Associated Press
The college football notebook …
NEW YORK— LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne became the first cornerback teammates to lock down spots on the AP All-America team.
Mathieu, a Heisman Trophy finalist, and Claiborne were joined on the All-America team by Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor and finalists Montee Ball of Wisconsin and Trent Richardson of Alabama.
Heisman runner-up Andrew Luck from Stanford was the second-team quarterback.
The team released Wednesday was selected by a panel of 16 AP poll voters.
The second-ranked Crimson Tide had the most first-teamers with four. Richardson was joined by tackle Barrett Jones, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and safety Mark Barron. Tide linebackers Courtney Upshaw and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick also made the second team, leaving Alabama tied with No. 3 Oklahoma State for the most players selected overall.
The LSU duo was joined on the first team by Tigers punter Brad Wing. LSU guard Will Blackwell was a second-team selection and defensive end Sam Montgomery made the third team.
The top-ranked Tigers will play SEC West rival Alabama on Jan. 9 in New Orleans for the BCS title.
Since the AP began selecting both an offensive and defensive team in 1964, no team had put a pair of cornerbacks on the first team. Of course, few teams have had two cornerbacks as talented as Mathieu and Claiborne.
Mathieu, also known as Honey Badger, has been a mayhem-maker for LSU on defense and special teams. He forced five fumbles, intercepted two passes and scored four touchdowns — two on punt returns, two on fumble returns. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound sophomore also had 71 tackles and was versatile enough to be moved around the defense at times.
Claiborne is a prototypical shutdown corner. The 6-1 junior made six interceptions and averaged 29 yards per return, with a touchdown.
“We have one of the best defenses in the country,” Mathieu said. “We’ve got a lot of NFL talent in our secondary, and our defense as a whole.”
The talented tandem was a major reason why LSU (13-0) heads to the BCS national championship game against Alabama with a pass defense ranked third in opponents’ efficiency, ninth in yards allowed per game and second in fewest touchdown passes allowed.
Oklahoma State also had six selections on the three teams, including wide receiver Justin Blackmon, one of two players to be selected to the first team for the second straight season. Blackmon caught 113 passes for 1,336 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The Cowboys also placed safety Markelle Martin on the second team, and center Grant Garner, tackle Levy Adcock, cornerback Brodrick Brown and kicker Quinn Sharp on the third team
Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, the nation’s leading tackler at 15.9 per game, is the other two-time All-American on this year’s team.
Griffin, who is second in the nation in total offense at 396 yards per game, won the Heisman on Saturday, beating out preseason favorite Luck, who was a second-team All-American for the second straight year.
Richardson was third in the Heisman voting and Ball, who is one touchdown away from tying Barry Sanders’ single-season record of 39, was fourth.
Mathieu finished fifth in the Heisman voting and USC quarterback Matt Barkley, a third-team All-A