Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu leads group of Pac-12 players named to mid-season All-American team
The official All-American teams aren’t going to be announced until much later in the year, but with the 2022 college football season now at the midway point, it makes sense for a lot of outlets to be taking stock of what we’ve seen so far.
One of the outlets doing that is The Athletic, who put out their votes for the All-American first and second team at the midway point of the season. While not refined to specific conferences, it’s impressive to see how many members of the Pac-12 got the nod, as the conference experiences a bit of a positive regression in 2022 after a dismal few years.
The Pac-12 has four teams ranked inside the top 15. How many of those players cracked the All-American team for The Athletic? Let’s take a look:
Washington WR Rome Odunze (First Team)
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Odunze has teamed with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to lead a breakthrough on the Washington offense under new coach Kalen DeBoer. He missed the Huskies’ FCS game but has 44 catches for 693 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 140.3 yards in four Pac-12 games. For the season, he averages 10.8 yards per target
USC DL Tuli Tuipulotu (First Team)
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Tuipulotu is second in the nation with 12.5 tackles for loss, following up a first-team All-Pac-12 season in 2021 with a dominant campaign in 2022. The 6-foot-4, 290-pounder has seven sacks and a forced fumble.
Utah CB Clark Phillips (First Team)
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The blue-chip recruit is living up to his billing in the Utah secondary. He’s tied for the national lead with five interceptions, returning two for touchdowns, and he causes all kinds of problems for opposing game plans, as Bruce Feldman wrote.
UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet (Second Team)
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
87 rushes, 615 yards, 6 TD
11 catches, 143 receiving yards, 0 TD
Oregon LT Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu (Second Team)
(AP Photo/Young Kwak)
85.0 Pass Blocking Grade per PFF (No. 11 in the nation)
201 Pass Blocking Opportunities// 3 pressures, 0 sacks allowed
UCLA LB Laiatu Latu (Second Team)
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 08: Cameron Rising #7 of the Utah Utes is tackled by Laiatu Latu #15 and Jacob Sykes #99 of the UCLA Bruins during the second half of a game at the Rose Bowl on October 08, 2022 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
19 total tackles, 7.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 PBU
