Stanford left guard David Yankey became the eighth unanimous All-American in Stanford history after being selected to all five major All-America first teams, which are chosen by the Associated Press (AP), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF).
The 6-foot-5, 313-pound senior is the first Stanford player in over three decades to earn consensus All-American status or better for two consecutive years — wide receiver Ken Margerum ’81 won consensus All-America honors during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. Yankey is the fourth Stanford player to earn unanimous All-American status since the turn of the century, joining running back Toby Gerhart ’10 in 2009, right guard David DeCastro ’12 in 2011 and tight end Zach Ertz ’13 in 2012.
The heart and soul of the stout Cardinal offensive line, Yankey paved the way for a potent Cardinal running game that averaged 5.0 yards per carry and reached the end zone 29 times this season. The unit is ranked fourth in the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.68 per game) and also 16th for fewest sacks allowed (1.15).
Junior wideout Ty Montgomery earned consensus All-American status at the kick returner position, as he was named to the AFCA, Sporting News and WCFF All-America first teams. Despite opponents often pooch kicking to prevent Montgomery from getting his hands on the ball, the explosive returner leads the country in kickoff return average (31.2 yards) and also took kickoff returns to the house against Washington and Utah.
Perhaps the most feared defensive player in the Pac-12, fifth-year senior outside linebacker Trent Murphy nabbed consensus recognition as he was named to the AFCA, FWAA and Sporting News All-America first teams. Murphy leads the nation in sacks (14.0) and is fourth in tackles for loss (21.5), but he was inexplicably left off the semifinalist list for the Butkus Award, given annually to the best linebacker in college football.
Fifth-year senior inside linebacker Shayne Skov was named to the FWAA All-America second team and AP All-America third team, while senior free safety Ed Reynolds was selected to the FWAA All-America second team.
Contact George Chen at gchen15 ‘at’ stanford.edu.