Missouri has five players make AP All-America teams

~ Maclin, Rucker made the first team while Daniel, Moore were on the second team.

NEW YORK -- When it comes to being an All-American, Darren McFadden doesn't have to settle for second.

The Arkansas running back and two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up was one of four players voted to The Associated Press All-America team for the second consecutive season.

Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis were the other two-time first-team AP All-Americans on the team released Tuesday.

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow joins McFadden in the backfield along with Central Florida's Kevin Smith, who leads the nation with 2,448 yards and 30 touchdowns. Smith is the first All-American from UCF, which began playing major college football in 1996.

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who finished fourth in the Heisman voting, was voted to the second team. Hawaii's Colt Brennan, third in the Heisman voting, was the third-team quarterback.

McFadden set school records with 1,725 yards rushing and 2,172 all-purpose yards, breaking the marks he set last year. He scored 16 touchdowns and threw four TD passes.

The junior has said he'll decide whether to return to school for his senior season after the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 against Daniel and Missouri, though he may have given a hint as to which was he was leaning after the Heisman ceremony when he said, "I think my quarterbacking days are about to come to a halt."

Kansas State receiver Jordy Nelson went from walk-on to All-American.

Nelson didn't get a scholarship after playing at Riley County High School, about 20 miles from Kansas State's Manhattan campus. He redshirted in 2003 and was a defensive back in 2004, again not seeing any game time.

He moved to receiver in 2005 and started all 11 games, catching 45 passes for 669 yards. In 2006, he battled injuries and caught 39 passes for 547 yards.

This season, Nelson became a star. He ranked second in the country in both receptions (122) and receiving yards (1,606) behind fellow All-American Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech.

Crabtree set NCAA freshman records with 125 receptions for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdowns. Fellow redshirt freshmen Jeremy Maclin from Missouri (all-purpose player) also made the first team.

The last freshman to be an AP All-American was Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson in 2004.

Crabtree was also one of four players unanimously selected to the first team along with McFadden, Dorsey and Southern California defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis.

Missouri's Martin Rucker, who led the nation's tight ends with 81 catches, gave the Tigers two All-Americans.

Missouri junior safety William Moore of Hayti, Mo., also made the second-team defense. Moore led the Big 12 with seven interceptions.

Missouri center Adam Spieker was on the third-team offense.

at cornerback.

The Big 12 had eight players selected to the first team, leading all conferences. The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference were second with four each.

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The AP All-America voting panel is: Alex Abrams, The Morning New of Northwest Arkansas; Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Mike Dearmond, The Kansas City Star; Doug Doughty, The Roanoke Times; Eric Hansen, The South Bend Tribune; Kirk Herbstreit, WBNA-AM/ESPN; John Heuser, The Ann Arbor News; Aditi Kinkhabwala, The Bergen (N.J.) Record; Neal McCready, Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register; Dave Morrison, Beckley Register-Herald; Kevin Pearson, The Press-Enterprise; Mike Prater, Idaho Statesman.