Five Trojans earn first-team Pac-12 honors


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Five members of USC’s football team earned first-team Pac-12 football honors on Tuesday, the conference announced. Redshirt junior tailback Javorius “Buck” Allen, junior wide receiver Nelson Agholor and junior center Max Tuerk headlined the list on offense. On defense, junior defensive end Leonard Williams and sophomore defensive back Su’a Cravens represented the Trojans.

First and foremost · Junior Nelson Agholor was one of two wide receivers to earn first team all-conference honors. Agholor boasts 1,233 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns this season along with two punt return scores. - Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

First and foremost · Junior Nelson Agholor was one of two wide receivers to earn first team all-conference honors. Agholor boasts 1,233 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns this season along with two punt return scores. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

Freshman corner-wide receiver Adoree’ Jackson was named the Defensive Freshman of the Year and freshman wide receiver-safety JuJu Smith earned second-team specialist honors.

Agholor is second in the conference in receiving yards (1,223) and third in receiving touchdowns (11). The Tampa, Florida, product had an off-game at UCLA, with just three catches for 24 yards, but in the other five most recent games, he’s averaged 158.8 yards per game. These impressive performances earned him a spot on the shortlist for the Biletnikoff Award, which former Trojan Marqise Lee won in 2012.

Allen posted six consecutive 100-plus-yard rushing games in the middle of the season, the longest such streak since Heisman winner Marcus Allen had 11 in 1981. The Tallahassee, Florida, native, has racked up 1,337 rushing yards this season along with nine touchdowns. He’s also hauled in 442 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air. His 1,779 all-purpose yards are good for 14th in the nation.

On the other side of the ball, Cravens had a breakout season for the Trojans. He transitioned from safety to linebacker and recorded 62 total tackles, including a team-high 16 tackles for loss. Cravens proved himself an explosive playmaker by hauling in two interceptions and racking up five sacks.

Williams, who was also a 2013 first-teamer, hauled in an unlikely interception in the Trojans’ season opener on his way to a 71-tackle season. He’s managed 8.5 tackles for loss and six sacks, while forcing three fumbles in what was likely his final season at USC, as he’s been hailed as a Top-5 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Jackson became the third Trojan in four years to be named defensive freshman of the year. The versatile playmaker has 42 total tackles this season. Jackson also has nine passes defensed this season and one forced fumble and recovery, and has held opposing quarterbacks to a 118.5 passing efficiency rating — the second-best mark by a defensive back in the conference. Though he couldn’t duplicate Myles Jack’s accomplishment of earning both offensive and defensive freshman honors, Jackson was impressive on offense as well, hauling in two touchdowns this season, in addition to his 100-yard kickoff return touchdown at Utah.

Jackson also made the Pac-12 honorable mention list on defense along with senior linebackers Hayes Pullard and J.R. Tavai. Honorable mentions on offense included redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler, freshman offensive linemen Toa Lobendahn and Viane Talamaivao and senior tight end Randall Telfer.

Despite leading the conference in completion percentage (70.7), Kessler lost out to Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and UCLA’s Brett Hundley, who were named to the first and second team, respectively.