This season, Nelson became a star. He ranked second in the country in both receptions (122) and receiving yards (1,606) behind fellow All-American Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech.

Crabtree set NCAA freshman records with 125 receptions for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdowns. Fellow redshirt freshmen Jeremy Maclin from Missouri (all-purpose player) and Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber also made the first team.

The last freshman to be an AP All-American was Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson in 2004.

Crabtree was also one of four players unanimously selected to the first team by a panel of 12 media members, along with McFadden, Dorsey and Southern California defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis.

Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman on Saturday night. He was the second-rated passer in the country, led the Gators in rushing and became the first major college player with at least 20 rushing touchdowns and at least 20 TD passes in the same season.

Missouri's Martin Rucker, who led the nation's tight ends with 81 catches, gave the Tigers two All-Americans.

Long was joined on the offensive line by Kansas tackle Anthony Collins, guards Duke Robinson of Oklahoma and Martin O'Donnell of Illinois, and Wake Forest center Steve Justice.

On the defensive line with Dorsey and Ellis were ends Chris Long from Virginia and George Selvie of South Florida.

Penn State's Dan Connor, Colorado's Jordan Dizon and Laurinaitis were the linebackers. They were also the three finalists for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker. Laurinaitis won the award.

In the secondary, the cornerbacks were Aqib Talib from Kansas and Antoine Cason from Arizona. The safeties were Jamie Silva from Boston College and Craig Steltz from LSU, each with six interceptions.

Cincinnati's Kevin Huber was the punter. He led the nation with a 46.9-yard average.

The Big 12 had eight players selected to the first team, leading all conferences. The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference were second with four All-Americans each.