The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Five Longhorns named All-Big 12 by Associated Press
12.08.2017 | Football
The Associated Press recognized five Longhorns on its annual All-Big 12 team.
AUSTIN, Texas – Five Longhorns were named All-Big 12 by the Associated Press on Friday. Four – P Michael Dickson, DB DeShon Elliott, DL Poona Ford and LB Malik Jefferson – were named to the first team while CB Kris Boyd was on the second team.
Dickson, a native of Sydney, Australia, leads the nation averaging 48.4 yards per punt. He was named the 2017 Ray Guy Award winner on Thursday night, as well as a first team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He has been named the Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year and a first team All-Big 12 punter by the league's head coaches. Dickson is also leading the country with a net average of 44.7 yards per punt. He has punted 73 times this season, with 34 punts of more than 50 yards and 32 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Dickson was also named first team All-Big 12 last season, when he averaged a school-record 47.4 yards per punt.
Elliott, a native of Rockwall, Texas, was honored on Thursday night as a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. He, like Dickson, was also named a first team All-American by the WCFF. Last week, he was the only unanimous all-conference selection on the defense by the league's coaches. The junior safety totaled 63 tackles (50 solo) with 8.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, six interceptions, three forced fumbles and nine pass breakups this season. His six interceptions rank third nationally and his two interceptions returned for a touchdown are first. Elliott and the Longhorns' secondary held Biletnikoff Award winner Oklahoma State's James Washington to four catches for 42 yards and finalist West Virginia's David Sills to two catches for 47 yards, keeping both out of the end zone.
Ford, a native of Hilton Head, S.C., was named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Lineman of the Year last week. He led the stout Texas defense on the interior all season, totaling 30 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a QB hurry, a pass breakup and a blocked field goal. A captain for the Longhorns, Ford started all 12 games at the defensive tackle position, helping UT compile the nation's sixth-best rush defense. The Longhorns held seven of their 12 opponents under 100 yards rushing, the most since doing so 10 times during the 2009 season.
Jefferson, a native of Mesquite, Texas, was named the Big 12 Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches last week. He led the Longhorns defensively, totaling 110 tackles (79 solo) with 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and six quarterback hurries. Jefferson became the first Longhorn since 2014 to eclipse the 100-tackle mark. The junior started all 12 games at linebacker, helping the Longhorns finish fourth nationally in third-down defense, sixth nationally in rush defense, eighth in fourth-down defense all while only allowing 21.7 points per game.
Boyd, a native of Gilmer, Texas, garnered second team honors after leading the conference with 14 pass breakups and 16 passes defended. He finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles, and he totaled 70 return yards on his two interceptions.
