Avery Williams becomes Boise State’s first consensus All-American in 9 years
Boise State senior Avery Williams was named a first-team American Football Coaches Association All-American on Thursday as an all-purpose player, securing consensus All-American status.
The NCAA takes five All-America teams into consideration when determining consensus status: Associated Press, Sporting News, Football Writers Association of America, Walter Camp and AFCA. Players must be first-team selections on half of them.
Williams earned a first-team nod from the FWAA on Wednesday (kickoff returner) and Sporting News on Tuesday (return specialist). The Walter Camp team has yet to be announced.
The former walk-on from Pasadena, California, is the third player in Boise State history to earn consensus states, joining former offensive linemen Ryan Clady (2007) and Nate Potter (2011).
Williams is the first Boise State player named first-team AFCA since Clady in 2007.
He has been named an All-American by seven organizations this year. He also earned a first-team selection from USA Today, and was named second-team by CBS Sports and third-team by AP and The Athletic.
He led the nation this season with four special teams touchdowns — returning two kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns and recovering a punt he blocked in the end zone in the Broncos’ win over Colorado State. He also blocked a field-goal attempt that night.
He returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the conference championship game against San Jose State, and Williams was named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Last season, he returned two punts for touchdowns and led the Mountain West with 13.2 yards per punt return.
All of Williams’ All-American selections have been as a kick or punt returner or all-purpose player. He was also named first-team All-Mountain West this fall as a cornerback, which is where he has started every game over the past two seasons for the Broncos.
He joined tight end John Bates in declaring for the NFL Draft on Christmas Eve. Williams leaves Boise State with nine career special teams touchdowns and four career interceptions.
