Football Places a Pair on AFCA All-America First Team

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Two Miami Hurricanes were among those players selected to the AFCA FBS Coaches’ All-America First Team, announced Thursday by the American Football Coaches Association.

The Hurricanes placed two players on the AFCA All-America First Team for the first time since 2003.

Kicker Jose Borregales picked up his fourth major All-America honor, while defensive end Jaelan Phillips – who was previously named a second-team All-American by multiple outlets – was recognized as a first-team selection by one of the five entities compiling ‘consensus’ All-America status for the first time.

Since the 2002 season, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), The Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation have served as the five designated selectors by the NCAA. Borregales is one honor short of becoming Miami’s first consensus All-America since Antrel Rolle accomplished the feat in 2004; the Walter Camp Football All-America teams have yet to be announced.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions.

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.