For the second year in a row Sports Illustrated named University of Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen to its All-America second team.
The redshirt senior defender from Lawrence led the Big 12 in tackles (147) and ranked fourth among all FBS players with 12.3 tackles per game.
By leading the league in tackles in consecutive seasons, Dineen became only the second player in Big 12 history to do so, joining Texas Tech’s Lawrence Flugence (2001, 2002, 2003).
A first-team All-Big 12 linebacker, Dineen led both the conference and FBS with 108 solo tackles — pulling off that feat for the second year in a row.
SI’s first-team All-American linebackers for 2018 are Kentucky’s Josh Allen, LSU’s Devin White and Michigan’s Devin Bush.
A former teammate of Dineen’s at KU, Texas A & M tight end Jace Sternberger was a first-team All-American for SI.
The Athletic named KU running back Pooka Williams to its Freshman All-America team, comprised of what the publication considered the top 25 freshmen in the nation.
The Big 12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year, Williams rushed for 1,125 yards and seven touchdowns in his first college season, which featured 15 carries of 20-plus yards.
On national TV in prime time at Oklahoma in late November, Williams rushed for 252 yards and threw a touchdown pass.
The 5-foot-10 back from Louisiana was one of two Big 12 players to record both a 100-yard rushing game (four) and a 100-yard receiving game (one) this year, joining TCU’s Jalen Reagor.
Williams and Texas receiver Lil’ Jordan Humphrey were the conference’s only players to score a rushing, receiving and passing TD this season.
The Waco Tribune-Herald’s annual All-Big 12 teams featured four first-team selections for the Jayhawks.
Williams, also named Offensive Freshman of the Year by the Tribune-Herald, made the paper’s first team in the all-purpose slot.
KU redshirt seniors Daniel Wise, a defensive lineman, and Dineen, a linebacker, also made the first team, as did sophomore punter Kyle Thompson.