100 years of AP All-America football teams: Here's who we think are the best of the best

Ohio State and Pittsburgh each placed three players on The Associated Press All-Time All-America team announced Thursday as part of the news organization’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the storied honor for the top players in college football.

Since 1925, nearly 2,000 men have been named AP first-team All-Americans, one of the most prestigious honors in the sport.

The Big Ten led all conferences with seven selections, two more than the Southeastern Conference.

Of the 25 players on the first team, five won the Heisman Trophy and 21 are in the College Football Hall of Fame, two are nominated for induction in 2026 and two are not eligible because they are not yet 10 years removed from their college careers.

A panel of 12 AP sports writers who cover college football selected the all-time team. It won't be, and shouldn't be, considered definitive. There have been far more great players over the last century than spots available.

For a player to qualify, he must have been an AP first-team All-American at least once. His professional career, if any, was not to be considered. Also, a member of the all-time team could only be listed on the side of the ball where he was named first-team All-America. All-purpose players could come from any position.

Voters were cautioned against recency bias, but it is notable that only three of the first-team selections played before 1970. Of the 12 players who were three-time All-Americans, only four made the two all-time teams picked by AP.

Florida's Tim Tebow edged Texas' Vince Young (2005) for all-time first-team quarterback. Tebow won the Heisman and made the AP All-America team as a sophomore in 2007, his first year as the starter.

He led the Gators to their second national championship in three years in 2008 and narrowly missed a chance at another when the 2009 team started 13-0 but lost to Alabama in the SEC championship game. He remains the SEC career leader in rushing touchdowns and touchdowns responsible for.

Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders (1988) and Georgia's Herschel Walker (1980-81-82), both Heisman winners, are the running backs. Marshall's Randy Moss (1997) and Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald (2003) are the wide receivers.

The offensive line is made up of Ohio State's Orlando Pace (1995-96) and Pitt's Bill Fralic (1982-83-84) at tackle, Alabama's John Hannah (1972) and Ohio State's Jim Parker (1956) at guard and Penn's Chuck Bednarik (1947-48) at center. The tight end is Georgia's Brock Bowers (2023).

The all-purpose player is Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska (1972).

On defense, Pitt's Hugh Green (1978-79-80) and Maryland's Randy White (1974) are the ends and Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh (2009) and Minnesota's Bronko Nagurski (1929) are the tackles. The linebackers are Illinois' Dick Butkus (1964), Alabama's Derrick Thomas (1988) and Ohio State's Chris Spielman (1986-87).

The secondary is made up of Heisman winner Charles Woodson of Michigan (1996-97) and Florida State's Deion Sanders (1987-88) at cornerback and Southern California's Ronnie Lott (1980) and Miami's Ed Reed (2000-01) at safety.

The specialists are Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski (1998-99) and Iowa punter Tory Taylor (2023).

Many fans might say Anthony Munoz and Ray Guy, among others, are glaring omissions.

Munoz, who played at Southern California from 1976-79, is considered one of the greatest offensive linemen of all time, college or pro. He's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Alas, he was never a first-team AP All-American.

Guy, who played at Southern Mississippi from 1970-72, remains the only punter selected in the first round of an NFL draft. But punters were not included on AP All-America teams until 1981.

Wide receivers — Randy Moss, Marshall, 1997; Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh, 2003.

Tackles — Orlando Pace, Ohio State, 1995-96; Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh, 1982-83-84.

Guards — John Hannah, Alabama, 1972; Jim Parker, Ohio State, 1956.

Center — Chuck Bednarik, Penn, 1947-48.

Tight end — Brock Bowers, Georgia, 2023.

QB — Tim Tebow, Florida, 2007.

Running backs — Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, 1988; Herschel Walker, Georgia, 1980-81-82.

Kicker — Sebastian Janikowski, Florida State, 1998-99.

All-purpose — Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, 1972.

Ends — Hugh Green, Pittsburgh, 1978-79-80; Randy White, Maryland, 1974.

Tackles — Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, 2009; Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota, 1929.

Linebackers — Dick Butkus, Illinois, 1964; Derrick Thomas, Alabama, 1988; Chris Spielman, Ohio State, 1986-87.

Cornerbacks — Charles Woodson, Michigan, 1996-97; Deion Sanders, Florida State, 1987-88.

Safeties — Ronnie Lott, Southern California, 1980; Ed Reed, Miami, 2000-01.

Punter — Tory Taylor, Iowa, 2023.

Wide receivers — DeVonta Smith, Alabama, 2020; Desmond Howard, Michigan, 1991.

Tackles — Jonathan Ogden, UCLA, 1995; Bryant McKinnie, Miami, 2001.

Guards — Brad Budde, Southern California, 1979; John Smith, Notre Dame, 1927.

Center — Dave Rimington, Nebraska, 1981-82.

Tight end — Keith Jackson, Oklahoma, 1986-87.

QB — Vince Young, Texas, 2005.

Running backs — Archie Griffin, Ohio State, 1974-75; Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh, 1976.

Kicker — Martin Gramatica, Kansas State, 1997.

All-purpose — Tim Brown, Notre Dame, 1986-87.

Ends — Bubba Smith, Michigan State, 1966; Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech, 1984.

Tackles — Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma, 1975; Warren Sapp, Miami, 1994.

Linebackers — Jerry Robinson, UCLA, 1976-77-78; Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma, 1985-86; Lawrence Taylor, North Carolina, 1980.

Cornerbacks — Champ Bailey, Georgia, 1998; Tyrann Mathieu, LSU, 2011.

Safeties — Bennie Blades, Miami, 1986-87; Al Brosky, Illinois, 1951.

Punter — Reggie Roby, Iowa, 1981.

Big Ten — 7

SEC — 5

Independent — 4

ACC — 2

Big East — 2

Big Eight — 2

Big 12 — 1

MAC — 1

Pac-10 — 1

(asterisk)Based on players’ school affiliations at the time they were in college

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FILE - Notre Dame's Anthony Johnson (22) is stopped by Alabama's Derrick Thomas during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in South Bend, Ind., Nov. 14, 1987. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman, File)

FILE - Georgia's Herschel Walker (34) goes around Clemson's Dan Benish (71) with some help from Georgia's Guy McIntyre (74) during third period of an NCAA college football game Monday night, Sept. 6, 1982 in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2009, file photo, Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh (93) rushes against a Florida Atlantic player during an NCAA football game in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 27, 1946, file photo, Chuck Bednarik, All-America center at the University of Pennsylvania is shown. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Florida quarterback Tim Tebow throws a touchdown pass to receiver Louis Murphy during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Georgia on Oct. 27, 2007, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton, File)

FILE - Ohio State's Archie Griffin picks up some of his game-high 163 yards against Michigan during an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., as Michigan's Walt Williamson (91), Carl Russ (33) and Steve Strinko (59) defend. (AP Photo/File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The first witness at the sex trafficking trial of three brothers, two of them high-end real estate brokers, testified Tuesday that the thrill of attending a party at actor Zac Efron’s apartment turned into a nightmare when, hours later, one of the brothers repeatedly raped her at their home and taunted her about it.

The woman, who testified under a pseudonym, is one of several alleged victims expected to testify against brothers Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander, who are accused of teaming up to drug and rape women and girls over several years.

Lawyers for the brothers say the sex was consensual.

Prosecutors say the Alexander brothers used their ties to the wealthy and famous to lure multiple victims.

The woman said she was 20, an anthropology major in college, when she met two of the brothers at the party at Efron's New York apartment. She accompanied a friend who had recently met Tal Alexander, and who invited her there to watch the last game of the 2012 NBA Finals. She said she had little interaction with Efron, who is not accused of any wrongdoing.

After the game, the woman went to an afterparty at a Manhattan nightclub, where she said she was given a drink and remembered little afterward until she woke up naked on a bed in another apartment with Alon Alexander, also naked, standing over her. She said she repeatedly tried to get up, but he kept pushing her back, prompting her to say: “I don’t want to have sex with you.”

“Haha, you already did,” she recalled him saying as he “laughed in my face.”

She said he then overpowered and raped her. While it was happening, Tal Alexander walked into the room briefly, but did nothing to stop the attack, the woman told the jury. He seemed “super nonchalant," she said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Smyser said in her opening statement to the jury that the Alexander brothers “masqueraded as party boys when really they were predators." Smyser said they used “whatever means necessary” including luxury accommodations, flights, drugs, alcohol and sometimes brute force to lure women into situations where they could be raped.

Attorney Teny Geragos, representing Oren Alexander, urged the jury to reject prosecutors' “monstrous story.”

She said the brothers, who got out of college in 2008, were successful, ambitious and sometimes arrogant as they pursued women in nightclubs, bars, restaurants and online in what is known as “hookup culture,” hoping to have as much sex as possible.

“You may find this behavior immoral, but it is not criminal,” Geragos said. She said some of the brothers' accusers were hoping to enrich themselves with lawsuits and spoke of themselves as victims only after feeling regret that they had done illegal drugs or had sex outside of relationships with their boyfriends.

Attorney Deanna Paul, representing Tal Alexander, warned jurors that the subject matter of the case was disturbing and will seem like an R-rated movie, especially after prosecutors portrayed the brothers as “monsters.”

“In their early 20s, Tal and his brothers were party boys. They were womanizers. They slept with many, many women,” she said.

She urged jurors to reject the criminal charges against the brothers if they conclude that the accusers' testimony was unreliable.

Oren and Tal Alexander were real estate dealers who specialized in high-end properties in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Their brother, Alon, graduated from New York Law School before running the family’s private security firm. Tal is 39 years old while Alon and Oren, who are twins, are 38.

An indictment alleges that the men conspired to entice women to join them at vacation destinations such as New York's Hamptons by providing flights and luxury hotel rooms.

The brothers have been held without bail since their December 2024 arrest in Miami, where they lived.

During her testimony Tuesday, the trial's first witness said she fled the room where Alon Alexander had attacked her after he fell asleep. The woman remained composed through much of her testimony, though she got choked up several times. She cried as she recalled reaching out several years after the attack to friends she had told about the experience so she could be reminded that others loved her.

In this courtroom sketch, assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Smyser gestures to Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander and Tal Alexander as she presents her opening statement with Judge Valerie Caproni presiding on the bench in Manhattan federal court on the first day of the Alexander brothers' sex trafficking trial, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

In this courtroom sketch, assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Smyser questions a witness going by the pseudonym "Katie Moore" regarding the alleged sexual assault by Alon Alexander, seated far left, as Judge Valerie Caproni presides on the bench in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

In this courtroom sketch, from left, Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander and Tal Alexander appear in Manhattan federal court on the first day of their sex trafficking trial, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

In this courtroom sketch, a witness, testifying under the pseudonym "Katie Moore," cries on the witness stand in Manhattan federal court on the first day of the sex trafficking trial of Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander and Tal Alexander, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

FILE - Oren and Tal Alexander speak at a panel at the Rockstars of Real Estate Event, Sept. 3, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision for DETAILS Magazine/AP Images, File)