Notre Dame Football: A look at the 2018 Irish All-Americans

The beginning of college football bowl season means the announcement of this year’s All-American teams, and Notre Dame football was well represented. Here’s a look at who landed where among the 2018 All-American lists.

Every December, as college football prepares for the start of bowl season, numerous organizations and foundations release their lists of who they believe to be the very best college football players in the nation. Players like Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray or Clemson’s Christian Wilkins are no-brainers and showed up on every All-American list out there. However, the various lists that featured a Notre Dame football player shows that this year’s squad has the talent to compete with the best in the nation.

Before we start looking at the list, here are a few important items to keep in mind when talking about college football All-Americans. While lists from places such as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and CBS Sports can deem a player an All-American, the NCAA only recognizes the All-American teams selected by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

If a player is selected as a first-team All-American by three of these recognized lists, they are considered a consensus All-American. If a player is selected as a first team All-American by all five of the recognized organizations, they are honored as a unanimous All-American. The last time Notre Dame had a unanimous All-American was in 2017, when guard Quenton Nelson was awarded the honor.

So, with that out of the way, here are your 2018 Notre Dame All-Americans:

2018 Associated Press All-America Team

• First Team Defense: Julian Love – Cornerback (1/5)
• Second Team Defense: Jerry Tillery – Defensive Tackle
• Third Team Defense: Te’von Coney – Linebacker

2018 FWAA All-America Team

• First Team Defense: Julian Love – Defensive Back (2/5)
• Second Team Offense: Sam Mustipher – Center

Sporting News 2018 College Football All-Americans

• First Team Defense: Julian Love – Cornerback (3/5)
• Second Team Defense: Jerry Tillery – Defensive Line

2018 Walter Camp All-America Teams

• First Team Defense: Julian Love – Defensive Back (4/5)

2018 AFCA FBS Coaches’ All-America Teams

• Second Team Offense: Sam Mustipher – Center
• Second Team Defense: Julian Love – Defensive Back

ESPN’s 2018 All-American Team

• First Team Offense: Sam Mustipher – Center
• First Team Defense: Julian Love – Cornerback

Sports Illustrated’s 2018 College Football All-America Team

• First Team Defense: Jerry Tillery – Defensive Tackle
• First Team Defense: Julian Love – Cornerback
• Second Team Offense: Alize Mack – Tight End

2018 CBS Sports All-America Team

• First Team Defense: Jerry Tillery – Defensive Line
• Second Team Defense: Te’von Coney – Linebacker
• Second Team Defense: Julian Love – Cornerback

2018 Pro Football Focus All-American Team

• First Team Defense: Te’von Coney – Linebacker
• Second Team Defense: Alohi Gilman – Safety
• Honorable Mention Defense: Jerry Tillery – Defensive Interior
• Honorable Mention Defense: Julian Love – Cornerback

After looking through the lists, it wasn’t a surprise to see a consistent sighting of Julian Love, Jerry Tillery, and Sam Mustipher. It was disappointing to see Te’von Coney only show up on a few lists, and only one recognized list as a third-team AP selection.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment came with Julian Love missing the cut as a unanimous All-American. His second team selection to the AFCA All-American Team left him one list short of the honor, as he garnered first team selections to the four other recognized All-American Teams. However, the four out of five lists does make Love a consensus All-American — the first Irish cornerback to receive that honor since Shane Walton in 2002.

The snub only adds to the growing list of disrespect and especially recent list of overlooked Irish players when it comes to national recognition. Just this year alone, Love lost the Jim Thorpe Award (nation’s top cornerback) to Georgia’s Deandre Baker, a player that Love had outperformed all season.

Going back to last season, Quenton Nelson was snubbed of the Outland Trophy (nation’s best interior lineman) to Houston’s Ed Oliver. And in 2013, Zack Martin didn’t make a single All-American list. Yes, the same Zack Martin that played every game of his career at Notre Dame who has been an All-Pro in the NFL since his rookie year.

Okay, I know I’m being a homer and I might be slightly biased, but some of these decisions are truly head-scratching. Nonetheless, it was great to see so many players rewarded for the incredible season’s they’ve had that’s helped lead Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff for the first time.

With under two weeks until the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow Slap the Sign for all things related to the matchup with Clemson! #GOIRISH