Three Aggies land on AP All-America team: Sternberger, Mann & Williams

Three Texas A&M junior football players were named to the Associated Press collegiate All-American football team on Monday.

Tight end Jace Sternberger and punter Braden Mann were first team selections. Running back Trayveon Williams was named to the second team. 

Sternberger and Mann are the first Aggies to be named to the AP’s first team since quarterback Johnny Manziel and tackle Luke Joeckel in 2012. The A&M tight end and punter were also named to the Walter Camp All-American first team last week.

Sternberger, from Kingfisher, Oklahoma, leads all tight ends with 10 touchdown catches. He’s second in the nation with 47 catches for 804 yards. A junior college transfer, he was the first player to commit to Texas A&M under coach Jimbo Fisher.

Matt Sachs, TexAgs

Sternberger (81) and Williams (5) were both steady and explosive for the A&M offense en route to All-American seasons.

Mann, from Cypress Fairbanks, won the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nation’s premier punter. Mann leads the nation with a punting average of 51.15 yards per attempt.

He will set an NCAA record if he can remain close to the average after the Aggies play North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 31. The NCAA record for single-season punting average is 50.28 set by LSU’s Chad Kessler in 1997.

Mann has already set an NCAA single-game record by averaging 60.8 yards on five punts against Alabama. He also set an NCAA single-season record with 14 punts of 60 yards or more.

Williams, from Houston C.E. King, has the third-highest rushing total and the fifth highest rushing average among the nation’s Top 20 rushers. Williams has gained 1,524 yards at an average of 6.05 yards per carry. He also has scored 15 touchdowns.

Williams accumulated those numbers despite facing six opponents that ranked among the nation’s Top 40 in rushing defense. He rushed for at least 100 yards in eight games this season and twice exceeded 200 yards.

He had a strong November in which he rushed for 700 yards in four games. That included 107 yards against Auburn, 228 against Ole Miss, 167 against UAB and 198 against LSU.