STANFORD, Calif. - Senior offensive guard Joshua Garnett and sophomore running back Christian McCaffrey of the Pac-12 champion Stanford football team received more national recognition Wednesday, as the pair received American Football Coaches Association All-America first-team nods. For Garnett, it was his fifth first-team citation, making him the ninth unanimous All-American in Stanford history.
Five of the program’s nine unanimous selections have come since 2009: Garnett (2015), David Yankey (2013), Zach Ertz (2012), David DeCastro (2011) and Toby Gerhart (2009).
Garnett, a human biology major from Puyallup, Washington, was named first team All-America by the Associated Press, Sporting News, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Walter Camp Football Foundation. Last week, he became the first Stanford player to win the Outland Trophy, presented to the top interior lineman in the country. On Tuesday, he earned the Pac-12's Morris Trophy, becoming the fifth Cardinal player to secure the honor. Previous winners were defensive lineman Willie Howard (1999), and offensive linemen Kwame Harris (2002), David Yankey (2012) and Andrus Peat (2014).
McCaffrey, who finished second last week in the Heisman Trophy voting, was picked first team All-America by the Associated Press (all-purpose), Football Writers Association of America (kick returner), Sporting News (running back) and AFCA (running back). He was also tabbed second team All-America by the Walter Camp Football Foundation (running back and kick returner).
A native of Castle Rock, Colorado, McCaffrey established an FBS record for single-season all-purpose yards with 3,496, breaking the old mark of 3,250 set by Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State in 1988.
McCaffrey, the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, also claimed the Paul Hornung Award given to the most versatile player in college football. Stanford fullback and linebacker Owen Marecic received the award in 2010.