Led by 2019 Player of the Year Joe Burrow, top-ranked LSU has four players on the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America Teams, the 130th honored by the organization.  The nation’s oldest All-America squad was announced this evening on The Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards Show.

Click here for the Walter Camp All-America Notebook

In all, 32 different schools from eight conferences were represented on the All-America First and Second Teams (a total of 51 players selected).     

LSU (13-0) has three First Team honorees, and one on the Second Team. Second-ranked Ohio State has five All-Americans (2 First Team, 3 Second Team), while three Clemson players were named (2 First Team, 1 Second Team).   Fourth-ranked Oklahoma had two honorees.

Overall, the Big Ten Conference had the most honorees (15), followed by the Southeastern Conference (13) and Pac-12 (7).

The Walter Camp All-America teams are selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools and certified by Marcum LLP, a New Haven-based accounting firm. Walter Camp Football Foundation President Mario Coppola was pleased with the voting participation.  “We are very appreciative of the continuing cooperation of the head coaches and sports information directors in our annual effort to honor the nation’s most outstanding college players.”

Leading the First Team offensive unit is Burrow, a senior quarterback who was also selected the 2019 Walter Camp Player of the Year.  Second in the nation in passing efficiency (201.5), Burrow has passed for 46 touchdowns and 4,715 yards to lead a high-scoring Tiger offensive unit, one that averages 47.8 points per game.

Joining Burrow in the backfield are the junior Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin) and sophomore Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State).  A repeat Walter Camp First Team All-American, Taylor has rushed for 1,909 yards and 21 touchdowns, while Hubbard has rushed for a nation’s leading 1,936 yards and has scored 21 touchdowns.

Junior CeeDee Lamb (Oklahoma) and sophomore Ja’Marr Chase (LSU) are the wide receivers.  Lamb has 58 catches for 1,208 yards and 14 touchdowns, while Chase has 73 catches for 1,498 yards and 18 touchdowns.   

The tight end is senior Harrison Bryant (Florida Atlantic).  Bryant has 65 receptions for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns for the Conference USA-champion Owls this season.

On the offensive line, senior John Simpson (Clemson) is joined by sophomore Penei Sewell (Oregon) and juniors Tristan Wirfs (Iowa) and Andrew Thomas (Georgia).  Thomaswas a Second Team All-America honoree last season.   Junior Tyler Biadasz (Wisconsin) is the offensive center.

Placekicker Rodrigo Blankenship (Georgia) earns First Team honors after converting 25 field goals and all 44 of his point-after-kicks this season for the Bulldogs.

Leading the defensive unit is junior Chase Young (Ohio State). Young has 21 tackles for loss and 16.5 quarterback sacks from his defensive end position. Young is joined in the defensive interior by two seniors – Derrick Brown (Auburn) and Bradlee Anae (Utah) – and two juniors – James Lynch (Baylor) and Curtis Weaver (Boise State).

Junior Isaiah Simmons (Clemson), who has 93 tackles and six quarterback sacks for the Tigers, leads the linebacker corps.  Simmons is joined by seniors Evan Weaver (California) and Zack Baun (Wisconsin).  Weaver is the nation’s leader in total tackles with 173 (14.4 per game).

Junior Grant Delpit (LSU) is a repeat First Team All-American in the defensive secondary.  Delpit is joined by senior J.R. Reed (Georgia), junior Jeff Okudah (Ohio State) and sophomore Antoine Winfield (Minnesota).  

The punter is junior Max Duffy (Kentucky), who averages a nation’s leading 48.6 yards per punt.  The kick returner is senior Joe Reed (Virginia), who averages 34.7 yards per kickoff return and has returned two for touchdowns.

Second Team Notables

Leading the Second Team is sophomore quarterback Justin Fields (Ohio State). Fields has passed for 2,953 yards and 40 touchdowns and has rushed for 10 more scores.    Fields is joined by his teammate, sophomore running back J.K. Dobbins (1,829 yards, 20 touchdowns). 

Running back Travis Etienne (Clemson) is a repeat Second Team All-American after rushing for 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Defensive end Kenny Willekes (Michigan State) is a Second Team All-American for the second straight year, while punter Braden Mann (Texas A&M) earns Second Team accolades after being on the First Team a year ago.

Three Alabama players made the Second Team – offensive lineman Jedrick Wills, linebacker Xavier McKinney and kick returner Jayden Waddle.  It is the first time since 2010 that the Crimson Tide did not have a Walter Camp First Team All-American.

There is one freshman among the 51 All-Americans – first-year defensive back Derek Stingley, Jr. (LSU).  Stingley has six interceptions and 15 pass break ups for the Tigers.

Members of the 2019 Walter Camp All-America teams and other major award winners (Distinguished American-Chris Berman, Man of the Year-Curtis Martin), will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet, presented by David McDermott Lexus of New Haven, on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the Yale University’s Lanman Center.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients.

2019 Walter Camp All-America Teams

First Team Offense

Pos.     Name, School                                                 Hgt      Wgt     Class   Hometown

WR      Ja’Marr Chase, LSU                                       6-1       200      Soph.   Harvey, LA

WR      CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma                               6-2       191      Jr.        Richmond, TX

TE       Harrison Bryant, Florida Atlantic                   6-5       240      Sr.        Gray, GA

OL       Andrew Thomas, Georgia @                          6-5       320      Jr.        Lithonia, GA

OL       Penei Sewell, Oregon                                      6-6       325      Soph.   Malaeimi, American Samoa

OL       John Simpson, Clemson                                  6-4       330      Sr.        North Charleston, SC

OL       Tristan Wirfs, Iowa                                         6-5       322      Jr.        Mount Vernon, IA

C         Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin                                6-3       321      Jr.        Amherst, WI

QB      Joe Burrow, LSU                                            6-4       216      Sr.        Athens, OH

RB       Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin %                        5-11     221      Jr.        Salem, NJ

RB       Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State                   6-1       207      Soph.   Sherwood Park, CA

PK       Rodrigo Blankenship, Georgia                       6-1       191      Sr.        Marietta, GA

First Team Defense

Pos.     Name, School                                                 Hgt      Wgt     Class   Hometown

DL       Chase Young, Ohio State                               6-5       265      Jr.        Cheltenham, MD

DL       Derrick Brown, Auburn                                  6-5       318      Sr.        Sugar Hill, GA

DL       Bradlee Anae, Utah                                        6-3       265      Sr.        Laie, HI

DL       James Lynch, Baylor                                       6-4       295      Jr.        Round Rock, TX

DL       Curtis Weaver, Boise State                             6-3       265      Jr.        Long Beach, CA

LB       Isaiah Simmons, Clemson                               6-4       230      Jr.        Olathe, KS

LB       Evan Weaver, California                                 6-3       235      Sr.        Spokane, WA

LB       Zack Baun, Wisconsin                                    6-3       235      Sr.        Brown Deer, WI

DB      Jeff Okudah, Ohio State                                 6-1       200      Jr.        Grand Prairie, TX

DB      Grant Delpit, LSU #                                       6-3       203      Jr.        Houston, TX

DB      J.R. Reed, Georgia                                          6-1       194      Sr.        Frisco, TX

DB      Antoine Winfield, Jr., Minnesota                   5-10     205      R-Soph. The Woodlands, TX

P          Max Duffy, Kentucky                                                6-1       186      Jr.        Perth, Australia

KR      Joe Reed, Virginia                                          6-1       215      Sr.        Charlotte Court House, VA

Second Team Offense

Pos.     Name, School                                                 Hgt      Wgt     Class   Hometown

WR      Michael Pittman, USC                                    6-4       22        Sr.        Woodland Hills, CA

WR      Omar Bayless, Arkansas State                        6-3       207      R-Sr.    Laurel, MS

TE       Noah Gray, Duke                                            6-4       240      Jr.        Leominster, MA

OL       Wyatt Davis, Ohio State                                 6-4       313      Soph.   Bellflower, CA

OL       Jedrick Wills, Alabama                                   6-5       320      Jr.        Lexington, KY

OL       Colton McKivitz, West Virginia                     6-7       312      R-Sr.    Jacobsburg, OH

OL       Ben Bredeson. Michigan                                6-5       325      Sr.        Hartland, WI

C         Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma                          6-3       315      Soph.   Shawnee, OK

QB      Justin Fields, Ohio State                                 6-3       225      Soph.   Kennesaw, GA

RB       J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State                                5-10     216      Jr.        La Grange, TX

RB       Travis Etienne, Clemson @                            5-10     200      Jr.        Jennings, LA

PK       Keith Duncan, Iowa                                       5-10     180      Jr.        Weddington, NC

Second Team Defense

Pos.     Name, School                                                 Hgt      Wgt     Class   Hometown

DL       AJ Epenesa, Iowa                                           6-6       280      Jr.        Glen Carbon, IL

DL       Jaylen Twyman, Pittsburgh                             6-2       290      R-Soph. Washington, DC

DL       Leki Fotu, Utah                                              6-5       335      Sr.        West Valley City, UT

DL       Kenny Willekes, Michigan State @                6-4       260      Jr.        Rockfield, MI

LB       Micah Parsons, Penn State                              6-3       245      Soph.   Harrisburg, PA

LB       Jordyn Brooks, Texas Tech                             6-1       245      Sr.        Houston, TX

LB       Hamilcar Rashad, Oregon State                     6-4       236      R-Jr.    Phoenix, AZ

DB      Xavier McKinney, Alabama                           6-1       200      Jr.        Roswell, GA

DB      Derek Stingley, LSU                                      6-1       190      Fr.        Baton Rouge, LA

DB      Luq Barcoo, San Diego State                         6-1       175      Sr.        San Diego, CA

DB      Jaylon Johnson, Utah                                      6-0       190      Jr.        Fresno, CA

P          Braden Mann, Texas A&M #                         5-11     190      Sr.        Houston, TX

KR      Jaylen Waddle, Alabama                                5-10     182      Soph.   Houston, TX

# – 2018 Walter Camp First Team All-American

@ – 2018 Walter Camp Second Team All-American

% – 2017 Walter Camp Second Team and 2018 First Team All-American

Two quarterbacks, two running backs and one defensive end comprise the list of five finalists for the Walter Camp Football Foundation 2019 Player of the Year award.

Quarterbacks Joe Burrow (LSU, senior) and Justin Fields (Ohio State, sophomore) and running backs Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State, sophomore) and Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin, junior), join junior defensive end Chase Young (Ohio State, junior) as the five finalists.

The 2019 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, who is voted on by the 130 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on Thursday, December 12 during the 6 p.m. edition of ESPN SportsCenter.

Ranked second in the nation in passing efficiency (203.0), Burrow has passed for 4,366 yards and 44 touchdowns for the second-ranked Tigers (12-0).  Fields has accounted for 47 touchdowns (37 passing, 10 rushing) and ranks fourth in the nation with a 190.2 passing efficiency rating for the top-ranked Buckeyes (12-0).    Hubbard is the nation’s rushing leader (1,936) and has scored 21 touchdowns for the 25th-ranked Cowboys (8-4).  Taylor is the nation’s second-leading rusher (1,761) and has scored 25 touchdowns (20 rushing, 5 receiving) for the eighth-ranked Badgers (10-2).  Young has been a dominant force for the Buckeyes with 38 tackles, 16.5 quarterback sacks and seven forced fumbles.

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was the 2018 Walter Camp Player of the Year.

The 2019 winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 53^rd annual national awards banquet, presented by David McDermott Lexus of New Haven, on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at Yale University’s Lanman Center.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side.  The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and continue the tradition of selecting an annual All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. Visit www.ncfaa.org.

Legendary sportscaster Chris Berman (Brown University) is the 2019 recipient of Walter Camp Football Foundation’s Distinguished American award. 

The Walter Camp “Distinguished American” award is presented each year to an individual who has utilized his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life or public service and who may have accomplished that which no other has done. He or she may have a record of dedication to mankind that should not pass unrecognized and a life that has been dedicated to the preservation of the American ideal. The recipient need not have participated in football but must be one who understands its lesson of self-denial, cooperation and teamwork, and one who is a person of honesty, integrity and dedication. He or she must be a leader, an innovator, even a pioneer, who has reached a degree of excellence that distinguishes him or her from contemporaries, as well as someone who lives within the principles of Walter Camp.

Past recipients of the Walter Camp Distinguished American honor include nationally-respected sportscasters Keith Jackson (1995), Pat Summerall (2004) and Verne Lundquist (2014), all-purpose television personality Regis Philbin (2003), former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (1994), world-renowned entertainer Bob Hope (1985), former college coach Eddie Robinson (1982), and last year’s recipient, former NFL standout Archie Manning.

“Chris Berman is one of the most highly-respected and beloved sportscasters of his era,” Walter Camp Foundation president Mario Coppola said. “His knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for sports, especially for the sport of football, make him a worthy recipient.”

Hired at ESPN in October 1979, Berman has become one of America’s most respected and popular sportscasters. He has also been recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his peers and countless other organizations for his exceptional contributions to sports broadcasting.  Six times the versatile Berman has been selected National Sportscaster of the Year (1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 2001) by the members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Berman and his various shows have won 10 Emmy Awards and 12 CableACEs.

Berman received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 for his longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football.  In December 2017, Berman was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was honored with the Newseum Institute’s Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media – the first sportscaster ever honored. He was also inducted into the National Sports Media Association (formerly NSSA) Hall of Fame. In 2015, Berman was just the fifth on-air personality to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.

Berman – a veteran of 37 Super Bowls, beginning with the 49ers’ first NFL Championship in Super Bowl XVI – began working alongside Tom Jackson on Sunday NFL Countdown in 1987 when ESPN first acquired the rights to carry the NFL. Berman and Jackson teamed together every Sunday night in the fall from 1987-2005 to host the critically-acclaimed NFL PrimeTime, which still holds the record as cable television’s highest-rated sports studio show.   In September 2019, the duo returned to host NFL PrimeTime.

Berman also anchored ESPN’s annual NFL Draft telecast for 30 years (1987-2016).  Nicknamed the “Swami,” Berman’s prognosticating alter-ego, provided weekly NFL predictions and observations on SportsCenter since ESPN’s very first year in 1979.  In addition to his NFL coverage, Berman also covered major league baseball and golf for ESPN.  Berman regularly hosted SportsCenter in ESPN’s first 11 years, culminating in the network’s first Emmy Award in 1990.

On May 24, 2010, Berman was honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a tribute for his more than 30 years contributing to the sports television industry.  Berman is also a golf enthusiast and has played himself in 15 motion pictures.

Berman graduated from Brown University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. His first broadcasting position came while he was a student at Brown as sports director for WBRU Radio and commentator for basketball, football, ice hockey and baseball games.

In November 1991, he was inducted into the Brown University Athletic Hall of Fame, and in May 2007 he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from his alma mater.

Berman began his career as a disc jockey at WERI in Westerly, RI, hosting a news-oriented talk show and covering high school football and basketball games. One year later, he joined WNVR Radio in Waterbury, Conn., broadcasting high school football games, co-hosting a sports talk show and doing traffic reports.  Berman’s first television exposure came in 1979 when he joined WVIT-TV, an NBC affiliate in Hartford, Conn., as a weekend sports anchor.

Berman currently resides in Cheshire.  He will be honored at the organization’s National Awards Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 in New Haven, Conn.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967.  The organization’s mission is to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team and honoring deserving individuals.

Distinguished American recipients

2019 – Chris Berman, Brown

2018 – Archie Manning, Ole Miss

2017 – Lee Corso, Florida State University

2016 – Mike Ditka, University of Pittsburgh

2015 – Tim Shriver, Yale University/Special Olympics

2014 – Verne Lundquist, Texas Lutheran
2013 – Joe Theismann, Notre Dame
2012 – Tom Osborne, Hastings College/University of Nebraska
2011 – Floyd Little, Syracuse University
2010 – Chuck Bednarik, Pennsylvania
2009 – Robin Roberts, Southeastern Louisiana
2008 – Len Dawson, Purdue
2007 – Frank Broyles, Georgia Tech
2006 – Dick Vermeil, San Jose State
2005 – Arthur Blank, Babson
2004 – Pat Summerall, Arkansas
2003 – Bill Walsh, San Jose State
2002 – Regis Philbin, Notre Dame
2001 – New York City Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Service Personnel
2000 – Gene Upshaw, Texas A&I
1999 – Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio)
1998 – Steve Young, Brigham Young
1997 – Steve Largent, Tulsa
1996 – Dick Ebersol, Yale
1995 – Keith Jackson, Washington State
1994 – Paul Tagliabue, Georgetown
1993 – Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C.
1992 – Carm Cozza, Miami (Ohio)/Yale
1991 – Alexander Kroll, Rutgers
1990 – Tex Schramm, Texas
1989 – Richard Kazmaier, Princeton
1989 – Burt Reynolds, Florida State
1988 – Y.A. Tittle, Louisiana State
1987 – Weeb Ewbank, Miami (Ohio)
1986 – Tom Landry, Texas
1985 – Bob Hope
1984 – Maj. Gen. Bill Carpenter, Army
1983 – Tom Harmon, Michigan
1982 – Eddie Robinson, Grambling State
1981 – Harold “Red” Grange, Illinois
1980 – Alexander Haig, Army
1980 – George Halas, Illinois
1979 – David “Sonny” Werblin, Rutgers
1978 – James Crowley, Notre Dame

www.waltercamp.org