The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Sweat earns unanimous All-American honors
12.14.2023 | Football
DT T’Vondre Sweat was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association; WR/PR Xavier Worthy and OT Kelvin Banks Jr. were named to the second team.
WACO, Texas – No. 3 Texas Football defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat, wide receiver/punt returner Xavier Worthy and offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. were selected as All-Americans by the American Football Coaches Association, the organization announced on Thursday. Sweat earned first-team honors, making him the 24th Longhorn in program history to earn unanimous All-American honors based on the five outlets recognized by the NCAA. Worthy was voted to the second team as an all-purpose player, his fourth All-America accolade this season, while Banks earned his first career All-America honor as a second-team selection.
Sweat is the fifth Texas defensive tackle to be a unanimous All-American, joining Scott Appleton (1963), Brad Shearer (1977), Steve McMichael (1979) and Kenneth Sims (1981). Overall, he is the sixth defensive lineman to earn the honor and first since Brian Orakpo in 2008.
In addition to the American Football Coaches Association, Sweat has been selected first-team All-America by the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and Walter Camp Football Foundation.
The 2023 Outland Trophy Award winner as the nation's best interior lineman, Sweat has had a breakout season for Texas, establishing career highs with 42 tackles, 17 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks and four pass breakups, while adding a blocked kick on an Iowa State point after attempt that was scooped up by Austin Jordan and returned 82 yards for a two-point score for Texas. The Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year also caught a two-yard touchdown pass in the Longhorns' Big 12 Championship Game victory over Oklahoma State.
With Sweat in the middle of the defensive line, the Texas defense topped the Big 12 in third-down defense (26.5 percent) and red zone defense (71.4 percent), respectively ranking second and fourth nationally in each category. The Longhorns also rank 13th nationally in scoring defense (17.5 ppg) and 22nd in total tackles for loss (82). The Longhorns have held eight opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing this season, the most since 2009 (10), including a stretch of five-straight games against Houston, BYU, Kansas State, TCU and Iowa State that was the longest for UT since 2009 and tied for the third-longest for a Big 12 team over the last 15 seasons. All totaled in those five games, opponents have rushed for 241 yards (48 ypg) on 118 carries (2 ypc). The Longhorns lead the conference and rank third in the nation in rushing defense, yielding only 80.8 yards per game, the fewest surrendered by UT since 2008.
Worthy, a second-team All-American selection as a punt returner by the FWAA and the Sporting News, and third-team honoree as an all-purpose player by the AP, has caught a career-high 73 passes for 969 yards and five touchdowns and returned 20 punts for 358 yards. He leads the Big 12 and ranks second in the nation averaging 17.9 yards per punt return, while leading in the conference in receiving yards, ranking second in receiving yards per game (74.5) and third in receptions and receptions per game (5.6). He is just the second Longhorn to have three seasons of 60-plus receptions (Roy Williams). A threat to score each time he touches the ball, the junior had a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown against BYU that is tied for the ninth-longest punt return for a score in program history and the 10th-longest punt return overall. His punt return average ranks second in program history (Bobby Dillon – 22.3, 1950) and his 358 punt return yards this season are the seventh-most all-time for a Longhorn. A native of Fresno, Calif., Worthy was a first-team All-Big 12 selection as a wide receiver and return specialist by the Big 12 coaches and the Associated Press, while also earning first-team honors as a return specialist by the conference and as an all-purpose player by the AP.
Banks, a sophomore from Humble, Texas, has been the anchor of a Texas offensive line that earned semifinalist honors for the Joe Moore Award which honors the top offensive line unit in the nation. Banks and the Texas O-line opened holes for running back Jonathon Brooks, who prior to getting injured against TCU was a leading candidate for the Doak Walker Award and a midseason All-American. Brooks ranked sixth in the nation in rushing yards (1,139), seventh in rushing yards per game (113.9), and sixth in all-purpose yards (142.5). In the two games following Brooks' injury, true freshman running back CJ Baxter rushed for 117 yards at Iowa State and sophomore running back Jaydon Blue rushed for 121 yards against Texas Tech. The Longhorn offense is ninth nationally in total offense (475.9 ypg) with 189.1 rushing yards (23rd) and 286.8 passing yards (18th) per game, while scoring 36.2 points per game (16th). Banks was a first-team All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches and a second-team honoree by the Associated Press.
