angelo Ponds<\/a><\/strong>, Indiana
CB: Treydan Stukes<\/a><\/strong>, Arizona
S: Jakobe Thomas<\/a><\/strong>, Miami
S: Bishop Fitzgerald<\/a><\/strong>, USC<\/p>\n
P: Wes Pahl<\/a><\/strong>, Oklahoma State
Return Specialist: Ryan Niblett<\/a><\/strong>, Texas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 12 teams that will duke it out in the 2025 College Football Playoff were announced Sunday, and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":440236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[203229,34317,6835,203230,155666,203231,203232,6844,203233,6846,6848,203234,6851,6853,155667,33161,6862,203235,203236,1841,1318,82356,203237,6871,203238,6872,6873,6880,6881,203239,203240,6884,203241,168767,203242,6890,102561,6893,203243,1317,1315,1316,6901,6905,203244,190934,6907,6908,62,203245,203246,203247,203248,67,132,68,6914,203249,203250],"class_list":{"0":"post-440235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-amauri-washington-23-chandler","9":"tag-ahmad-hardy-24-lawrence-county","10":"tag-aiden-fisher-22-riverbend","11":"tag-anthony-holmes-22-westfield","12":"tag-arvell-reese-23-glenville","13":"tag-beau-stephens-21-blue-springs","14":"tag-bishop-fitzgerald-21-gar-field","15":"tag-brett-thorson-22-prokick-australia","16":"tag-caden-curry-22-center-grove","17":"tag-caleb-downs-23-mill-creek","18":"tag-carnell-tate-23-img-academy","19":"tag-carter-smith-22-olentangy-liberty","20":"tag-cj-allen-23-lamar-county-comprehensive","21":"tag-dangelo-ponds-23-chaminade-madonna-prep","22":"tag-david-bailey-22-mater-dei","23":"tag-diego-pavia-20-volcano-vista","24":"tag-eli-stowers-21-guyer","25":"tag-emmanuel-pregnon-20-thomas-jefferson","26":"tag-emmett-johnson-22-academy-of-holy-angels","27":"tag-fernando-mendoza-22-columbus","28":"tag-football","29":"tag-francis-mauigoa-23-img-academy","30":"tag-jacob-rodriguez-21-rider","31":"tag-jake-slaughter-21-trinity-catholic","32":"tag-jakobe-thomas-21-tullahoma","33":"tag-jeremiah-smith-24-chaminade-madonna-prep","34":"tag-jeremiyah-love-23-christian-brothers-college","35":"tag-kaden-wetjen-20-williamsburg","36":"tag-kadyn-proctor-23-southeast-polk","37":"tag-kansei-matsuzawa","38":"tag-kayden-mcdonald-23-north-gwinnett","39":"tag-kaytron-allen-22-img-academy","40":"tag-kenyon-sadiq-23-skyline-senior","41":"tag-kewan-lacy-24-lancaster","42":"tag-keylan-rutledge-22-franklin-county","43":"tag-leonard-moore-24-round-rock","44":"tag-louis-moore-20-poteet","45":"tag-makai-lemon-23-los-alamitos","46":"tag-mansoor-delane-22-archbishop-spalding","47":"tag-ncaa","48":"tag-ncaa-football","49":"tag-ncaafootball","50":"tag-parker-brailsford-22-saguaro","51":"tag-rueben-bain-23-miami-central","52":"tag-ryan-niblett-23-aldine-eisenhower","53":"tag-skyler-bell-21-the-taft-school","54":"tag-sonny-styles-22-pickerington-central","55":"tag-spencer-fano-23-timpview","56":"tag-sports","57":"tag-stephen-daley-22-john-handley","58":"tag-tate-sandell-22-port-neches-groves","59":"tag-treydan-stukes-20-millennium","60":"tag-tyrique-tucker-21-lake-taylor","61":"tag-united-states","62":"tag-unitedstates","63":"tag-us","64":"tag-vega-ioane-22-graham-kapowsin","65":"tag-wayne-knight","66":"tag-wes-pahl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}