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Posted on Wed, Dec 14, 2011 : 1:38 p.m.

David Molk is Michigan's first AP first-team All-American since Jake Long

By Kyle Meinke

Michigan senior David Molk won the Rimington Trophy as the country's best center, but had been left off several first-team All-America lists.

The Associated Press did not forget him.

Molk was named the AP's first-team All-America center Wednesday afternoon, becoming the first Michigan player to receive the honor since offensive lineman Jake Long in 2007.

Punter Zoltan Mesko and defensive end Brandon Graham were named to the second team in 2009 and quarterback Denard Robinson was named to the third team last season.

Molk_David_11.jpg

David Molk

Robinson was not named to any of the AP's All-America teams this year.

Wisconsin center Peter Konz, who was slotted ahead of Molk on multiple All-America teams, including the Sports Illustrated team released Tuesday, was the AP's second-team center. Grant Garner of Oklahoma State was on the third team.

Molk was also named a Walter Camp first-team All-American.

Michigan opponents to make the AP team include: Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy and Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus on the first team; Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David and Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert and linebacker Manti Teo on the second team; and Western Michigan receiver Jordan White, San Diego State tailback Ronnie Hillman and Ohio State defensive tackle John Simon on the third team.


The Associated Press All-America team:

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Robert Griffin III, junior, 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Baylor.

Running backs: Montee Ball, junior, 5-11, 210, Wisconsin; Trent Richardson, junior, 5-11, 224, Alabama.

Tackles: Barrett Jones, senior, 6-5, 311, Alabama; Matt Kalil, junior, 6-7, 295, Southern California.

Guards: David DeCastro, senior, 6-5, 310, Stanford; Kevin Zeitler, senior, 6-4, 318, Wisconsin.

Center: David Molk, senior, 6-2, 286, Michigan.

Wide receivers: Justin Blackmon, junior, 6-1, 215, Oklahoma State; Robert Woods, sophomore, 6-1, 180, Southern California.

Tight end: Dwayne Allen, junior, 6-4, 255, Clemson.

All-purpose player: Sammy Watkins, freshman, 6-1, 180, Clemson.

Kicker: Randy Bullock, senior, 5-9, 212, Texas A&M.


DEFENSE

Ends: Melvin Ingram, senior, 6-2, 276, South Carolina; Whitney Mercilus, junior, 6-4, 265, Illinois.

Tackles: Devon Still, senior, 6-5, 310, Penn State; Jerel Worthy, junior, 6-3, 310, Michigan State.

Linebackers: Luke Kuechly, junior, 6-3, 237, Boston College; Jarvis Jones, sophomore, 6-3, 241, Georgia; Dont'a Hightower, junior, 6-4, 260, Alabama.

Cornerbacks: Morris Claiborne, junior, 6-0, 185, LSU; Tyrann Mathieu, sophomore, 5-9, 175, LSU.

Safeties: Mark Barron, senior, 6-2, 218, Alabama; Bacarri Rambo, junior, 6-0, 218, Georgia.

Punter: Brad Wing, freshman, 6-3, 184, LSU.


SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Andrew Luck, junior, Stanford.

Running backs: LaMichael James, junior, Oregon; David Wilson, junior, Virginia Tech.

Tackles: Jonathan Martin, senior, Stanford; Nate Potter, senior, Boise State.

Guards: Will Blackwell, senior, LSU; Austin Pazstor, senior, Virginia.

Center: Peter Konz, junior, Wisconsin.

Wide receivers: Ryan Broyles, senior, Oklahoma; Kendall Wright, senior, Baylor.

Tight end: Tyler Eifert, junior, Notre Dame.

All-purpose player: Joe Adams, senior, Arkansas.

Kicker: Caleb Sturgis, junior, Florida.


DEFENSE

Ends: Frank Alexander, senior, Oklahoma; Vinny Curry, senior, Marshall.

Tackles: Joe Vellano, junior, Maryland; Derek Wolfe, senior, Cincinnati.

Linebackers: Courtney Upshaw, senior, Alabama; Lavonte David, senior, Nebraska; Manti Teo, junior, Notre Dame.

Cornerbacks: David Amerson, sophomore, North Carolina State; Dre Kirkpatrick, junior, Alabama.

Safeties: Markelle Martin, senior, Oklahoma State; Antonio Allen, senior, South Carolina.

Punter: Ryan Allen, junior, Louisiana Tech.


THIRD TEAM

Quarterback: Matt Barkley, junior, Southern California.

Running backs: Ronnie Hillman, sophomore, San Diego State; Bobby Rainey, senior, Western Kentucky.

Tackles: Levy Adcock, senior, Oklahoma State; Cordy Glenn, senior, Georgia.

Guards: Ryan Miller, senior, Colorado; Gabe Ikard, sophomore, Oklahoma.

Center: Grant Garner, senior, Oklahoma State.

Wide receivers: Jordan White, senior, Western Michigan; Patrick Edwards, senior, Houston.

Tight end: Coby Fleener, senior, Stanford.

All-purpose player: Tavon Austin, junior, West Virginia.

Kicker: Quinn Sharp, junior, Oklahoma State.


DEFENSE

Ends: Sam Montgomery, sophomore, LSU; Andre Branch, senior, Clemson.

Tackles: John Simon, junior, Ohio State; Fletcher Cox, junior, Mississippi State.

Linebackers: Tank Carder, senior, TCU; Sammy Brown, senior, Houston; Emmanuel Acho, senior, Texas.

Cornerbacks: Nigel Malone, junior, Kansas State; Brodrick Brown, junior, Oklahoma State.

Safeties: Josh Bush, senior, Wake Forest; George Iloka, senior, Boise State.

Punter: Shawn Powell, senior, Florida State.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.

Comments

MRunner73

Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 6:16 p.m.

Forget about those dot-com All American listings, the AP is the real deal and is official in my book. Congrats to David Molk. GO BLUE!!!

DeSean

Wed, Dec 14, 2011 : 11:39 p.m.

Surprised Mike Martin didn't make 2nd or 3rd team. Thought he had an excellent season.

ted

Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 1:20 a.m.

I did too, but I also thought the way Urban Meyer turned around the OSU program in just one week was enough that he might have had Hoke by a hair for The Big Ten Coach Of The Year. So you really don't know what these voters are thinking sometimes

aawolve

Wed, Dec 14, 2011 : 8:14 p.m.

Great player, great attitude, there is no more deserving player than Molk. He deserved better from &quot;Michigan Men&quot; like Desmond Howard. Truly shameful. A quote from Molk: &quot;Going through what we did for five years … it's hard to put into words truly what it means and truly what we've been through,&quot; Molk said Monday night at the Laurel Manor. &quot;Because frankly, I don't think there's many people in this room or in this country that understand. Unless you've been a fifth-year senior here, you don't know. You didn't live it you didn't feel it, you didn't see the pain, you didn't hear the anguish, you didn't hear the hate.&quot; <a href="http://detnews.com/article/20111213/SPORTS0201/112130364/1131/rss17" rel='nofollow'>http://detnews.com/article/20111213/SPORTS0201/112130364/1131/rss17</a> This echos the sentiment of a quote from Van Bergen from earlier this season. I'm proud that they did it despite many of those around the football program

GoBigBlue

Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 2:57 a.m.

Maybe the fans weren't booing the players, but what the players were being forced to do by the coaching staff? Just a thought.