College Football 2011: All-American Team Through Week 1

Which players in Week 1 caught the nation's eye and deserve some early consideration?

Quarterbacks

Robert Griffin III, Baylor

21 of 27 passes for 359 yards and five TDs

397 yards of total offense

Not only did his Bears pull off an upset, but they took the landscape of college football by storm with their 50-48 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs. Griffin may not have received as much hype coming into the season as Landry Jones, Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill do in the Big 12, but Griffin is every bit as good as any signal-caller in the nation from a production standpoint.

Other Candidates

Nick Foles, Arizona—405 total yards of offense and five passing TDs

Kellen Moore, Boise State—28 of 34 passes for 261 yards and three passing TDs

Matt Barkley, USC—34 of 45 passes for 304 yards and three TDs

Running Backs

Running Backs

There were many choices for top running back, but playing for a ranked team automatically puts you high on the list. Going against terrible competition will hurt your status if your team is not very good, especially if you are a bit of an unknown player such as Malcolm Agnew (Oregon State) or Lyle McCombs (UConn).

David Wilson, Virginia Tech

16 carries for 162 yards and three TDs 

This soon-to-be household name has the makings of jumping onto the national scene if his Hokies can continue to throttle opponents.

Other Candidates

Vick Ballard, Mississippi State—10 carries for 166 yards and three TDs

Dominique Whaley, Oklahoma—18 carries for 131 yards and four TDs

Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina—23 carries for 112 yards and three TDs 

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Wide Receivers

There were many big plays made in the passing game in the opening weekend of college football, but these select few caught Drama's eye the most.

Robert Woods, USC

17 catches for 177 yards and three TDs

Other Candidates

Kendall Wright, Baylor—12 catches for 189 yards and two TDs 

Michael Floyd, Notre Dame—12 catches for 154 yards and two TDs

Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma—14 catches for yards and one TD

Jake Stoneburner, Ohio State—four catches for 50 yards and three TDs

Kyle Efaw, Boise State—six catches for 51 yards and one TD 

Offensive Line

Josh Dworaczyk, LSU, Guard

Dworaczyk battled through injuries throughout the game and was one of the main hogs up front that just owned the Ducks defensive line.

Other Candidates

Quentin Saulsberry, Mississippi State, Center

Blake DeChristopher, Virginia Tech, Tackle

Al Netter, Northwestern, Tackle

Thomas Byrd, Boise State, Center

Mike Brewster, Ohio State, Center

Peter Konz, Wisconsin,Center

Donald Stephenson, Oklahoma, Tackle

Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State, Tackle

Jake Matthews, Texas A&M, Tackle

Defensive Line

Shea McClellin, Boise State

McClellin led the Broncos with two solo sacks against a legit SEC top 25 Georgia Bulldogs squad in their own backyard.

Other Candidates

Brad Madison, Missouri

Cameron Meredith, Nebraska

Cordarro Law, Southern Miss

Louis Nzegwu, Wisconsin

Nordly Capi, Colorado State

Jaye Howard, Florida

Quinton Coples, North Carolina 

Linebackers

Vontaze Burfict, Arizona State

The future All-American led the way and started things off right for the Sun Devils with a total of three sacks. 

Other Candidates

Luke Kuechly, Boston College

Marcus McGraw, Houston

Danny Trevathan, Kentucky

Steve Erzinger, Army

Chris Gallipo, USC

Christian Jones, Florida State

Brian Blechen, Utah

Brandon Herron, Michigan

Secondary

Defensive Backs

Jordan Kovacs, Michigan

Kovacs came in on a safety blitz that thumped Western Michigan's offense into submission and led the Wolverines defense back to relevancy after they brought back two touchdowns to the house.

Other Candidates

Shaun Prater, Iowa

Tharold Simon, LSU

Eddie Whitley, Virginia Tech

Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State

Drew Astorino, Penn State

Josh Robinson, UCF

Tyrann Mathieu, LSU

Special Teams

Joe Adams, Arkansas, PR

Adams brought back six punts, two of which went to the house for six. He totaled a ridiculous 174 yards in those returns for an explosive Arkansas special teams unit. 

Other Candidates

Brett Maher, Nebraska, P/K

Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State, P/K

Dustin Hopkins, Florida State, K

Tre Mason, Auburn, KR

T.Y. Hilton, Florida International, KR

Greg Reid, Florida State, PR

Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech, PR

Chris Rainey, Florida, All-Purpose