Huskies' Odunze Earns 1st-Team AP All-America Honors
Individual college football awards — the Heisman, the Outland, the Biletnikoff and others like them — are crowning moments for sure, but often left open to great debate over who was most deserving or had the best marketing push.
However, the Associated Press All-America Team, which is considered the holy grail for postseason team recognition and seems to placate everyone who is remotely deserving, on Monday singled out five Huskies, led by junior wide receiver Rome Odunze on the first team.
On the 81-player listing, Odunze was joined by UW senior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on the second unit and junior offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, junior edge rusher Bralen Trice and senior linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio on the third team.
The Huskies' five overall selections were tied with Alabama for the most players named to the three AP units, with Notre Dame and Missouri supplying four each.
To be an AP first-teamer is a badge of honor, with the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Odunze just the 29th Husky over the past 98 years to earn this accolade and first in five seasons, putting his name alongside Hugh McElhenny, George Wilson, Steve Emtman and every other truly elite UW player (see accompanying list).
Odunze made magic happen whenever he touched the football, catching 81 passes for 1,428 yards and 13 touchdowns, rushing twice for 37 yards and a score, returning punts twice for 87 yards and a TD, and running back two kickoffs for 17 yards.
"You think about how many times he's come through when you really needed it," UW coach Kalen DeBoer said. "A lot of times, when you lose a football game and don't come through in the big moment, you remember those. I can't remember Rome not coming through."
HUSKY 1ST-TEAM AP ALL-AMERICANS (29)
1925 — George Wilson, RB
1928 — Chuck Carroll, RB
1930 — Paul Schwegeler, T
1931 — Paul Schwegeler, T
1936 — Max Starcevich, G
1950 — Don Heinrich, QB
1951 — Hugh McElhenny, RB
1952 — Don Heinrich, QB
1959 — Bob Schloredt, QB
1960 — Roy McKasson, C
1966 — Tom Greenlee, DB
1968 — Al Worley, S
1972 — Calvin Jones, CB
1982 — Chuck Nelson, PK; Mark Stewart LB
1986 — Jeff Jaeger, PK
1991 — Steve Emtman, DT; Mario Bailey, WR
1992 — Lincoln Kennedy, OT
1995 — Lawyer Milloy, S
1996 — Benji Olson, OG
1997 — Benji Olson, OG; Olin Kreutz, C
2000 — Chad Ward, OG
2002 — Reggie Williams, WR
2014 — Hau'oli Kikaha, ER; Shaq Thompson, LB; Danny Shelton, DT
2018 — Ben Burr-Kirven, LB
2023 — Rome Odunze, WR
Penix, the Heisman runner-up, was the second-team AP quarterback behind LSU's Jayden Daniels. He leads the nation with 4,218 yards passing on 307 of 466 throws for 33 touchdowns, with just 9 interceptions.
On the third team, the 6-foot-4, 317-pound Fautanu continues to cap off a superlative junior season with his first national recognition after being named first-team All-Pac-12 last week.
Similarly, the 6-foot-4, 274-pound Trice, double- and triple-teamed much of the season and having his sacks fall from 9 to 5 from 2022, was rewarded for his uninterrupted presence coming off the edge.
Of these five Huskies saluted by the AP, Ulofoshio's inclusion might have been the most endearing selection. He made himself a top-level player once more after missing half of each of the two previous seasons with knee and bicep injuries that required surgery.
Oregon had three players honored by the AP in first-team center Jackson Powers-Johnson, he of the temporary fumble recovery touchdown against the Huskies in the Pac-12 title game; wide receiver Troy Franklin, a second-teamer; and quarterback Bo Nix, the Heisman finalist who was a third -teamer.
Of other Pac-12 players highlighted by the AP were former Husky edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who was a first-team pick for UCLA; Colorado's Travis Hunter, a first-teamer as an all-purpose player; Utah edge rusher Jonah Ellis, a second-team choice; Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga, a second-teamer; and Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was a third-team selection.
Interestingly enough, no USC players, not even one-time Heisman winner Caleb Williams, were selected to the AP team this time.
Texas, the Huskies' CFP semifinal opponent in the Sugar Bowl, had three players honored by the AP in defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat on the first team, defensive tackle Byron Murphy II on the second team and all-purpose player Xavier Worthy on the third unit.
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