Three Clemson stars named consensus All-Americans for first time in Tigers’ history

Clemson football’s 2018 season still has at least one, maybe two, games left in it. But the Tigers have already exceeded several major program milestones.

For the first time, Clemson had three players named consensus first-team All-Americans after being recognized by the majority of the five organizations recognized by the NCAA. All told, five Tigers appeared on at least one of the All-American teams, also a program record.

And senior defensive lineman Christian Wilkins led the group by being named first team by all five publications, making him Clemson’s fifth unanimous All-American.

Senior defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell and senior offensive lineman Mitch Hyatt joined Wilkins as consensus picks. Sophomore running back Travis Etienne and junior defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence were both named first team by one publication, with Etienne earning second-team honors from the four others.

The NCAA uses the All-American teams from the Associated Press (AP), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) to determine consensus and unanimous All-American selections. In order to be a consensus All-American, a player must be named first team by at least three of the organizations.

Wilkins finished the 2018 regular season with 52 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and two rushing touchdowns. Ferrell tallied 45 stops, including a team-leading 17 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. Lawrence recorded 44 tackles, 7.5 for loss, three pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.

Etienne set a school record with 22 touchdowns this year, 21 on the ground and one through the air. In 13 games, he had 1,463 rushing yards on 176 carries and 65 receiving yards on 10 receptions. Aiding his ground attack, Hyatt helped Clemson average nearly 260 rushing yards per game and 6.8 yards per carry. He holds the program record for most snaps played in a career, at 3,624.

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 12:22 PM.