AP All-America honor resonates for some of college football's all-time greats

NBC Sports

2 days ago

Desmond Howard walked up a ramp in Schembechler Hall, looking at black-and-white pictures hanging on a white wall where Michigan honors its All-America football players.
The 1991 Heisman Trophy winner stopped to point out the image of two-time AP All-America receiver Anthony Carter, who starred for the program several seasons before Howard crossed the Ohio border to become a Wolverine.
Howard grinned after taking a few more steps and seeing his high-top fade hairstyle captured in a photo that cemented his legacy for the college football program with the most wins.
'You're remembered as one of the greats, that's for sure,' Howard told the AP. 'You put on the V-neck sweater with the maize block 'M,' and you take your picture and you know that you're in a special group.'
With the 2025 season here, the AP named an all-time All-America team to mark the 100th anniversary of the first team from the early days of the sport. Many outlets have named All-America teams over the decades, but only a few such as AP have stuck around. A number of player sspoke with AP about what the honor meant:
Hugh Green, Pittsburgh
When the three-time All-America defensive end is asked who was the most influential people in his life, he says Bob Hope.
Hope's annual Christmas specials featured AP All-Americans from 1971 to 1994 and Green recalled the late comedian pulling him aside during commercial breaks to rave about his play in games that were not on TV.
'Kids today might take it a bit different, but we should always have a person that has his credentials do the AP All-American show every year,' Green said. 'That was something very special and unique.'
Herschel Walker, Georgia
Walker won a national championship as a freshman with the Bulldogs and said he got too much credit over teammates like the offensive linemen who paved the way for his success. The three-time All-America running back is proud, though, to have shown that someone from Wrightsville, Georgia, with a population of about 3,000 people, could make it big.
'I wanted to inspire people from my little hometown — or kids from small towns around this country — to let them know you can do it too,' he said.
Anthony Carter, Michigan
The late Bo Schembechler was known for a run-heavy offense at Michigan, but that didn't stop a 155-pound freshman from becoming a big-play threat right away and eventually a two-time AP All-America.
'No one thought I would last in the Big Ten,' Carter said. 'To be an All-American means a lot, coming out of Michigan because we didn't throw the ball a lot. I wouldn't have achieved what I did without a lot of great teammates.'
Orlando Pace, Ohio State
Buckeye Grove is a small patch of land with a sea of trees a few steps south of Ohio Stadium, a place where Ohio State honors its All-America football players with a buckeye tree and a plaque.
'When you get older, you kind of appreciate those things,' said Pace, a two-time All-America offensive tackle. 'I have kids that go to Ohio State, and I always tell them to go by and check out my tree.'
Greg Jones, Michigan State
He played in 20 games, including the playoffs, as a rookie linebacker for the New York Giants when they won the Super Bowl in 2012. His NFL career ended after a six-game stint the next season in Jacksonville. His back-to-back All-America honors, however, still shine as accomplishments.
'It's etched in history,' Jones said, holding one of the plaques with his All-America certificate. 'Obviously, you can get cut from an NFL team, you can lose your job, but that can stay forever.'
Braylon Edwards, Michigan
The Wolverines' all-time leader in receptions, yards receiving and touchdown catches was aware two decades ago that there were a lot of college football All-America teams, but recalled one being the most coveted.
'The AP was the one I that cared about,' Edwards said. 'The writers telling me that I was the player that deserved to be All-American, that was the one that I was waiting for.'
James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
When the three-time All-America linebacker takes recruits on tours as an assistant coach, Buckeye Grove is always a stop on the visit.
'It's pretty cool to kind of honor that tradition,' he said.
Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
He is the only Associated Press College Football Player of the Year to exclusively play defense, but still laments that he finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. He was an AP All-America in 2009.
'The Associated Press saw something special in me that the Heisman didn't,' Suh said. 'I am all 10 toes down with The Associated Press.'
Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
As the son of second-team AP All-America defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson, earning a spot on the All-America wall alongside his father was a goal for Aidan Hutchinson during his senior year four years ago.
'There's a lot of All-American teams, but AP is different,' he said. 'It's legendary.'
Terrion Arnold, Alabama
The Crimson Tide recognizes its All-America players on a wall in their training facility, intentionally putting the displays in a room recruits visit on campus, and at various locations at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
'Just walking in there and being a little kid and just thinking, one day that would be me, and then just going out there and fulfilling that dream,' Arnold said. 'It's also one of those things when I take my future family to Alabama, and look at it, `Son, this is what your dad was like.''