PFSN All-America College Football Team Headlined by Diego Pavia, Jacob Rodriguez

The 2025 college football regular season is over, with championship games won, playoff places set, and bowl season berths booked. As we wait for the postseason parade to get underway, it’s time to reflect on the campaign in our regular-season rearview, with a celebration of the stars of the year.

Our 2025 PFSN All-America teams highlight the very best that we’ve seen this fall. It is packed with productive passers, rare talents at running back, outstanding wide receivers, heroic hog-mollies, and dominant defensive playmakers from front to back, all powered by our suite of PFSN College Impact metrics.

PFSN All-America First Team Offense

• QB: Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt Commodores
• RB: Emmett Johnson, Nebraska Cornhuskers
• RB: Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• WR: Wyatt Young, North Texas Mean Green
• WR: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State Buckeyes
• TE: Tanner Koziol, Houston Cougars
• OL: Carter Smith, Indiana Hoosiers
• OL: Beau Stephens, Iowa Hawkeyes
• OL: Jake Slaughter, Florida Gators
• OL: Evan Beerntsen, Northwestern Wildcats
• OL: Keagen Trost, Missouri Tigers

Diego Pavia’s remarkable campaign at Vanderbilt stands as one of the great single-season stories in SEC history. The veteran signal-caller threw for 3,192 yards with 27 touchdowns through the air while adding 826 yards and nine scores on the ground, guiding the Commodores to their first 10-win regular season.

He became the first Vanderbilt player ever named a Heisman Trophy finalist and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award — not to mention, he was QB1 in PFSN’s College Football Quarterback Impact Metric.

The backfield features a pair of workhorses who carried their offenses throughout the fall. Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns, breaking Jerome Bettis’s program record with 21 total scores on the season.

At receiver, Ohio State sophomore Jeremiah Smith topped 1,000 receiving yards for the second consecutive season and continued his assault on the Buckeyes’ record book, finishing the regular season among the national leaders in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

PFSN All-America First Team Defense

• EDGE: David Bailey, Texas Tech Red Raiders
• EDGE: John Henry Daley, Utah Utes
• DT: Adam Trick, Miami (OH) RedHawks
• DT: Ezra Christensen, New Mexico State Aggies
• LB: Xavier Atkins, Auburn Tigers
• LB: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech Red Raiders
• CB: Mansoor Delane, LSU Tigers
• CB: Leonard Moore, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• CB: Keith Abney II, Arizona State Sun Devils
• SAF: Tae Johnson, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• SAF: Miles Scott, Illinois Fighting Illini

Notre Dame’s secondary emerged as the heartbeat of one of the nation’s top defenses. Cornerback Leonard Moore, despite missing two games with an ankle injury, finished with five interceptions, including a 46-yard pick-six against Syracuse, and earned finalist honors for the Jim Thorpe Award and Nagurski Trophy.

Safety Tae Johnson added four interceptions while ranking among the team leaders in tackles, forming a tandem that helped the Irish lead the country with 21 takeaways through the air.

MORE: PFSN College Football Defensive Impact Metric

Texas Tech’s defensive front seven also earned heavy representation on this unit. Edge rusher David Bailey terrorized Big 12 quarterbacks with a conference-leading pressure rate, while linebacker Jacob Rodriguez piled up tackles at a historic clip.

The interior of the line showcases two Group of Five standouts in Miami (OH)’s Adam Trick and New Mexico State’s Ezra Christensen, both of whom ranked among the nation’s leaders in tackles for loss from the defensive tackle spot.

PFSN All-America First Team Special Teams

• K: Kansei Matsuzawa, Hawaii Warriors
• P: Dante Atton, Temple Owls
• KR: Chauncy Cobb, Arkansas State Red Wolves
• PR: Kaden Wetjen, Iowa Hawkeyes

The specialists on this year’s first team delivered season after season of clutch performances in the game’s most high-pressure moments. Matsuzawa connected on a remarkable percentage of his attempts for the Warriors, including one game-winner and a 100% completion rate on kicks from 50+ yards. Temple’s Dante Atton proved equally valuable in the field-position battle, consistently pinning opponents deep and limiting return opportunities.

In the return game, Arkansas State’s Chauncey Cobb and Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen stood out as the most electric playmakers in the country. Both averaged more than 25 yards per return and found the end zone multiple times, providing their teams with the kind of hidden-yardage advantage that turns close games into comfortable victories.

PFSN All-America Second Team Offense

• QB: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Hoosiers
• RB: Jadan Baugh, Florida Gators
• RB: LJ Martin, BYU Cougars
• WR: Zachariah Branch, Georgia Bulldogs
• WR: Malachi Toney, Miami (FL) Hurricanes
• TE: Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt Commodores
• OL: Austin Barber, Florida Gators
• OL: Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon Ducks
• OL: Matt Gulbin, Michigan State Spartans
• OL: Omar Aigbedion, Baylor Bears
• OL: Spencer Fano, Utah Utes

Indiana’s breakthrough season under Curt Cignetti owed much to the steady play of Fernando Mendoza under center. The California transfer led the nation with 33 touchdown passes while guiding the Hoosiers to a 13-0 record and the Big Ten Championship, earning Heisman finalist honors and establishing himself as the heavy favorite to win the award.

Behind him, running backs Jadan Baugh and LJ Martin provided explosive ground production for Florida and BYU, respectively, each topping 1,000 yards on the season.

The pass-catching duo of Zachariah Branch and Malachi Toney gave defensive coordinators headaches all fall. Branch brought his trademark speed to Georgia’s offense after transferring from USC, while Toney dominated in his first season with the Miami Hurricanes.

Eli Stowers rounds out the skill positions, having formed one of college football’s most productive quarterback-tight end connections with Diego Pavia in Nashville.

PFSN All-America Second Team Defense

• EDGE: Clev Lubin, Louisville Cardinals
• EDGE: Colin Simmons, Texas Longhorns
• DT: Quincy Rhodes Jr., Arkansas Razorbacks
• DT: David Stone, Oklahoma Sooners
• LB: Desmond Purnell, Kansas State Wildcats
• LB: Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU Horned Frogs
• CB: Chris Johnson, San Diego State Aztecs
• CB: Brice Pollock, Texas Tech Red Raiders
• CB: Devon Marshall, North Carolina State Wolfpack
• SAF: Dalton Johnson, Arizona Wildcats
• SAF: Wydett Williams Jr., Ole Miss Rebels

Louisville’s Clev Lubin and Texas’ Colin Simmons headlined a group of pass rushers who wreaked havoc in the trenches all season. Lubin emerged as one of the ACC’s most disruptive forces off the edge, while Simmons anchored a Longhorns defense that was one of the better units in the country.

On the interior, Arkansas’s Quincy Rhodes Jr. and Oklahoma’s David Stone consistently collapsed pockets and stuffed the run.

The secondary features a deep group of ball hawks spread across multiple conferences. San Diego State’s Chris Johnson led the Mountain West with two pick-sixes, while Texas Tech’s Brice Pollock gave the Red Raiders a lockdown corner.

At safety, Arizona’s Dalton Johnson and Ole Miss’s Wydett Williams Jr. both showed the range and instincts that made them among the most versatile defensive backs in the country.

PFSN All-America Second Team Special Teams

• K: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma Sooners
• P: Cole Maynard, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
• KR: Da’Realyst Clark, Kent State Golden Flashes
• PR: KC Concepcion, Texas A&M Aggies

Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell stepped into a pressure-packed role for the Sooners and delivered throughout the season, converting field goals at a rate that kept his team in close games. Cole Maynard handled punting duties for Western Kentucky with veteran savvy, regularly flipping field position in Conference USA play.

The return specialists on the second team provided their share of highlight-reel moments as well. Kent State’s Da’Realyst Clark showed breakaway speed on kickoffs that belied his team’s overall record, while Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion gave the Aggies a dynamic weapon on punt returns. Both players changed games with their ability to turn routine returns into scoring opportunities.

PFSN All-America Third Team Offense

• QB: Julian Sayin, Ohio State Buckeyes
• RB: Antwan Raymond, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• RB: Ahmad Hardy, Missouri Tigers
• WR: Makai Lemon, USC Trojans
• WR: Skyler Bell, Connecticut Huskies
• TE: Dallen Bentley, Utah Utes
• OL: Anthonie Knapp, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• OL: Billy Schrauth, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• OL: Gus Zilinskas, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• OL: Garrett DiGiorgio, UCLA Bruins
• OL: Brian Parker II, Duke Blue Devils

Julian Sayin’s emergence added another dimension to Ohio State’s offense, complementing the Buckeyes’ stable of skill talent. The redshirt freshman led the nation in completion percentage and passing efficiency while throwing for more than 3,300 yards with 31 touchdowns, earning a Heisman finalist nod in his first year as a starter.

At running back, Rutgers’ Antwan Raymond and Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy both cracked the 1,000-yard barrier while carrying heavy workloads for their respective programs.

The receiver spots feature a pair of targets who made names for themselves in different ways. USC’s Makai Lemon provided big-play ability in Lincoln Riley’s system, while Connecticut’s Skyler Bell helped propel the Huskies to a 9-3 record in a breakout campaign.

Notre Dame’s offensive line places two representatives on this unit in Anthonie Knapp and Billy Schrauth, both of whom cleared paths for Jeremiyah Love’s record-setting season.

PFSN All-America Third Team Defense

• EDGE: Nadame Tucker, Western Michigan Broncos
• EDGE: Keyshawn James-Newby, New Mexico Lobos
• DT: Santana Hopper, Tulane Green Wave
• DT: Jared Dawson, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• LB: Anthony Hill Jr., Texas Longhorns
• LB: Mac Harris, USF Bulls
• CB: Hezekiah Masses, California Golden Bears
• CB: Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina Gamecocks
• CB: Treydan Stukes, Arizona Wildcats
• SAF: A.J. Haulcy, LSU Tigers
• SAF: Isaac Smith, Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Group of Five produced several of the nation’s most disruptive defensive linemen this season. Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker led the nation with 14.5 sacks, and New Mexico’s Keyshawn James-Newby posted sack totals that rivaled anyone in the Power Four, earning the national recognition they deserve. Tulane’s Santana Hopper continued the Green Wave’s tradition of developing NFL-caliber interior linemen.

The linebacker and secondary spots showcase talent from across the country. Texas’s Anthony Hill Jr. and USF’s Mac Harris were both instrumental in their teams’ defensive success, making plays in coverage and against the run.

In the defensive backfield, California’s Hezekiah Masses, South Carolina’s Jalon Kilgore, and Arizona’s Treydan Stukes all proved capable of matching up with the best receivers their conferences had to offer.

PFSN All-America Third Team Special Teams

• K: Aidan Birr, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
• P: Evan Crenshaw, Troy Trojans
• KR: Devin Gandy, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
• PR: Ryan Niblett, Texas Longhorns

Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr provided the Yellow Jackets with reliable scoring in the ACC, connecting from distance multiple times when his team needed points. Troy’s Evan Crenshaw handled punting duties in the Sun Belt with consistency that made him one of the most valuable specialists in the conference.

The return game rounds out with Louisiana Tech’s Devin Gandy and Texas’s Ryan Niblett, both of whom gave their teams scoring threats every time they touched the ball in the open field. Gandy averaged more than 30 yards per kickoff return for the Bulldogs, while Niblett’s elusiveness on punt returns helped spark the Longhorns’ special teams unit throughout the season.