Nick Saban could not have planned this year to be any better for Alabama football.
The Crimson Tide’s head coach has his team in the College Football Playoff and his players are stacking up individual honors.
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Before it takes on Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl, five student-athletes for the Tide are now Consensus All-Americans for their performances this season. To be recognized for this honor, players must be chosen by three of five national selectors — Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) and Sporting News (SN) — as a first-team All-American. For Alabama, its group of DeVonta Smith, Najee Harris, Landon Dickerson, Alex Leatherwood and Patrick Surtain II are consensus All-Americans for the campaign.
All five made the first-team for AP, FWAA and Sporting News.
With the exception of Dickerson and Surtain, the trio of Smith, Harris and Leatherwood all came in the 2017 class.
Since 2008, Coach Saban has had 16 players named consensus All-American. The number has now grown to 21 as Smith, Harris, Dickerson, Leatherwood and Surtain have joined.
If two more selectors name any of the five as first-teamers, the player will be known as a Unanimous All-American.
Alabama has had 19 unanimous All-American since 2008, and the names include Andre Smith, Mark Ingram, Rolando McClain, Mark Barron, Dee Milliner, C.J. Mosley, Derrick Henry, Reuben Foster and Minkah Fitzpatrick among others.
On Friday, Alabama and its All-Americans will face the Fighting Irish.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith
