Jaxson Kirkland Earns Huskies' Highest Individual Honor Yet

Jaxson Kirkland slowly but surely has worked his way back into the good graces of people everywhere who judge college football talent.

This week, USA TODAY Sports' 52-player All-America team made Kirkland the highest-recognized Husky off Kalen DeBoer's first in Montlake by placing him on its second offensive unit.

The 6-foot-7, 340-pound senior from Vancouver, Washington, had dropped off the college radar somewhat when, in order, he injured an ankle in 2021 that required offseason surgery, entered the NFL draft and withdrew his name, and finally missed the UW's first two games, specifically the opener because of NCAA mandate.

Not to mention, Kirkland changed positions, from offensive tackle to left guard for his second Husky outing back this season at the suggestion of the new coaching staff. 

A year ago, the accomplished Husky lineman showed up on various mock drafts as a possible first-rounder. He's still working on regaining some of that high regard, yet he's more often considered a middle-round selection these days — with the chance, of course, to raise his stock at the NFL combine and in at least one college all-star game, having been invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl.

The USA All-America team represents Kirkland's fourth individual honor since the regular season ended, coming after he was named to the third unit of the Associated Press All-America team, first-team All-Pac-12 as voted by the coaches and second-team All-Pac-12 by Pro Football Focus. 

UW sophomore wide receiver Rome Odunze joined Kirkland on the AP All-America third team and coaches' All-Pac-12 first team, and was named first-team All-Pac-12 by PFF.

Kirkland, Odunze and the rest of the Huskies currently are practicing for its Alamo Bowl appearance on Dec. 29 against Texas in San Antonio. 

USA TODAY SPORTS ALL-AMERICANS

First-Team Offense

QB: Caleb Williams, USC; RB: Blake Corum, Michigan; RB: Bijan Robinson, Texas; WR: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State; WR: Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee; TE: Brock Bowers, Georgia; OL: Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan; OL: John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota; OL: Peter Skoronski, Northwestern; OL: O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida; OL: Andrew Vorhees, USC.

First-Team Defense

DL: Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State; DL: Jalen Carter, Georgia; DL: Tuli Tuipulotu, USC; DL: Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech; LB: Will Anderson Jr., Alabama; LB: Jack Campbell, Iowa; LB: Ivan Pace Jr., Cincinnati; CB: Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU; CB: Clark Phillips III, Utah; S: Kamren Kinchens, Miami (Fla.); S: Chris Smith, Georgia

Specialists

K: Christopher Dunn, North Carolina State; P: Adam Korsak, Rutgers; Ret: Jaylin Lucas, Indiana; All-Purpose: Will Shipley, Clemson

Second-Team Offense

QB: Bryce Young, Alabama; RB: DeWayne McBride, Alabama-Birmingham; RB: Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State; WR: Nathaniel Dell, Houston; WR: Charlie Jones, Purdue; TE: Michael Mayer, Notre Dame; OL: Jaxson Kirkland, Washington; OL: Joe Alt, Notre Dame; OL: Steve Avila, TCU; OL: Cooper Beebe, Kansas State; OL: Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State.

Second-Team Defense

DL: Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh; DL: Jose Ramirez, Eastern Michigan; DL: Jonah Tavai, San Diego State; DL: Jared Verse, Florida State; LB: Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State; LB: Jason Henderson, Old Dominion; LB: Drew Sanders, Arkansas; CB: Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State; CB: Devon Weatherspoon, Illinois; S: Sydney Brown, Illinois; S: Jammie Robinson, Florida State.

Specialists

K: Jake Moody, Michigan; P: Tory Taylor, Iowa; Ret: Anthony Gould, Oregon State; All-Purpose: Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama.

ASSOCIATED PRESS ALL-AMERICANS

First-Team Offense

Quarterback — Caleb Williams, second-year, Southern California. Running backs — Bijan Robinson, third-year, Texas; Blake Corum, third-year, Michigan. Tackles — Peter Skoronski, third-year, Northwestern; Joe Alt, second-year, Notre Dame. Guards — O’Cyrus Torrence, fourth-year, Florida; Andrew Vorhees, sixth-year, Southern California. Center — John Michael Schmitz, sixth-year, Minnesota. Tight end — Michael Mayer, third-year, Notre Dame. Wide receivers — Marvin Harrison Jr., second-year, Ohio State; Jalin Hyatt, third-year, Tennessee; Xavier Hutchinson, third-year, Iowa State. All-purpose player — Deuce Vaughn, third-year, Kansas State. Kicker — Christopher Dunn, fifth-year, North Carolina State.

First-Team Defense

Edge rushers — Will Anderson Jr., third-year, Alabama; Tuli Tuipulotu, third-year, Southern California. Tackles — Jalen Carter, third-year, Georgia; Calijah Kancey, fourth-year, Pittsburgh. Linebackers — Ivan Pace Jr., fourth-year, Cincinnati; Jack Campbell, fourth-year, Iowa; Drew Sanders, third-year, Arkansas. Cornerbacks — Clark Phillips III, third-year, Utah; Devon Witherspoon, fourth-year, Illinois. Safeties — Kamren Kinchens, second-year, Miami; Christopher Smith, fifth-year, Georgia. Defensive backs — Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, fourth-year, TCU. Punter — Bryce Baringer, sixth-year, Michigan State.

Second-Team Offense

Quarterback — Max Duggan, fourth-year, TCU. Running backs — Chase Brown, fifth-year, Illinois; Mohamed Ibrahim, sixth-year, Minnesota. Tackles — Paris Johnson Jr., third-year, Ohio State; Dawand Jones, fourth-year, Ohio State. Guards — Cooper Beebe, fourth-year, Kansas State; Steve Avila, fifth-year, TCU. Center — Olusegun Oluwatimi, sixth-year, Michigan. Tight end — Brock Bowers, second-year, Georgia. Wide receivers — Charlie Jones, sixth-year, Purdue; Rashee Rice, fourth-year, SMU; Josh Downs, third-year, North Carolina. All-purpose player — Zach Charbonnet, fourth-year, UCLA. Kicker — Jake Moody, fifth-year, Michigan.

Second-Team Defense

Edge rushers — Tyree Wilson, fifth-year, Texas Tech; Isaiah Foskey, fourth-year, Notre Dame. Tackles — Jer’Zhan Newton, third-year, Illinois; Jonah Tavai, fifth-year, San Diego State. Linebackers — Tommy Eichenberg, fourth-year, Ohio State; Jeremiah Trotter Jr., second-year, Clemson; Jamon Dumas-Johnson, second-year, Georgia. Cornerbacks — Emmanuel Forbes, third-year, Mississippi State; Joey Porter Jr., fourth-year, Penn State. Safeties — Kaevon Merriweather, fifth-year, Iowa; Ronnie Hickman, fourth-year, Ohio State. Defensive back — Brian Branch, third-year, Alabama. Punter — Tory Taylor, third-year, Iowa.

Third-Team Offense 

Quarterback — Hendon Hooker, sixth-year, Tennessee. Running backs — DeWayne McBride, third-year, UAB; Israel Abanikanda, third-year; Pittsburgh. Tackles — Blake Freeland, fourth-year, BYU; Alex Palczewski, sixth-year, Illinois. Guards — Jaxson Kirkland, sixth-year, Washington; Christian Haynes, fourth-year, Connecticut. Center — Brett Neilon, sixth-year, Southern California. Tight end — Dalton Kincaid, fifth-year, Utah. Wide receivers — Nathaniel Dell, fifth-year, Houston; Rome Odunze, third-year, Washington; Zay Flowers, fourth-year, Boston College. All-purpose player — Jahmyr Gibbs, third-year, Alabama. Kicker — Joshua Karty, third-year, Stanford.

Third-Team Defense

Edge rushers — Felix Anudike-Uzomah, third-year, Kansas State; Jose Ramirez, fifth-year, Eastern Michigan. Tackles — Dontay Corleone, second-year, Cincinnati; Mekhi Wingo, second-year, LSU. Linebackers — Jason Henderson, two-year, Old Dominion; Nick Herbig, third-year, Wisconsin; Jaylan Ford, third-year, Texas. Cornerbacks — Kool-Aid McKinstry, second-year, Alabama; Mekhi Blackmon, fifth-year, Southern California. Safeties — Marcus Fuqua, fourth-year, Buffalo; Jordan Battle, fourth-year, Alabama. Defensive back — Quinyon Mitchell, third-year, Toledo. Punter — Mason Fletcher, second-year, Cincinnati.

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