Fannin is the first Bowling Green player to earn All-America first team honors from the Associated Press since punter Cris Shale in 1990.
The AP All-America team is the third of the five consensus All-America teams to announce its annual team. Next up is FWAA on Tues., Dec. 17, The Sporting News on Wed., Dec. 18 and the NCAA will announce the official consensus team on Thurs., Dec. 19. Bowling Green has never had a consensus All-American (3+ of the five). Monday’s inclusion on the AP All-America team is an unofficial clinch for Fannin to be the first Falcon to do so.
Fannin (Jr., Canton, Ohio) was a finalist for the John Mackey Award and was the only tight end to be a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. Fannin ranks No. 2 in the nation with 1,342 receiving yards and leads all tight ends nationally in 21+ offensive categories, including receptions (100), yards after catch (750), first downs (64), broken tackles (31), and receiving touchdowns (9). According to Pro Football Focus, Fannin also ranks No. 1 in pass routes grade (96.1) among all receivers. Nationally, he is additionally ranked No. 2 in receptions, No. 2 in broken tackles, No. 2 in first downs, and No. 2 in yards after catch.
Fannin ranks second all-time in FBS history for single-season receiving yards by a tight end. He needs just 11 yards to surpass the FBS record of 1,352 yards, set by Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro in 2013. Fannin set the regular-season receiving yards record by a tight end at Ball State in game No. 11, while Amaro set the current record in his bowl game. With 100 receptions this season, Fannin is third all-time in single-season catches by a tight end. He needs 12 more receptions to break the record held by Rice’s James Casey, who totaled 111 in 2008.
Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), who named Fannin their All-American tight end earlier this week, has the BGSU tight end as the highest graded football player in the nation in overall grade at 95.9. His 31 broken tackles are not just the most in the nation by all players, but his broken tackles are the most by a tight end in the history of PFF’s grading (11 seasons). The closest tight end this year has 17 broken tackles and the closest all time are a few that reached 24. Fannin was also PFF’s highest graded tight end in 2023 in overall grade (85.8).
Per Pro Football Focus, Fannin’s run-blocking grade of 74.5 is tops among the nation’s pass-catching tight ends, including fellow Mackey Award finalists Colston Loveland (Michigan, 54.3) and Tyler Warren (Penn State, 52.3). Fannin’s 137 receiving yards against Penn State remain the only instance this season in which the Nittany Lions have allowed a single player to record over 100 receiving yards in a game during the regular season. During the Big Ten Championship Oregon’s wide receiver Tez Johnson (181) also recorded 100 receiving yards. His 145 receiving yards at Texas A&M are also the most any opponent has achieved against the Aggies. Fannin joins Mark Dowdell as the only Falcon tight ends to be named first-team All-MAC multiple times. Dowdell earned the accolades in 1983 and 1984. Fannin also earned the honor last season. BGSU has had four first-team All-MAC tight ends in head coach Scot Loeffler‘s six seasons.
Fannin was also named the MAC’s Vern Smith Leadership Award winner, the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-MAC. Fannin is the first tight end in FBS history to be named an overall Player of the Year for a conference. He is only the second tight end in FBS history to be named a league’s Offensive Player of the Year, joining Rutgers’ Marco Battaglia, who in 1995 was the Big East Offensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American. The 1995 Big East Defensive Player of the Year opposite Battaglia was current Bowling Green defensive line coach Cornell Brown (Virginia Tech).
The teams now chosen for each of the AFCA’s five divisions evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. In 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. The AFCA started selecting an NAIA All-America Team in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. A third wide receiver was added to the team in 2024.
Bowling Green returns to action on Thurs., Dec. 26 in the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Kick is set for 9 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.
This article was published by on 2024-12-16 17:00:00
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