James Ferguson-Reynolds Earns Another All-America Honor

WACO, Texas – The American Football Coaches Association recognized the incredible season James Ferguson-Reynolds has put together, naming the sophomore punter to their 2023 All-America Second Team on Thursday.

Ferguson-Reynolds already received All-America Second Team honors courtesy of Sports Illustrated and third team honors from the Associated Press.

This season, he is one of only three punters in the country to register multiple punts of 70 yards or longer and his 25 punts that traveled 50-or-more yards ranks tied for 12th nationally. His punting caused eight touchbacks – ranking third in the country – while posting a net punting average of 43.1 yards, a number that placed him 10th in the FBS.

Australia's native son will lead Boise State as they play UCLA in the Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk on Saturday, Dec. 16. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The game will air nationally on ABC.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.

For more information on the AFCA and its programs, visit www.afca.com and follow us on X @WeAreAFCA.

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2023 AFCA FBS Coaches' All-America Team - First Team

Offense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
WR	*Marvin Harrison Jr.	6-4	205	Jr.	Ohio State	Ryan Day	Philadelphia, Pa. (St. Joseph's Prep)
WR	Malik Nabers	6-0	200	Jr.	LSU	Brian Kelly	Youngsville, La. (Southside)
TE	*Brock Bowers	6-4	240	Jr.	Georgia	Kirby Smart	Napa, Calif. (Napa)
OL	*Joe Alt	6-8	322	Jr.	Notre Dame	Marcus Freeman	North Oaks, Minn. (Totino-Grace)
OL	Cooper Beebe	6-4	335	Sr.	Kansas State	Chris Klieman	Kansas City, Kan. (Piper)
C	Jackson Powers-Johnson	6-3	320	Jr.	Oregon	Dan Lanning	Draper, Utah (Corner Canyon)
OL	Zak Zinter	6-6	322	Sr.	Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	North Andover, Mass. (Browne & Nichols School)
OL	Olumuyiwa Fashanu	6-6	317	Jr.	Penn State	James Franklin	Waldorf, Md. (Gonzaga College HS)
QB	Jayden Daniels	6-4	210	Sr.	LSU	Brian Kelly	San Bernardino, Calif. (Cajon)
RB	*Blake Corum	5-8	213	Sr.	Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	Marshall, Va. (St. Frances Academy)
RB	Ollie Gordon II	6-1	211	So.	Oklahoma State	Mike Gundy	Fort Worth, Tex. (Euless Trinity)

Defense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Jared Verse	6-4	260	R-Jr.	Florida State	Mike Norvell	Dayton, Ohio (Central Columbia)
DL	T'Vondre Sweat	6-4	362	Sr.	Texas	Steve Sarkisian	Huntsville, Tex. (Huntsville)
DL	Laiatu Latu	6-5	265	Sr.	UCLA	Chip Kelly	Sacramento, Calif. (Jesuit)
DL	Jer'Zhan Newton	6-2	295	Jr.	Illinois	Bret Bielema	St. Petersburg, Fla. (Clearwater Central Catholic)
LB	Dallas Turner	6-4	252	Jr.	Alabama	Nick Saban	Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
LB	Payton Wilson	6-4	238	Gr.	NC State	Dave Doeren	Hillsborough, N.C. (Orange)
LB	Edgerrin Cooper	6-3	230	Jr.	Texas A&M	Elijah Robinson	Covington, La. (Covington)
DB	Cooper DeJean	6-1	207	Jr.	Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	Odebolt, Iowa (OA-BCIG)
DB	Trey Taylor	6-0	210	Sr.	Air Force	Troy Calhoun	Frisco, Tex. (Lone Star)
DB	Xavier Watts	5-11	204	Jr.	Notre Dame	Marcus Freeman	Omaha, Neb. (Burke)
DB	Malaki Starks	6-1	205	So.	Georgia	Kirby Smart	Jefferson, Ga. (Jefferson)

Specialists

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
P	Tory Taylor	6-4	232	Sr.	Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	Melbourne, Australia (Haileybury College)
PK	Graham Nicholson	6-0	185	Jr.	Miami (Ohio)	Chuck Martin	Cincinnati, Ohio (Summit Country Day)
AP	Travis Hunter	6-1	185	So.	Colorado	Deion Sanders	Suwanee, Ga. (Collins Hill)
LS	James Rosenberry Jr.	6-0	230	R-Sr.	Florida State	Mike Norvell	Delaware, Ohio (Olentangy)

*–2022 AFCA All-American

2023 AFCA FBS Coaches' All-America Team - Second Team

Offense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
WR	Malik Washington	5-8	194	Gr.	Virginia	Tony Elliott	Lawrenceville, Ga. (Parkview)
WR	Rome Odunze	6-3	215	Jr.	Washington	Kalen DeBoer	Las Vegas, Nev. (Bishop Gorman)
TE	Dallin Holker	6-4	235	Jr.	Colorado State	Jay Norvell	Lehi, Utah (Lehi)
OL	Graham Barton	6-5	314	Sr.	Duke	Mike Elko	Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood)
OL	Taliese Fuaga	6-6	334	Jr.	Oregon State	Jonathan Smith	Tacoma, Wash. (Mount Tahoma)
C	Sedrick Van Pran	6-4	310	Jr.	Georgia	Kirby Smart	New Orleans, La. (Warren Easton)
OL	Troy Fautanu	6-4	317	Jr.	Washington	Kalen DeBoer	Henderson, Nev. (Liberty)
OL	Kelvin Banks Jr.	6-4	324	So.	Texas	Steve Sarkisian	Humble, Tex. (Summer Creek)
QB	Michael Penix Jr.	6-3	213	Sr.	Washington	Kalen DeBoer	Tampa, Fla. (Tampa Bay Tech)
RB	Cody Schrader	5-9	214	Gr.	Missouri	Eliah Drinkwitz	St. Louis, Mo. (Lutheran South)
RB	Omarion Hampton	6-0	220	So.	North Carolina	Mack Brown	Clayton, N.C. (Cleveland)

Defense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Jalen Green	6-1	245	Sr.	James Madison	Curt Cignetti	Baltimore, Md. (Good Counsel)
DL	Kris Jenkins	6-3	305	Sr.	Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	Olney, Md. (Our Lady Good Counsel)
DL	JT Tuimoloau	6-4	270	Jr.	Ohio State	Ryan Day	Edgewood, Wash. (Eastside Catholic)
DL	Jonah Elliss	6-2	246	Jr.	Utah	Kyle Whittingham	Moscow, Idaho (Moscow Senior)
LB	Jeremiah Trotter Jr.	6-0	230	Jr.	Clemson	Dabo Swinney	Hainesport, N.J. (St. Joseph's (Pa.) Preparatory)
LB	Jay Higgins	6-2	233	Sr.	Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	Indianapolis, Ind. (Brebeuf Jesuit Prep)
LB	Trey Moore	6-3	235	R-So.	UTSA	Jeff Traylor	San Antonio, Tex. (Smithson Valley)
DB	Terrion Arnold	6-0	196	R-So.	Alabama	Nick Saban	Tallahassee, Fla. (John Paul II Catholic)
DB	Quinyon Mitchell	6-0	196	Jr.	Toledo	Jason Candle	Williston, Fla. (Williston)
DB	*Kool-Aid McKinstry	6-1	195	Jr.	Alabama	Nick Saban	Birmingham, Ala. (Pinson Valley)
DB	Beanie Bishop Jr.	5-10	184	R-Sr.	West Virginia	Neal Brown	Louisville, Ky. (Pleasure Ridge Park)

Specialists

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
P	James Ferguson-Reynolds	6-2	183	So.	Boise State	Spencer Danielson	Geelong, Australia (SEDA College)
PK	Jose Pizano	5-9	220	Sr.	UNLV	Barry Odom	Lehi, Utah (Lehi)
AP	Xavier Worthy	6-1	172	Jr.	Texas	Steve Sarkisian	Fresno, Calif. (Central East)
LS	*Joe Shimko	6-0	230	Gr.	NC State	Dave Doeren	Belmar, N.J. (Wall Township)

*–2022 AFCA All-American #-2021 AFCA Division II All-American

Team Background: The teams now chosen for each of the AFCA's five divisions evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. In 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. The AFCA started selecting an NAIA All-America Team in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.

From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.

The Award: Members of the AFCA Coaches' All-America First Team will receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team, while members of the Second Team will receive a certificate.

--BroncoSports.com--