18th annual team features 32 first-year stars

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The 18th annual Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team features five players taking part in tonight’s College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., and includes Clemson starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Alabama starting cornerback Patrick Surtain II.

The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with six total selections, led by Georgia, which led all schools with three: offensive linemen Cade Mays and Isaiah Wilson and defensive lineman Jordon Davis. The Big 12 was second with five, followed by the Big Ten with four. All 10 FBS conferences and two independents are represented on the team.

Heading into tonight’s National Championship, Lawrence has posted one of the best regular seasons by a true freshman quarterback in history. Lawrence, a highly-touted early enrollee, played in the Tigers’ first four games before taking over as the starter. The Cartersville, Ga., product has thrown for 2,933 yards and 27 touchdowns and only four interceptions while averaging 12.3 yards per completion. Clemson’s offense is just 293 yards shy of breaking its own ACC record of 7,718 total yards set in 2015. The Tigers are averaging 530.4 total yards and 44.3 points per game. Lawrence has completed 65 percent of his passes.

Purdue’s Rondale Moore, among two Freshman All-Americans to be named to the FWAA’s All-America Team last month, leads the FBS with 114 receptions, the second-most in a season by a Big Ten player, and led the conference with 1,258 yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. Including his special teams yardage, Moore led the conference in all-purpose yards with 2,215, fourth nationally. In his debut, Moore set the Purdue single-game record with 313 all-purpose yards against Northwestern on Aug. 30, gaining 79 rushing yards, 109 receiving yards and 125 kickoff return yards.

Kicker Andre Szmyt of Syracuse was also a first-team FWAA All-America selection. He led the nation in scoring with 151 points, making 30 of 34 field goal attempts – including 3-for-3 beyond 50 yards – and all 61 extra-point attempts. Szmyt’s teammate, safety Andre Cisco, among the national leaders with seven interceptions, gives the Orange a pair of players on the team. Alabama is the only other school with teammates honored, as wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was selected to the team.

Josh Heupel, who coached UCF to a 13-0 regular season and the American Athletic Conference title, is the First-Year Coach of the Year.

The 13-person panel of nationally-prominent college football experts represented each of the FBS conferences along with independents in the selecting the team. Both true freshmen (18 players) and redshirt freshmen (14 players) were considered for the team and are so noted on the list below.

2018 FWAA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM

OFFENSE (13)
Pos.	Player	School	Ht., Wt.	Hometown
• QB	Trevor Lawrence	Clemson	6-6, 215	Cartersville, Ga.
• QB	Adrian Martinez	Nebraska	6-2, 220	Fresno, Calif.
• RB	Jermar Jefferson	Oregon State	5-11, 211	Harbor City, Calif.
RB	Anthony McFarland	Maryland	5-8, 193	Hyattsville, Md.
• WR	Rondale Moore	Purdue	5-9, 175	New Albany, Ind.
• WR	Jayden Reed	Western Michigan	6-0, 170	Aurora, Ill.
• WR	Jaylen Waddle	Alabama	5-10, 177	Houston, Texas
• OL	Trace Clopton	Southern Miss	6-2, 290	Brookhaven, Miss.
OL	Keegan Cryder	Wyoming	6-4, 291	Littleton, Colo.
OL	James Empy	BYU	6-4, 297	American Fork, Utah
OL	Creed Humphrey	Oklahoma	6-5, 325	Shawnee, Okla.
• OL	Cade Mays	Georgia	6-6, 318	Knoxville, Tenn.
OL	Isaiah Wilson	Georgia	6-7, 340	Brooklyn, N.Y.
DEFENSE (14)
Pos.	Player	School	Ht., Wt.	Hometown
• DL	Jordan Davis	Georgia	6-6, 320	Charlotte, N.C.
• DL	Jamal Hines	Toledo	6-2, 216	Cincinnati, Ohio
DL	Juwuan Jones	WKU	6-3, 270	Sugar Hill, Ga.
• DL	Austin Lewis	Liberty	6-6, 230	Jonesborough, Tenn.
LB	Zaven Collins	Tulsa	6-4, 250	Hominy, Okla.
LB	Carlton Martial	Troy	5-10, 216	Mobile, Ala)
• LB	Merlin Robertson	Arizona State	6-3, 235	Gardena, Calif.
• LB	Mike Rose	Iowa State	6-3, 228	Brecksville, Ohio
DB	Paulson Adebo	Stanford	6-1, 189	Mansfield, Texas
• DB	Andre Cisco	Syracuse	6-0, 199	Valley Stream, N.Y.
DB	Adrian Frye	Texas Tech	6-1, 175	Houston, Texas
• DB	Caden Sterns	Texas	6-1, 192	Cibolo, Texas
• DB	Patrick Surtain II	Alabama	6-2, 202	Plantation, Fla.
• DB	Bryce Thompson	Tennessee	5-11, 180	Irmo, S.C.
SPECIALISTS (5)
Pos.	Player	School	Ht., Wt.	Hometown
P	Clayton Howell	Appalachian State	6-0, 183	High Point, N.C.
K	Andre Szmyt	Syracuse	6-1, 195	Vernon Hills, Ill.
KR	K.J. Hamler	Penn State	(5-9, 173	Pontiac, Mich.
PR	Marcus Hayes	New Mexico	6-0, 199	Rockford, Ill.
AP	Pooka Williams Jr.	Kansas	5-10, 170	Marrero, La.
HEAD COACH
Josh Heupel, UCF
• Denotes true freshman

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

2018 FWAA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA COMMITTEE

Shaun Alexander

Mark Anderson, Las Vegas Review-Journal (MW)

Mark Blaudschun, TMGCollegeSports.com (ACC)

Scott Dochterman, The Athletic (Big Ten)

Mike Griffith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Chair/Independents)

Tommy Hicks, Freelance (Sun Belt)

Ron Higgins, Freelance (SEC)

Blair Kerkhoff, The Kansas City Star (Big 12)

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel (American Athletic)

Nick Piotrowicz, Toledo Blade (MAC)

Steve Richardson, FWAA Executive Director

Grant Traylor, Huntington Herald-Dispatch (Conference USA)

Ryan Young, Rivals.com (Pac-12)