Blog: Midseason All-American team puts Jalen Davis in good company

Two things stood out from Utah State’s August media day following a short interview with Jalen Davis. The first was the senior safety’s confident assurance that he would be All-Mountain West this year. The second was his classic response to inquiries about specific quarterbacks he looked forward to squaring off against this fall — 

”They all gon’ get this work.”

Jalen Davis getting hand shakes from his teammates after his first interception on the BYU game. (Kyle Todecheene)

Indeed. Currently tied for first in the country with five interceptions (and leading the nation with three pick-sixes), Davis is halfway through a brilliant year. AP, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and CBS Sports each named the California native a midseason All-American this past week, the lone player outside a Power-5 conference to earn the honor.

Davis is joined by Alabama cornerback Levi Wallace on AP’s list, detailed below.

First team offense

Quarterback — Baker Mayfield, senior, Oklahoma.

Running backs — Bryce Love, junior, Stanford; Saquon Barkley, junior, Penn State.

Tackles — Orlando Brown, junior, Oklahoma; David Edwards, sophomore, Wisconsin.

Guards — Quenton Nelson, senior, Notre Dame; Cody O’Connell, senior, Washington State.

Center — Billy Price, senior, Ohio State.

Tight end — Jaylen Samuels, senior, North Carolina State.

Receivers — James Washington, senior, Oklahoma State; David Sills V, junior, West Virginia.

All-purpose player — Dante Pettis, junior, Washington.

Kicker — Matt Gay, junior, Utah.

First team defense

Ends — Bradley Chubb, senior, North Carolina State; Austin Bryant, junior, Clemson.

Tackles — Hercules Mata’Afa, junior, Washington State; Maurice Hurst, senior, Michigan.

Linebackers — Roquan Smith, junior, Georgia; Josey Jewell, senior, Iowa; Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, senior, Oklahoma.

Cornerbacks — Jalen Davis, senior, Utah State; Levi Wallace, senior, Alabama.

Safeties — Minkah Fitzpatrick, junior, Alabama; DeShon Elliott, junior, Texas.

Punter — Johnny Townsend, senior, Florida.