ARLINGTON, Texas – The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic boasts a proud tradition of showcasing the nation's top college football players at the end of each season and this year's Classic has some of the top award-winning talent on display on its rosters.
 
This is the seventh year for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic to sponsor the Football Writers Association of America All-America Team and joins the FWAA in highlighting the outstanding 54-player team with an on-screen presentation during today's game. This season's two dominant conferences, the Big Ten and the Southeastern, make up the bulk of the team, with both conferences listing 16 players. The Big 12 is next with six, followed by the Atlantic Coast with three.
 
Ohio State has its highest All-America count this season – four overall with three on the first team – since 2019, when it listed five on the overall team. And within this quadrant of the bracket, Miami and Texas A&M combined to add five more, making the nine players from these pairings represent one-sixth of the overall 54-man first and second teams designated by the FWAA as the best at their position.
 
Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs joins Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher as the only repeat members, both returning from the 2024 FWAA All-America Team. Downs is Ohio State's fourth two-time FWAA All-American this decade. Also on the first team are Kadyn McDonald, Ohio State's first defensive lineman on the first team since Chase Young in 2019, and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who continued the Buckeyes' reestablished tradition on receivers, giving them an All-American at the position in five of the last six seasons. Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese is on the second team. The Buckeyes have had eight first-team FWAA All-Americans in the past four seasons and 11 overall.
 
Big Ten rival and fellow College Football Playoff qualifier Indiana also has four on the team, as Ohio State and Indiana combine to make up half the conference's selections. Indiana starts with first-team quarterback and 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and moves to one of the men protecting him in the pocket, Carter Smith. Fisher, only the second two-time All-American in Indiana program history, adds another first-team mention. It's only the third time for Indiana to have two or more All-Americans (1945, 2024) and Mendoza is the Hoosiers' first All-American quarterback since Antwaan Randle El in 2002. Indiana also has its first All-American wide receiver in Omar Cooper Jr., who is on the second team.
 
Texas A&M is one of two teams, along with Notre Dame, to have an All-American on offense, defense and special teams. Cashius Howell was one of the nation's sack leaders this season and is on the first team. KC Concepcion sparked the offense with his special teams returns and also made the first team. Wide receiver Mario Craver is on the second team. Texas A&M tied for third with Notre Dame and others with three All-America selections.
 
Miami is another CFP qualifier following a rebound season. The Hurricanes have two All-Americans in defensive end Rueben Bain and Francis Mauigoa, Miami's first All-American on the offensive line since 2002.
 
Notre Dame now has 15 FWAA All-Americans this decade, with its three this season and sports the Doak Walker Award winner (named after the Cotton Bowl Classic Hall of Fame legend) in running back Jeremiyah Love, along with defensive back Leonard Moore and his backfield mate and special teams wizard Jadarian Price, who is on the second team. Love is the first All-American running back since Vagas Ferguson in 1979, and Price is the Irish's first All-American on special teams since Raghib Ismail in 1992. Moore is the Irish's fifth All-American in the defensive backfield of the last six seasons.
 
Texas Tech, one of the newcomers to the CFP field, ties for third among all schools with three All-Americans of its own. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who won the FWAA's Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player, is on the first team, to no one's surprise. But a teammate who lines up in front of him, David Bailey, also made the first team as one of the country's top sack leaders. Defensive tackle Lee Hunter is on the second team.
 
Texas was the other school to have three All-Americans. Ryan Niblett salvaged at least two wins for the Longhorns with dramatic punt returns late in those games and was honored on the first team as such. Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and defensive back Michael Taaffe are on the second team.
 
Utah was one of seven programs to put two members on the All-America team, led by the FWAA's Outland Trophy winner, offensive lineman Spencer Fano. Among other highlights from this year's team are Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers (first team) and quarterback Diego Pavia (second team). They are the Commodores' first All-Americans on offense since 1958.
 
Most of the team are juniors – 23 in all – with 18 seniors, eight sophomores and five graduate students.

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2025 FWAA ALL-AMERICA TEAM PRESENTED BY THE GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana (6-5, 225, Jr., Miami, Fla.)
RB Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss (5-11, 210, So., Dallas, Texas)
RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame (6-0, 214, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.)
WR Makai Lemon, USC (5-11, 195, Jr., Los Alamitos, Calif.)
WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (6-3, 223, So., Miami Gardens, Fla.)
TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt (6-4, 235, Gr., Denton, Texas)
OL Spencer Fano, Utah (6-6, 308, Jr., Spanish Fork, Utah)
OL Iapani Laloulu, Oregon (6-2, 329, Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii)
OL Kadyn Proctor, Alabama (6-7, 366, Jr., Des Moines, Iowa)
OL Carter Smith, Indiana (6-5, 313, R-Jr., Powell, Ohio)
C Logan Jones, Iowa (6-3, 302, Gr., Council Bluffs, Iowa)

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DE David Bailey, Texas Tech (6-3, 250, Sr., Irvine, Calif.)
DE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M (6-2, 248, R-Sr., Kansas City, Mo.)
DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State (6-3, 326, Jr., Suwanee, Ga.)
DT Landon Robinson, Navy (6-0, 287, Sr., Fairlawn, Ohio)
LB CJ Allen, Georgia (6-1, 235, Jr., Barnesville, Ga.)
LB Aiden Fisher, Indiana (6-1, 233, Sr., Fredericksburg, Va.)
LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech (6-1, 235, Sr., Wichita Falls, Texas)
DB Mansoor Delane, LSU (6-0, 190, Sr., Silver Spring, Md.)
DB Caleb Downs, Ohio State (6-0, 205, Jr., Hoschton, Ga.)
DB Bishop Fitzgerald, USC (5-11, 205, R-Sr., Woodbridge, Va.)
DB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame (6-2, 195, So., Round Rock, Texas)

FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS
K Tate Sandell, Oklahoma (5-9, 182, R-Jr., Port Neches, Texas)
P Evan Crenshaw, Troy (6-4, 192, R-Jr., Ponte Vedra, Fla.)
RS Ryan Niblett, Texas (5-10, 187, So., Houston, Texas)
RS Kaden Wetjen, Iowa (5-9, 196, Gr., Williamsburg, Iowa)
AP KC Concepcion, Texas A&M (5-11, 190, Jr., Charlotte, N.C.)

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt; RB Cam Cook, Jacksonville State; RB Ahmad Hardy, Missouri; WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana; WR Mario Craver, Texas A&M; TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon; OL Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State; OL Will Jeffcoat, Army; OL Francis Mauigoa, Miami; OL Laurence Seymore, WKU; C Jake Slaughter, Florida. 

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami; DE John Henry Daley, Utah; DT Lee Hunter, Texas Tech; DT R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma; LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas; LB Red Murdock, Buffalo; LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State; DB Hezekiah Masses, California; DB Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo; DB Faletau Satuala, BYU; DB Michael Taaffe, Texas. 

SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS
K Kansei Matsuzawa, Hawaii; P Keegan Andrews, Massachusetts; RS Caullin Lacy, Louisville; RS Jadarian Price, otre Dame; AP Emmett Johnson, Nebraska.