Pair of Oregon Ducks named to AP midseason All-American team

On Wednesday, the Associated Press released its midseason All-American team ahead of Week 8 of the 2023 college football season. Two Oregon Ducks made the cut.

Junior offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson was tabbed by the AP as a midseason first-team selection. In six games this season, Powers-Johnson has played a team-high 397 snaps and leads the Ducks with 19 knockdowns. His Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 90.0 is the best in the nation among centers who play regularly.

Earlier this season, Powers-Johnson was named to the midseason honor roll for the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the top offensive line in college football.

Oregon junior receiver Troy Franklin was named an AP second-team All-American. In six games this season, he has caught 40 passes for 689 yards and eight touchdowns, tied for most in the Pac-12. His five 100-yard receiving games are just one away from the UO single-season record.

Franklin ranks seventh nationally among FBS pass-catchers with 114.8 receiving yards per game. He is on pace to become just the 12th player in program history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

“It starts with talent. Troy is a special talent, right?” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said earlier this week. “But beyond that, Troy’s a guy where we’re on the flight heading back from the game on Saturday and he’s texting me the things he knows he wants to do better and what he wants to improve on. Where he’s gonna be better for the team and be better for himself. And I think that’s just part of it. You gotta stay hungry. And he’s been a guy that’s been really hungry this year to be the best version of himself.

“I think he knows that he even has a higher standard than what maybe you’ve seen so far to this point. So obviously, I’m thrilled to have him on our team. He’s a great player for us, and excited to see what he continues to do.”

AP Midseason All-Americans

First-team offense

QB – Michael Penix Jr., Washington

RB – Jonathon Brooks, Texas

RB – Audric Estime, Notre Dame

OT – Joe Alt, Notre Dame

OT – Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State

OG – Cooper Beebe, Kansas State

OG – Zak Zinter, Michigan

OC – Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon

TE – Brock Bowers, Georgia

WR – Malik Nabers, LSU

WR – Luther Burden, Missouri

WR – Rome Odunze, Washington

All-purpose – Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Kicker – Will Reichard, Alabama

First-team defense

EDGE – Laiaitu Latu, UCLA

EDGE – Dallas Turner, Alabama

DL – Howard Cross, Notre Dame

DL – Jer/Zhan Newton, Illinois

LB – Payton Wilson, NC State

LB – Jason Henderson, Old Dominion

LB – Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M

CB – Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama

CB – Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri

S – Malakai Starks, Georgia

S – Jaylin Simpson, Auburn

DB – Cooper DeJean, Iowa

P – Tory Taylor, Iowa

Second team offense

QB – Jayden Daniels, LSU

RB – Ray Davis, Kentucky

RB – Blake Corum, Michigan

OT – Olu Fashanu, Penn State

OT – Javon Foster, Missouri

OG – Christian Haynes, UConn

OG – Tanner Miller, Oregon State

OC – Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia

WR – Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

WR – Troy Franklin, Oregon

WR – Xavier Legette, South Carolina

TE – Cade Stover, Ohio State

All-Purpose – Keon Coleman, Florida State

Kicker – Graham Nicholson, Miami (Ohio)

Second-team defense

EDGE – Jonah Elliss, Utah

EDGE – Mohamed Kamara, Colorado State

DT – T’Vondre Sweat, Texas

DT – Byron Murphy, Texas

LB – Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma

LB – Jay Higgins, Iowa

LB – Power Echols, North Carolina

CB – Denzel Burke, Ohio State

CB – Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky

S – Tyler Nubin, Minnesota

S – Calen Bullock, USC

DB – Sebastian Castro, Iowa

P – Matthew Hayball, Vanderbilt