Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love and Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez headline the 2025 AFCA FBS Coaches All-America Teams
December 16, 2025
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez headline the 2025 AFCA FBS Coaches’ All-America Teams announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.
Winner of the Doak Walker Award, Love earned AFCA All-America honors by ranking second nationally in scoring (10.5), second in total points (126), second in total touchdowns (21), third in rushing touchdowns (18), fourth in rushing yards (1,372), fifth in yards per carry (6.89) and fifth in all-purpose yards (137.67). He was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year and Maxwell Award.
Rodriguez has received a lot of hardware since he helped lead Texas Tech to their first Big 12 Championship with a team-high 13 tackles and one tackle for loss against BYU. He won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, the Bednarik Award and the Pony Express Award (nation’s top duo with fellow AFCA All-American David Bailey) by leading the nation in forced fumbles with seven and being in the top 15 nationally with 117 tackles. Rodriguez is the first FBS player since 2005 to record at least five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four interceptions in the same season.
FBS All-Americans
First Team-Offense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
QB Fernando Mendoza 6-5 225 R-Jr. Indiana Curt Cignetti Miami, Fla. (Christopher Columbus)
RB Jeremiyah Love 6-0 214 Jr. Notre Dame Marcus Freeman St. Louis, Mo. (Christian Brothers)
RB Ahmad Hardy 5-10 210 So. Missouri Eli Drinkwitz Oma, Miss. (Lawrence County)
WR *Jeremiah Smith 6-3 223 So. Ohio St. Ryan Day Miami Gardens, Fla. (Chaminade-Madonna)
WR Makai Lemon 5-11 195 Jr. Southern California Lincoln Riley Los Alamitos, Calif. (Los Alamitos)
WR Skyler Bell 6-0 185 R-Sr. UConn Jim Mora Bronx, N.Y. (The Taft School)
TE Eli Stowers 6-4 235 Gr. Vanderbilt Clark Lea Denton, Tex. (Guyer)
OL Kadyn Proctor 6-7 366 Jr. Alabama Kalen DeBoer Des Moines, Iowa (Southeast Polk)
OL Spencer Fano 6-6 308 Jr. Utah Kyle Whittingham Spanish Fork, Utah (Timpview)
C Carson Hinzman 6-5 300 Sr. Ohio St. Ryan Day Spring Valley, Wis. (Saint Croix Central)
OL Logan Jones 6-3 302 Gr. Iowa Kirk Ferentz Council Bluffs, Iowa (Lewis Central)
OL Carter Smith 6-5 313 R-Jr. Indiana Curt Cignetti Powell, Ohio (Olentangy Liberty)
First Team-Defense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
DL David Bailey 6-3 250 Sr. Texas Tech Joey McGuire Irvine, Calif. (Mater Dei)
DL Cashius Howell 6-2 248 R-Sr. Texas A&M Mike Elko Kansas City, Mo. (Rockhurst)
DL Rueben Bain Jr. 6-3 270 Jr. Miami (Fla.) Mario Cristobal Miami, Fla. (Central)
DL Kayden McDonald 6-3 326 Jr. Ohio St. Ryan Day Suwanee, Ga. (North Gwinnett)
LB Jacob Rodriguez 6-1 235 Sr. Texas Tech Joey McGuire Wichita Falls, Tex. (Rider)
LB Arvell Reese 6-4 243 Jr. Ohio St. Ryan Day Cleveland, Ohio (Glenville)
LB Aiden Fisher 6-1 231 Sr. Indiana Curt Cignetti Fredericksburg, Va. (Riverbend)
DB *Caleb Downs 6-0 205 Jr. Ohio St. Ryan Day Hoschton, Ga. (Mill Creek)
DB Leonard Moore 6-2 195 So. Notre Dame Marcus Freeman Round Rock, Tex. (Round Rock)
DB Mansoor Delane 6-0 190 Sr. LSU Frank Wilson Silver Spring, Md. (Archbishop Spalding)
DB Michael Taaffe 6-0 189 Sr. Texas Steve Sarkisian Austin, Tex. (Westlake)
First Team-Special Teams
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
PK Kansei Matsuzawa 6-2 200 Sr. Hawaii Timmy Chang Tokyo, Japan (Makuhari Sogo)
P Cole Maynard 6-1 180 R-Sr. Western Kentucky Tyson Helton Mooresville, N.C. (Hough)
AP KC Concepcion 5-11 190 Jr. Texas A&M Mike Elko Charlotte, N.C. (Chambers)
LS Beau Gardner 6-5 250 R-Sr. Georgia Kirby Smart San Francisco, Calif. (St. Ignatius Prep)
Second Team-Offense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
QB Julian Sayin 6-1 208 So. Ohio St. Ryan Day Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad)
RB Kewan Lacy 5-11 210 So. Ole Miss Pete Golding Dallas, Tex. (Lancaster)
RB Kaytron Allen 5-11 219 Sr. Penn St. Terry Smith Norfolk, Va. (IMG Academy)
WR Carnell Tate 6-3 195 Jr. Ohio St. Ryan Day Chicago, Ill. (IMG Academy)
WR Jordyn Tyson 6-2 200 R-Jr. Arizona St. Kenny Dillingham Allen, Tex. (Allen)
WR Danny Scudero 5-9 174 R-So. San Jose St. Ken Niumatalolo San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty)
TE Michael Trigg 6-4 240 R-Sr. Baylor Dave Aranda Tampa, Fla. (Carrollwood Day)
OL Emmanuel Pregnon 6-5 318 R-Sr. Oregon Dan Lanning Denver, Colo. (Jefferson)
OL Keylan Rutledge 6-4 330 Sr. Georgia Tech Brent Key Royston, Ga. (Franklin County)
C Drew Bobo 6-5 305 R-Jr. Georgia Kirby Smart Athens, Ga. (Auburn)
OL Luke Montgomery 6-5 312 Jr. Ohio St. Ryan Day Findlay, Ohio (Findlay)
OL Billy Schrauth 6-4 310 Jr. Notre Dame Marcus Freeman Campbellsport, Wis. (Saint Mary’s Springs)
Second Team-Defense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
DL John Henry Daley 6-4 255 R-So. Utah Kyle Whittingham Alpine, Utah (Lone Peak)
DL Caden Curry 6-3 260 Sr. Ohio St. Ryan Day Greenwood, Ind. (Center Grove)
DL Colin Simmons 6-3 240 So. Texas Steve Sarkisian Dallas, Tex. (Duncanville)
DL R Mason Thomas 6-2 249 Sr. Oklahoma Brent Venables Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons)
LB *Anthony Hill Jr. 6-3 238 Jr. Texas Steve Sarkisian Denton, Tex. (Ryan)
LB CJ Allen 6-1 235 Jr. Georgia Kirby Smart Barnesville, Ga. (Lamar County)
LB Xavier Atkins 6-0 210 So. Auburn DJ Durkin Houston, Tex. (Summer Creek)
DB D’Angelo Ponds 5-9 173 Jr. Indiana Curt Cignetti Miami, Fla. (Chaminade-Madonna)
DB Bishop Fitzgerald 5-11 205 R-Sr. Southern California Lincoln Riley Woodbridge, Va. (Gar-Field)
DB Hezekiah Masses 6-1 185 Sr. California Justin Wilcox Deerfield Beach, Fla. (Deerfield Beach)
DB Bray Hubbard 6-2 213 Jr. Alabama Kalen DeBoer Ocean Springs, Miss. (Ocean Springs)
Second Team-Special Teams
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
PK Tate Sandell 5-9 182 R-Jr. Oklahoma Brent Venables Port Neches, Tex. (Grove)
P Ryan Eckley 6-2 207 R-Jr. Michigan St. Jonathan Smith Lithia, Fla. (Newsome)
AP Kaden Wetjen 5-9 196 Gr. Iowa Kirk Ferentz Williamsburg, Iowa (Williamsburg)
LS Garrison Grimes 6-2 220 R-Sr. BYU Kalani Sitake American Fork, Utah (American Fork)
*–2024 AFCA 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. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. A third wide receiver was added to the team in 2024.
The Award: Members of the AFCA FBS 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.
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
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Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez headline the 2025 AFCA FBS Coaches’ All-America Teams announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.
Winner of the Doak Walker Award, Love earned AFCA All-America honors by ranking second nationally in scoring (10.5), second in total points (126), second in total touchdowns (21), third in rushing touchdowns (18), fourth in rushing yards (1,372), fifth in yards per carry (6.89) and fifth in all-purpose yards (137.67). He was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year and Maxwell Award.
Rodriguez has received a lot of hardware since he helped lead Texas Tech to their first Big 12 Championship with a team-high 13 tackles and one tackle for loss against BYU. He won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, the Bednarik Award and the Pony Express Award (nation’s top duo with fellow AFCA All-American David Bailey) by leading the nation in forced fumbles with seven and being in the top 15 nationally with 117 tackles. Rodriguez is the first FBS player since 2005 to record at least five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four interceptions in the same season.
| FBS All-Americans | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Team-Offense | ||||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) | |
| QB | Fernando Mendoza | 6-5 | 225 | R-Jr. | Indiana | Curt Cignetti | Miami, Fla. (Christopher Columbus) | |
| RB | Jeremiyah Love | 6-0 | 214 | Jr. | Notre Dame | Marcus Freeman | St. Louis, Mo. (Christian Brothers) | |
| RB | Ahmad Hardy | 5-10 | 210 | So. | Missouri | Eli Drinkwitz | Oma, Miss. (Lawrence County) | |
| WR | *Jeremiah Smith | 6-3 | 223 | So. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Miami Gardens, Fla. (Chaminade-Madonna) | |
| WR | Makai Lemon | 5-11 | 195 | Jr. | Southern California | Lincoln Riley | Los Alamitos, Calif. (Los Alamitos) | |
| WR | Skyler Bell | 6-0 | 185 | R-Sr. | UConn | Jim Mora | Bronx, N.Y. (The Taft School) | |
| TE | Eli Stowers | 6-4 | 235 | Gr. | Vanderbilt | Clark Lea | Denton, Tex. (Guyer) | |
| OL | Kadyn Proctor | 6-7 | 366 | Jr. | Alabama | Kalen DeBoer | Des Moines, Iowa (Southeast Polk) | |
| OL | Spencer Fano | 6-6 | 308 | Jr. | Utah | Kyle Whittingham | Spanish Fork, Utah (Timpview) | |
| C | Carson Hinzman | 6-5 | 300 | Sr. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Spring Valley, Wis. (Saint Croix Central) | |
| OL | Logan Jones | 6-3 | 302 | Gr. | Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | Council Bluffs, Iowa (Lewis Central) | |
| OL | Carter Smith | 6-5 | 313 | R-Jr. | Indiana | Curt Cignetti | Powell, Ohio (Olentangy Liberty) | |
| First Team-Defense | ||||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) | |
| DL | David Bailey | 6-3 | 250 | Sr. | Texas Tech | Joey McGuire | Irvine, Calif. (Mater Dei) | |
| DL | Cashius Howell | 6-2 | 248 | R-Sr. | Texas A&M | Mike Elko | Kansas City, Mo. (Rockhurst) | |
| DL | Rueben Bain Jr. | 6-3 | 270 | Jr. | Miami (Fla.) | Mario Cristobal | Miami, Fla. (Central) | |
| DL | Kayden McDonald | 6-3 | 326 | Jr. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Suwanee, Ga. (North Gwinnett) | |
| LB | Jacob Rodriguez | 6-1 | 235 | Sr. | Texas Tech | Joey McGuire | Wichita Falls, Tex. (Rider) | |
| LB | Arvell Reese | 6-4 | 243 | Jr. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Cleveland, Ohio (Glenville) | |
| LB | Aiden Fisher | 6-1 | 231 | Sr. | Indiana | Curt Cignetti | Fredericksburg, Va. (Riverbend) | |
| DB | *Caleb Downs | 6-0 | 205 | Jr. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Hoschton, Ga. (Mill Creek) | |
| DB | Leonard Moore | 6-2 | 195 | So. | Notre Dame | Marcus Freeman | Round Rock, Tex. (Round Rock) | |
| DB | Mansoor Delane | 6-0 | 190 | Sr. | LSU | Frank Wilson | Silver Spring, Md. (Archbishop Spalding) | |
| DB | Michael Taaffe | 6-0 | 189 | Sr. | Texas | Steve Sarkisian | Austin, Tex. (Westlake) | |
| First Team-Special Teams | ||||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) | |
| PK | Kansei Matsuzawa | 6-2 | 200 | Sr. | Hawaii | Timmy Chang | Tokyo, Japan (Makuhari Sogo) | |
| P | Cole Maynard | 6-1 | 180 | R-Sr. | Western Kentucky | Tyson Helton | Mooresville, N.C. (Hough) | |
| AP | KC Concepcion | 5-11 | 190 | Jr. | Texas A&M | Mike Elko | Charlotte, N.C. (Chambers) | |
| LS | Beau Gardner | 6-5 | 250 | R-Sr. | Georgia | Kirby Smart | San Francisco, Calif. (St. Ignatius Prep) | |
| Second Team-Offense | ||||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) | |
| QB | Julian Sayin | 6-1 | 208 | So. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad) | |
| RB | Kewan Lacy | 5-11 | 210 | So. | Ole Miss | Pete Golding | Dallas, Tex. (Lancaster) | |
| RB | Kaytron Allen | 5-11 | 219 | Sr. | Penn St. | Terry Smith | Norfolk, Va. (IMG Academy) | |
| WR | Carnell Tate | 6-3 | 195 | Jr. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Chicago, Ill. (IMG Academy) | |
| WR | Jordyn Tyson | 6-2 | 200 | R-Jr. | Arizona St. | Kenny Dillingham | Allen, Tex. (Allen) | |
| WR | Danny Scudero | 5-9 | 174 | R-So. | San Jose St. | Ken Niumatalolo | San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty) | |
| TE | Michael Trigg | 6-4 | 240 | R-Sr. | Baylor | Dave Aranda | Tampa, Fla. (Carrollwood Day) | |
| OL | Emmanuel Pregnon | 6-5 | 318 | R-Sr. | Oregon | Dan Lanning | Denver, Colo. (Jefferson) | |
| OL | Keylan Rutledge | 6-4 | 330 | Sr. | Georgia Tech | Brent Key | Royston, Ga. (Franklin County) | |
| C | Drew Bobo | 6-5 | 305 | R-Jr. | Georgia | Kirby Smart | Athens, Ga. (Auburn) | |
| OL | Luke Montgomery | 6-5 | 312 | Jr. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Findlay, Ohio (Findlay) | |
| OL | Billy Schrauth | 6-4 | 310 | Jr. | Notre Dame | Marcus Freeman | Campbellsport, Wis. (Saint Mary’s Springs) | |
| Second Team-Defense | ||||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) | |
| DL | John Henry Daley | 6-4 | 255 | R-So. | Utah | Kyle Whittingham | Alpine, Utah (Lone Peak) | |
| DL | Caden Curry | 6-3 | 260 | Sr. | Ohio St. | Ryan Day | Greenwood, Ind. (Center Grove) | |
| DL | Colin Simmons | 6-3 | 240 | So. | Texas | Steve Sarkisian | Dallas, Tex. (Duncanville) | |
| DL | R Mason Thomas | 6-2 | 249 | Sr. | Oklahoma | Brent Venables | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons) | |
| LB | *Anthony Hill Jr. | 6-3 | 238 | Jr. | Texas | Steve Sarkisian | Denton, Tex. (Ryan) | |
| LB | CJ Allen | 6-1 | 235 | Jr. | Georgia | Kirby Smart | Barnesville, Ga. (Lamar County) | |
| LB | Xavier Atkins | 6-0 | 210 | So. | Auburn | DJ Durkin | Houston, Tex. (Summer Creek) | |
| DB | D’Angelo Ponds | 5-9 | 173 | Jr. | Indiana | Curt Cignetti | Miami, Fla. (Chaminade-Madonna) | |
| DB | Bishop Fitzgerald | 5-11 | 205 | R-Sr. | Southern California | Lincoln Riley | Woodbridge, Va. (Gar-Field) | |
| DB | Hezekiah Masses | 6-1 | 185 | Sr. | California | Justin Wilcox | Deerfield Beach, Fla. (Deerfield Beach) | |
| DB | Bray Hubbard | 6-2 | 213 | Jr. | Alabama | Kalen DeBoer | Ocean Springs, Miss. (Ocean Springs) | |
| Second Team-Special Teams | ||||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) | |
| PK | Tate Sandell | 5-9 | 182 | R-Jr. | Oklahoma | Brent Venables | Port Neches, Tex. (Grove) | |
| P | Ryan Eckley | 6-2 | 207 | R-Jr. | Michigan St. | Jonathan Smith | Lithia, Fla. (Newsome) | |
| AP | Kaden Wetjen | 5-9 | 196 | Gr. | Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | Williamsburg, Iowa (Williamsburg) | |
| LS | Garrison Grimes | 6-2 | 220 | R-Sr. | BYU | Kalani Sitake | American Fork, Utah (American Fork) | |
*–2024 AFCA 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. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. A third wide receiver was added to the team in 2024.
The Award: Members of the AFCA FBS 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.
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
