Turner named consensus All-American as Sporting News honors Alabama players
Alabama football has its first consensus All-American of 2023 as Dallas Turner was named to his third first team of the year.
The Sporting News released its All-America honorees on Wednesday, selecting two Alabama football players to its first-team: edge rusher Dallas Turner and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. It was the third first-team honor for Turner, giving UA its name 79th consensus All-American.
A player needs first-team status in a majority of the lists produced by The Sporting News, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Walter Camp Football Foundation and American Football Coaches Association. All but the latter have been revealed.
McKinstry can join Turner if he’s recognized by the AFCA. No Alabama players will be unanimous All-Americans after being passed over by the Walter Camp committee.
Turner, a finalist for the Bednarik Award and the Southeastern Conference’s defender of the year, recorded 10 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. McKinstry broke up seven passes with 27 tackles. He recorded zero interceptions, but that’s partially a measure of how little opposing offenses challenged McKinstry. Both Turner and McKinstry are expected to be first-round selections in the NFL Draft.
Four other Alabama players were named to The Sporting News’ second team: offensive tackle JC Latham, safety Caleb Downs, defensive back Terrion Arnold and kicker Will Reichard. They’ve each propelled Alabama to its 11-game winning streak, SEC Championship and College Football Playoff berth.
Alabama led all programs with six players named across The Sporting News’ picks:
First-team defense:
DL: T’Vondre Sweat, Texas
DL: Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois
DL: Jonah Elliss, Utah
EDGE: Dallas Turner, Alabama
EDGE: Laiatu Latu, UCLA
LB: Payton Wilson, NC State
LB: Jason Henderson, Old Dominion
CB: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
CB: Cooper DeJean, Iowa
S: Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
S: Tyler Nubin, Minnesota
S: Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
DB: Mike Sainristil, Michigan
ATH: Travis Hunter, Colorado
First-team offense:
QB: Jayden Daniels, LSU
RB: Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State
RB: Cody Schrader, Missouri
WR: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
WR: Rome Odunze, Washington
WR: Malik Nabers, LSU
TE: Brock Bowers, Georgia
T: Olu Fashanu, Penn State
G: Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
C: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
G: Zak Zinter, Michigan
T: Joe Alt, Notre Dame
First-team specialists:
K: Graham Nicholson, Miami (Ohio)
P: Tory Taylor, Iowa
PR: Zachariah Branch, USC
KR: Barion Brown, Kentucky
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].