TUSCALOOSA _ Four University of Alabama football players were named to the Associated Press All-American teams on Tuesday, with junior safety Mark Barron and junior wide receiver Julio Jones earning second-team honors and junior defensive end Marcell Dareus and sophomore guard Barrett Jones named to the third team.
Last week Barron was named first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, and sophomore safety Robert Lester was a second-team selection by the Walter Camp Foundation on Thursday.
Last year, Alabama had a record six first-team Associated Press All-Americans, with Barron a third-team pick. Overall, the Tide has had 11 players honored by the AP over the past two seasons.
Co-team captain and co-defensive player of the year for the Crimson Tide has made 75 tackles this season to go with three interceptions, two sacks, nine passes defended and two quarterback hurries. After having surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle sustained against Auburn he'll miss the Capital One Bowl against Michigan State.
Julio Jones, the team MVP, set Alabama single-season records with 75 receptions for 1,084 yards and ranks second in career receptions (176), career yards (2,604) and is tied for fourth in career touchdown receptions (15).
Dareus accumulated 31 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 3½ sacks, four pass deflections and seven quarterback hurries. He has 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss during his career.
Barrett Jones anchored the offensive line and is expected to start the Capital One Bowl after missing the Georgia State and Auburn games with a high-ankle sprain.
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback - Cam Newton, junior, 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, Auburn.
Running backs - LaMichael James, sophomore, 5-9, 185, Oregon; Kendall Hunter, junior, 5-9, 200, Oklahoma State.
Tackles - Gabe Carimi, senior, 6-7, 327, Wisconsin; Nate Solder, senior, 6-9, 315, Colorado.
Guards - Rodney Hudson, senior, 6-2, 282, Florida State; John Moffitt, senior, 6-5, 323, Wisconsin.
Center - Chase Beeler, senior, 6-3, 285, Stanford.
Tight end - Michael Egnew, junior, 6-6, 235, Missouri.
Wide receivers - Justin Blackmon, sophomore, 6-1, 205, Oklahoma State; Ryan Broyles, junior, 5-11, 183, Oklahoma.
All-purpose player - Randall Cobb, junior, 5-11, 186, Kentucky.
Kicker - Alex Henery, senior, 6-2, 175, Nebraska.
DEFENSE
Ends - Da'Quan Bowers, junior, 6-4, 275, Clemson; Ryan Kerrigan, senior, 6-4, 263, Purdue.
Tackles - Nick Fairley, junior, 6-5, 298, Auburn; Stephen Paea, senior, 6-1, 311, Oregon State.
Linebackers - Luke Kuechly, sophomore, 6-3, 235, Boston College; Greg Jones, senior, 6-1, 240, Michigan State; Von Miller, senior, 6-3, 243, Texas A&M.
Cornerbacks - Patrick Peterson, junior, 6-1, 222, LSU; Prince Amukamara, senior, 6-1, 205, Nebraska.
Safeties - Tejay Johnson, senior, 6-1, 212, TCU; Quinton Carter, senior, 6-1, 200, Oklahoma.
Punter - Chas Henry, junior, 6-3, 222, Florida.
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback - Andrew Luck, sophomore, Stanford.
Running backs - Jordan Todman, junior, Connecticut; Mikel Leshoure, junior, Illinois.
Tackles - Lee Ziemba, senior, Auburn; Derek Sherrod, senior, Mississippi State.
Guards - Stefen Wisniewski, senior, Penn State; Justin Boren, senior, Ohio State.
Center - Jake Kirkpatrick, senior, TCU.
Tight end - Lance Kendricks, senior, Wisconsin.
Wide receivers - Alshon Jeffrey, sophomore, South Carolina; Julio Jones, junior, Alabama.
All-purpose player - Damaris Johnson, junior, Tulsa.
Kicker - Dan Bailey, senior, Oklahoma State.
DEFENSE
Ends - J.J. Watt, junior, Wisconsin; Jeremy Beal, senior, Oklahoma.
Tackles - Drake Nevis, senior, LSU; Jared Crick, junior, Nebraska.
Linebackers - Tank Carder, junior, TCU; Justin Houston, junior, Georgia; Lavonte David, junior, Nebraska.
Cornerbacks - Jayron Hosley, sophomore, Virginia Tech; Cliff Harris, sophomore, Oregon.
Safeties - Mark Barron, junior, Alabama; Ahmad Black, senior, Florida.
Punter - Drew Butler, junior, Georgia.
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback - Kellen Moore, junior, Boise State.
Running backs - Vai Taua, senior, Nevada; John Clay, junior, Wisconsin.
Tackles - Anthony Castonzo, senior, Boston College; Nate Potter, junior, Boise State.
Guards - Barrett Jones, sophomore, Alabama; Caleb, Schlauderaff, senior, Utah.
Center - Ryan Pugh, senior, Auburn.
Tight end - D.J. Williams, senior, Arkansas.
Wide receivers - Greg Salas, sophomore, Hawaii; Titus Young, senior, Boise State.
All-purpose player - Denard Robinson, sophomore, Michigan.
Kicker - Dannny Hrapmann, junior, Southern Mississippi.
DEFENSE
Ends - Adrian Clayborn, senior, Iowa; Sam Acho, senior, Texas.
Tackles - Billy Winn, junior, Boise State; Marcell Dareus, junior, Alabama.
Linebackers - Mason Foster, senior, Washington; Nate Irving, senior, North Carolina State; Akeem Ayers, junior, UCLA.
Cornerbacks - Reggie Rembert, senior, Air Force; Stephon Gilmore, freshman, South Carolina.
Safeties - Rahim Moore, junior, UCLA; Eric Hagg, senior, Nebraska.
Punter - Kyle Martens, junior, Rice.
Other honors
Sports Illustrated listed Barron has a second-team All-American and senior quarterback Greg McElroy has an honorable-mention selection Tuesday.
However, the publication is not used by the NCAA to determine unanimous or consensus selections. The lone unreleased listing by The Sporting News is expected to be announced later this week.
Rivals.com named it's All-Freshman teams with C.J. Mosley a first-team selection at linebacker and D.J. Fluker second-team on the offensive line.
CollegeFootballNews.com named Fluker, Mosley and cornerback DeMarcus Milliner to its All-Freshman team. However it also selected Michael Williams as an honorable mention selection at tight end, even though he's a sophomore.
Muschamp shoots down rumor
During his introductory press conference Tuesday evening, Florida coach Will Muschamp adamantly denied the report that he had offered the defensive coordinator position to Alabama's Kirby Smart.
"No one has been offered a job," he said, adding: "I have zero timetable on hiring a staff."
New York Times Regional Newspapers reported Monday that the job was Smart's if he wanted it, but BamaOnline and numerous other news outlets reported that Smart was recruiting for the Crimson Tide and there were no indications of his leaving.
Muschamp added that he hadn't made the decision yet on if he would call the defensive plays, wants the "critical" hire at offensive coordinator to be someone with both pro and college experience and hopes to have a special-teams coordinator.
"I want to be known as a blue-collar, over-achieving team," said the former Nick Saban protégé, who added about recruiting in the state of Florida: "I'm glad I have the right orange and blue on at this time."
Muschamp and Smart, who both went to Georgia, have been good friends since working together on Saban's staffs at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins, and Muschamp shares a beach house with former Saban assistant Jimbo Fisher, now the head coach at rival Florida State. No word yet on how they'll settle that matter.