Bryant Named First Team All-American by AP
12/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bryant Named First Team All-American by AP
12/18/2000
PITTSBURGH - University of Pittsburgh sophomore Antonio Bryant, who recently received the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver, earned yet another honor today when he was named to The Associated Press All-American Team.
Bryant was a first-team All-America selection after catching 68 passes for 1,302 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was one of only two sophomores to earn first-team honors from The Associated Press. (The other was placekicker Jonathan Ruffin of Cincinnati.)
Bryant (Miami, Fla./Miami Northwestern) is the first Pittsburgh player to receive first-team All-America honors from The Associated Press since the legendary Bill Fralic in 1984.
This is the latest in a series of postseason awards for Bryant, who was also named to the 25-player Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-America Team and selected the tri-Big East Offensive Player of the Year. Additionally, he was named to several publications' All-America squads, including The Sporting News, Football News and Rivals.com.
In winning the Biletnikoff Award, Bryant became the first Pittsburgh player to receive a major positional award since 1980 when Hugh Green won the Lombardi Award (outstanding lineman or linebacker) and Mark May won the Outland Trophy (outstanding interior lineman).
Bryant led the nation in receiving with an average of 130.2 yards per game. His 1,302 total receiving yards set a Big East record and ranked third in the country, while his 6.80 receptions per game ranked eighth.
Although he has played in just 21 career games, Bryant amazingly ranks fifth all-time at Pittsburgh with 2,146 receiving yards. His 119 receptions rank sixth in school history.
Bryant's play helped Pittsburgh achieve its most successful season since 1989 and earn a berth in the 2000 Insight.com Bowl, where the Panthers (7-4, 4-3 Big East) will face Iowa State (8-3, 5-3 Big 12).
Tickets for this year's Insight.com Bowl, which will be held at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Ariz., cost $48 and may be purchased by calling the Panthers' ticket office at (800) 643-PITT or (412) 648-PITT. Fans interested in travel packages can contact Navigant International/Forbes Travel by calling (412) 521-7300 or 521-7800.