The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Fourteen Longhorns earn All-Big 12 football honors
12.02.2021 | Football
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy was named the Offensive Freshman of the Year.
IRVING, Texas – Texas Football had 14 players earn 2021 All-Big 12 recognition from the conference's coaches, the league office announced on Thursday. Freshman WR Xavier Worthy was selected as the conference's Offensive Freshman of the Year and was among four All-Big 12 First Team selections, the most first-team honors for Texas since 2018.
Joining Worthy on the first team were sophomore RB Bijan Robinson and senior OL Derek Kerstetter, as well as senior Cameron Dicker, who earned co-first-team punter honors. It marked the first time the four have been selected by the coaches to the All-Big 12 First Team, while 10 Longhorns received honorable mention recognition.
Worthy, the only freshman among the conference's first- and second-team selections, had a record-breaking year for the Longhorns, establishing top UT freshman single-season marks for receptions (62), receiving yards (981) and receiving touchdowns (12). The Fresno, Calif. native is Texas' first-ever freshman wide receiver to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors. He leads the Big 12 in receiving yards, receiving yards per game (81.1) and receiving touchdowns, ranks second in receptions, fourth in receptions per game (5.2), fifth in total touchdowns (12) and eighth in yards per reception (15.82). Worthy had four 100-yard receiving games, including a 261-yard performance against Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown in which he caught nine passes and had two touchdown receptions. He is the sixth Longhorn to earn offensive freshman of the year honors and the first since Colt McCoy in 2006 and joins Caden Sterns (2018) as the only Longhorn freshmen to earn both the conference's highest freshman honor and be named to the first team in the same season.
Robinson, a Tucson, Ariz. native, appeared in the Longhorns' first 10 games of the season, rushing for 1,127 yards on 195 carries (5.8 ypc) and scoring 11 touchdowns, while also catching 26 passes for 295 yards (11.3 ypr) and four touchdowns. Despite missing the final two games of the season due to an elbow injury, Robinson ranks third in the conference in rushing yards and total touchdowns (15), fifth in rushing touchdowns and all-purpose yards (1,422), and sixth in total points score (90). His 142.20 all-purpose yards per game and 112.7 rushing yards per game rank third in the conference and his 5.78 yards per carry are fifth-best. He surpassed 100 yards rushing six times this season, highlighted by a 35 carry, 216 rushing yard (6.2 ypc) performance at TCU.
Kerstetter, who earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors last season, started all 12 games for the Longhorns this season, with 11 starts at right tackle and one at left guard. This season, he anchored an offensive line that fielded a 1,000-yard in Robinson (1,127) and 500-yard rusher in junior Roschon Johnson (577 yards), the sixth UT running back duo to feature a 1,000-yard and 500-yard rusher in the same season and the first since 2001. The San Antonio native has been a mainstay of the Longhorns' offensive line during hist career on the Forty Acres, appearing in 58 games with 49 starts, the most games and starts among any active Longhorns. He was named as a team captain for four games in 2021 after serving in that capacity throughout the 2020 season.
Dicker earned co-first-team honors in his first full season as a punter. A Ray Guy Award semifinalist, Dicker punted 47 times for 2,200 yards to average of 46.81 yards per punt, the third-best mark in the conference, with 11 punts landing inside the 20-yard line. He had 16 punts of at least 50 yards, including a 78-yard boot against Oklahoma and a 77-yard punt against Oklahoma State, the fifth- and sixth-longest punts, respectively, in program history. The Austin, Texas native is also a four-time All-Big 12 honoree at place-kicker, collecting two second-team nods (2018, 2020) and twice earning honorable mention recognition (2019, 2021).
The Longhorns who received honorable mention at their positions by Big 12 coaches were Dicker (PK), Cade Brewer (TE), Luke Brockermeyer (LB), Keondre Coburn (DL), Anthony Cook (DB), B.J. Foster (DB), Moro Ojomo (DL) and DeMarvion Overshown (LB). Dicker earned honorable mention as Special Teams Player of the Year and Robinson did so as the Offensive Player of the Year. Freshman DL Byron Murphy II received honorable mention distinction as the Defensive Freshman of the Year, while junior EDGE Ovie Oghoufo earned honorable mention as the Defensive Newcomer of the Year and sophomore RB Keilan Robinson garnered honorable mention honros as the Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
All-Big 12 First Team
RB – Bijan Robinson, So.
WR – Xavier Worthy, Fr.
OL – Derek Kerstetter, Sr.
P – Cameron Dicker, Sr.
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
TE – Cade Brewer, Sr.
LB – Luke Brockermeyer, Jr.
DL – Keondre Coburn, Jr.
DB – Anthony Cook, Sr.
PK – Cameron Dicker, Sr. (Special Teams Player of the Year)
DB – B.J. Foster, Sr.
DL – Byron Murphy II, Fr. (Defensive Freshman of the Year)
EDGE – Ovie Oghoufo, Jr. (Defensive Newcomer of the Year)
DL – Moro Ojomo, Jr.
LB – DeMarvion Overshown, Sr.
RB – Bijan Robinson, So. (Offensive Player of the Year)
RB – Keilan Robinson, So. (Offensive Newcomer of the Year)
Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year (Texas All-Time)
2021 – Xavier Worthy, WR
2006 – Colt McCoy, QB
2005 – Jamaal Charles, RB
2003 – Vince Young, QB
2001 – Cedric Benson, RB
2000 – Roy Williams, WR
1998 – Major Applewhite, QB
