Ohio State defensive lineman Kayden McDonald (98) celebrates after recovering a fumble during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez, File)2025-12-15T17:07:18Z Get the AP Top 25 college football poll delivered straight to your inbox every week with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. Four players from Ohio State are among 10 first-team picks from the Big Ten on The Associated Press All-America team released Monday, a group headed by repeat selection Caleb Downs of the Buckeyes and AP Player of the Year Fernando Mendoza of Indiana.The AP has named an All-America team every year since 1925, and Notre Dames two first-team picks this season increased its all-time lead to 87.Downs, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, has made the first team each of his two seasons at Ohio State after landing on the second team as a freshman at Alabama in 2023. He is one of 12 players on the 27-man first team who did not start their careers at their current school. Downs is joined on the first team by fellow Buckeyes Jeremiah Smith, Kayden McDonald and Arvell Reese. Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy over the weekend, led the top-ranked Hoosiers to a 13-0 record and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff after transferring from California. He has thrown a nation-leading 33 touchdown passes and is the catalyst of one of the most productive offenses in the country. A total of 18 schools are represented on the first team, including seven of the 12 in the CFP. Iowa has had at least one first-team player seven straight years and in 10 of the last 12. This is the fourth year in a row Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State have had at least one.Punter Cole Maynard gave Western Kentucky its first-ever first-team pick. Defensive lineman Landon Robinson is Navys first since 1975 and kicker Kansei Matsuzawa is Hawaiis first since 1986. First-team All-Americans (by conference) Big Ten 10SEC 6Big 12 3ACC 1Independent 3Conference USA 2American 1Mountain West 1___The AP All-America team was selected by a panel of 52 college Top 25 poll voters. First-team offense Wide receiver Makai Lemon, Southern California, junior, 5-11, 195, Los Angeles.Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, sophomore, 6-3, 223, Miami Gardens, Florida.Wide receiver Skyler Bell, UConn, senior, 6-0, 185, New York, N.Y.Tackle Francis Mauigoa, Miami, junior, 6-6, 335,Iliili, American Samoa.Tackle Spencer Fano, Utah, junior, 6-6, 308, Spanish Fork, Utah.Guard Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon, senior, 6-5, 318, Denver.Guard Beau Stephens, Iowa, senior, 6-5, 315, Blue Springs, Missouri.Center Logan Jones, Iowa, graduate, 6-3, 202, Council Bluffs, Iowa.Tight end Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt, graduate, 6-4, 235, Denton, Texas.Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, junior, 6-5, 225, Miami.Running back Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame, junior, 6-0, 214, St. Louis.Running back Ahmad Hardy, Missouri, sophomore, 5-10, 210, Oma, Mississippi.Kicker Kansei Matsuzawa, Hawaii, senior, 6-2, 200, Tokyo.All-purpose KC Concepcion, Texas A&M, junior, 5-11, 190, Charlotte, North Carolina. First-team defenseEdge rusher David Bailey, Texas Tech, senior, 6-3, 250, Irvine, California.Edge rusher Cashius Howell, Texas A&M, senior, 6-2, 248, Kansas City, Missouri.Interior lineman Kayden McDonald, Ohio State, junior, 6-3, 326, Suwanee, Georgia.Interior lineman Landon Robinson, Navy, senior, 6-0, 287, Fairlawn, Ohio.Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech, senior, 6-1, 235, Wichita Falls, Texas.Linebacker Arvell Reese, Ohio State, junior, 6-4, 243, Cleveland.Linebacker CJ Allen, Georgia, junior, 6-1, 235, Barnesville, Georgia.Cornerback Leonard Moore, Notre Dame, sophomore, 6-2, 195, Round Rock, Texas.Cornerback Mansoor Delane, LSU, senior, 6-0, 190, Silver Spring, Maryland.Safety Caleb Downs, Ohio State, junior, 6-0, 205, Hoschton, Georgia.Safety Bishop Fitzgerald, Southern California, senior, 5-11, 205, Woodbridge, Virginia.Defensive back Jakari Foster, Louisiana Tech, senior, 6-0, 211, Piedmont, Alabama.Punter Cole Maynard, Western Kentucky, senior, 6-1, 180, Mooresville, North Carolina. Second-team offenseWide receiver Carnell Tate, Ohio State, junior, 6-3, 195, Chicago.Wide receiver Malachi Toney, Miami, freshman, 5-11, 188, Liberty City, Florida.Wide receiver Danny Scudero, San Jose State, sophomore, 5-9, 174, San Jose, California.Tackle Kadyn Proctor, Alabama, junior, 6-7, 366, Des Moines, Iowa.Tackle Carter Smith, Indiana, junior, 6-5, 313, Powell, Ohio.Guard Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State, junior, 6-4, 323, Graham, Washington.Guard Armaj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M, graduate, 6-5, 325, Dallas.Center Jake Slaughter, Florida, senior, 6-4, 303, Sparr, Florida.Tight end Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon, junior, 6-3, 245, Idaho Falls, Idaho.Quarterback Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt, graduate, 6-0, 207, Albuquerque, New Mexico.Running back Emmett Johnson, Nebraska, junior, 5-11, 200, Minneapolis.Running back Kewan Lacy, Mississippi, sophomore, 5-11, 210, Dallas.Kicker Tate Sandell, Oklahoma, junior, 5-9, 182, Port Neches, Texas.All-purpose Wayne Knight, James Madison, junior, 5-7, 190, Smyrna, Delaware. Second-team defenseEdge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., Miami, junior, 6-3, 270, Miami.Edge rusher John Henry Daley, Utah, sophomore, 6-4, 255, Alpine, Utah.Interior lineman A.J. Holmes Jr., Texas Tech, junior, 6-3, 300, Houston.Interior lineman Peter Woods, Clemson, junior, 6-3, 310, Alabaster, Alabama.Linebacker Sonny Syles, Ohio State, senior, 6-5, 243, Pickerington, Ohio.Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., Texas, junior, 6-3, 238, Denton, Texas.Linebacker Red Murdock, Buffalo, graduate, 6-1, 240, Petersburg, Virginia.Cornerback DAngelo Ponds, Indiana, junior, 5-9, 173, Miami.Cornerback Chris Johnson, San Diego State, senior, 6-0, 195, Eastvale, California.Safety Dillon Thieneman, Oregon, junior, 6-0, 205, Westfield, Indiana.Safety Louis Moore, Indiana, senior, 5-11, 200, Mesquite, Texas.Defensive back Hezekiah Masses, California, senior, 6-1, 185, Deerfield Beach, Florida.Punter Brett Thorson, Georgia, senior, 6-2, 235, Melbourne, Australia.Third-team offenseWide receiver Eric McAlister, TCU, senior, 6-3, 205, Azle, Texas.Wide receiver Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee, junior, 6-5, 200, Midland, Texas.Wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State, junior, 6-2, 200, Allen, Texas.Tackle Keagen Trost, Missouri, graduate, 6-4, 316, Kankakee, Illinois.Tackle Brian Parker II, Duke, junior, 6-5, 305, Cincinnati.Guard Keylan Rutledge, Georgia Tech, senior, 6-4, 330, Royston, Georgia.Guard Evan Tengesdahl, Cincinnati, sophomore, 6-3, 320, Dayton, Ohio.Center Iapani Laloulu, Oregon, junior, 6-2, 329, Honolulu.Tight end Michael Trigg, Baylor, senior, 6-4, 240, Tampa, Florida.Quarterback Julian Sayin, Ohio State, redshirt freshman, 6-1, 208, Carlsbad, California.Running back Cam Cook, Jacksonville State, junior, 5-11, 200, Round Rock, Texas.Running back Kaytron Allen, Penn State, senior, 5-11, 219, Norfolk, Virginia.Kicker Aidan Birr, Georgia Tech, junior, 6-1, 205, Kennedale, Texas.All-purpose Jadarian Price, Notre Dame, junior, 5-11, 210, Denison, Texas.Third-team defenseEdge rusher Caden Curry, Ohio State, senior, 6-3, 260, Greenwood, Indiana.Edge rusher Nadame Tucker, Western Michigan, senior, 6-3, 250, New York.Interior lineman Tyrique Tucker, Indiana, junior, 6-0, 302, Norfolk, Virginia.Interior lineman Lee Hunter, Texas Tech, senior, 6-4, 330, Mobile, Alabama.Linebacker Aiden Fisher, Indiana, senior, 6-1, 231, Fredericksburg, Virginia.Linebacker Caden Fordham, North Carolina State, graduate, 6-1, 230, Ponte Vedra, Florida.Linebacker Owen Long, Colorado State, sophomore, 6-2, 230, Whittier, California.Cornerback Avieon Terrell, Clemson, junior, 5-11, 180, Atlanta.Cornerback Treydan Stukes, Arizona, senior, 6-2, 200, Litchfield Park, Arizona.Safety Michael Taaffe, Texas, senior, 6-0, 189, Austin, Texas.Safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo, senior, 6-2, 202, Tampa, Florida.Defensive back Bray Hubbard, Alabama, junior, 6-2, 213, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.Punter Ryan Eckley, Michigan State, junior, 6-2, 207, Lithia, Florida.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football ERIC OLSON Olson is an Associated Press college football writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He also covers the Big Ten, the NCAA, the College Football Playoff alongside local teams Nebraska and Creighton. twitter mailto