IRVING, Texas -- Cincinnati and Houston, which will meet Saturday in the American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game presented by RoofClaim, swept The American’s major individual awards as chosen by the league’s 11 head coaches.
Cincinnati saw quarterback Desmond Ridder repeat as The American’s Geico Offensive Player of the Year, while cornerback Ahmad Gardner was the unanimous choice as RoofClaim Defensive Player of the Year. Bearcat coach Luke Fickell was named Coach of the Year for the third time in the last four seasons.
Houston cornerback Marcus Jones was chosen as The American’s Special Teams Player of the Year, while running back Alton McCaskill was the coaches’ choice as Rookie of the Year.
In addition to the individual awards, Cincinnati and Houston occupied a combined 18 of the 28 spots on The American’s all-conference first team. The Bearcats’ 12 first-team selections are the most of any team in The American’s history.
Ridder becomes the second player to repeat as American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, joining former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton, who won in 2017 and 2018. Ridder has led Cincinnati to a 12-0 regular season and a third consecutive appearance in The American Championship Game while improving his career record to 43-5 as a starter, the best of any active NCAA quarterback. Ridder has thrown for exactly 3,000 yards has accounted for 33 touchdowns (27 passing, six rushing) and is The American’s career leader in total offense (12,072 yards) and touchdown responsibility (113).
An FWAA All-America selection last season, Gardner is the first Cincinnati player to earn American Defensive Player of the Year honors after he was selected for the honor by each of the other 10 conference coaches. Gardner leads a Bearcat defense that ranks second nationally in pass efficiency (95.88), second in opponent completion percentage (52.5%), third in interceptions (17), third in fewest passing touchdowns allowed (eight) and third in passing yards allowed (161.5). Gardner, who has never allowed a touchdown reception in his career, has allowed only 14 receptions in coverage on 32 targets in 2021.
Jones, who earned FWAA All-America honors last season, is the third Houston player to be named as The American’s Special Teams Player of the Year, joining 2013 winner Demarcus Ayers and 2019 winner Dane Roy. Jones averaged 38.0 yards on 11 kickoff returns and 14.4 yards on 25 punt returns and leads all NCAA FBS players with four special teams touchdowns in 2021 (two kickoff returns, two punt returns).
McCaskill is Houston’s third American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, joining quarterback John O’Korn in 2013 and defensive tackle Ed Oliver in 2016. McCaskill enters the postseason with 840 rushing yards and is second in the conference with 16 rushing touchdowns as a true freshman.
Fickell was named as The American Coach of the Year for the third time as he takes his 12-0 Cincinnati squad into Saturday’s American Athletic Conference Championship Game with a national ranking of No. 3 in the Associated Press poll. Cincinnati also became the first American Athletic Conference team to earn a top-four ranking from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. The Bearcats are a combined 21-1 in the last two seasons, have won 14 consecutive regular-season conference games and 26 consecutive home games.
In addition to the major award-winners, The American also named its first, second and honorable mention all-conference teams. Gardner becomes the fifth three-time first-team pick in league history, joining former South Florida running back Marlon Mack, former Memphis kicker Jake Elliott, former Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich and former UCF safety Richie Grant.
2021 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE GEICO OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOFCLAIM DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati *
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Marcus Jones, KR/PR, Houston
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Alton McCaskill, RB, Houston
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| WR |
Nathaniel Dell |
Houston |
So. |
5-10 |
155 |
Daytona Beach, Fla. |
| WR |
Calvin Austin III * 1 |
Memphis |
Sr. |
5-9 |
162 |
Memphis, Tenn. |
| WR |
Danny Gray |
SMU |
Sr. |
6-2 |
199 |
Dallas, Texas |
| OT |
Dylan O’Quinn |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
6-4 |
305 |
Toledo, Ohio |
| OT |
Patrick Paul |
Houston |
RFr. |
6-7 |
315 |
Houston, Texas |
| OG |
Lorenz Metz |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
6-9 |
326 |
Neuötting, Germany |
| OG |
Dylan Parham H |
Memphis |
Sr. |
6-3 |
285 |
Carrollton, Ga. |
| C |
Jake Renfro |
Cincinnati |
So. |
6-3 |
310 |
Mokena, Ill. |
| TE |
Sean Dykes H |
Memphis |
Gr. |
6-2 |
224 |
Houston, Texas |
| QB |
Desmond Ridder 1 |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
6-4 |
215 |
Louisville, Ky. |
| RB |
Jerome Ford |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
5-11 |
200 |
Tampa, Fla. |
| RB |
Keaton Mitchell |
East Carolina |
Fr. |
5-9 |
188 |
McDonough, Ga. |
| DL |
Big Kat Bryant |
UCF |
Sr. |
6-5 |
245 |
Cordele, Ga. |
| DL |
Curtis Brooks |
Cincinnati |
Gr. |
6-2 |
285 |
Danville, Va. |
| DL |
Myjai Sanders * 1 |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
6-5 |
258 |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
| DL |
David Anenih |
Houston |
Sr. |
6-3 |
249 |
Arlington, Texas |
| DL |
Logan Hall |
Houston |
Jr. |
6-6 |
275 |
Belton, Texas |
| LB |
Darrian Beavers 2 |
Cincinnati |
Gr. |
6-4 |
255 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| LB |
Joel Dublanko |
Cincinnati |
Gr. |
6-3 |
240 |
Aberdeen, Wash. |
| LB |
JJ Russell |
Memphis |
Gr. |
6-1 |
225 |
Grenada, Miss. |
| LB |
Diego Fagot 1 2 |
Navy |
Sr. |
6-3 |
240 |
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
| CB |
Ahmad Gardner * 1 1 |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
6-2 |
188 |
Detroit, Mich. |
| CB |
Coby Bryant 1 |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
6-1 |
198 |
Cleveland, Ohio |
| S |
Bryan Cook |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
6-1 |
210 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| S |
Gervarrius Owens |
Houston |
Jr. |
6-0 |
200 |
Moore, Okla. |
| K |
Owen Daffer |
East Carolina |
RFr. |
5-10 |
173 |
Wilmington, N.C. |
| P |
Ryan Wright 1 |
Tulane |
Sr. |
6-3 |
245 |
San Ramon, Calif. |
| RS |
Marcus Jones 1 |
Houston |
Sr. |
5-8 |
185 |
Enterprise, Ala. |
* unanimous selection
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| WR |
Ryan O’Keefe |
UCF |
Jr. |
5-10 |
175 |
Austin, Texas |
| WR |
Alec Pierce |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
6-3 |
213 |
Glen Ellyn, Ill. |
| WR |
Tyler Snead 2 |
East Carolina |
So. |
5-7 |
174 |
Raleigh, N.C. |
| OT |
Alan Ali |
SMU |
Sr. |
6-5 |
309 |
Fort Worth, Texas |
| OT |
Tyler Smith 1 |
Tulsa |
So. |
6-6 |
332 |
Fort Worth, Texas |
| OG |
Lokahi Pauole H |
UCF |
Jr. |
6-4 |
305 |
Kapolei, Hawaii |
| OG |
Demetris Harris |
South Florida |
Sr. |
6-3 |
309 |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
| OG |
Hayden Howerton 2 |
SMU |
Sr. |
6-4 |
309 |
Katy, Texas |
| C |
Kody Russey |
Houston |
Sr. |
6-2 |
292 |
Burleson, Texas |
| TE |
Grant Calcaterra |
SMU |
Sr. |
6-5 |
247 |
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. |
| QB |
Tanner Mordecai |
SMU |
Jr. |
6-3 |
218 |
Waco, Texas |
| RB |
Alton McCaskill |
Houston |
Fr. |
6-1 |
210 |
Conroe, Texas |
| RB |
Ulysses Bentley IV 1 |
SMU |
So. |
5-11 |
197 |
Houston, Texas |
| DL |
John Tate IV |
Memphis |
Gr. |
6-4 |
295 |
Pine Bluff, Ark. |
| DL |
Derek Parish |
Houston |
Jr. |
6-2 |
245 |
Pearland, Texas |
| DL |
Elijah Chatman |
SMU |
Jr. |
6-1 |
289 |
Shreveport, La. |
| DL |
Jaxon Player 1 |
Tulsa |
Sr. |
6-0 |
294 |
Waco, Texas |
| LB |
Bruce Bivens |
East Carolina |
Sr. |
6-0 |
231 |
Houston, Texas |
| LB |
Donavan Mutin |
Houston |
Jr. |
6-0 |
230 |
Spring, Texas |
| LB |
Antonio Grier 2 |
South Florida |
Sr. |
6-1 |
213 |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| LB |
Delano Robinson |
SMU |
Sr. |
6-2 |
244 |
Denton, Texas |
| CB |
Ja’Quan McMillian 2 |
East Carolina |
So. |
5-10 |
183 |
Winston-Salem, N.C. |
| CB |
Marcus Jones |
Houston |
Sr. |
5-8 |
185 |
Enterprise, Ala. |
| S |
Divaad Wilson |
UCF |
Jr. |
6-0 |
195 |
Miami, Fla. |
| S |
Quindell Johnson 2 |
Memphis |
Jr. |
6-1 |
195 |
New Orleans, La. |
| K |
Bijan Nichols |
Navy |
Jr. |
6-1 |
211 |
Heath, Texas |
| P |
Jonn Young |
East Carolina |
Sr. |
6-0 |
209 |
Advance, N.C. |
| RS |
Bryan Massey |
SMU |
So. |
5-11 |
198 |
Katy, Texas |
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| LB |
Tatum Bethune |
UCF |
Jr. |
6-1 |
225 |
Miami, Fla. |
| OG |
Cole Schneider 1 1 2 |
UCF |
Sr. |
6-4 |
315 |
Fort Myers, Fla. |
| OT |
Marcus Tatum |
UCF |
Sr. |
6-6 |
300 |
Daytona Beach, Fla. |
| DL |
Marcus Brown 2 |
Cincinnati |
Gr. |
6-2 |
297 |
Naples, Fla. |
| LB |
Deshawn Pace |
Cincinnati |
So. |
6-2 |
218 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| TE |
Josh Whyle |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
6-6 |
245 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| P |
Laine Wilkins |
Houston |
Fr. |
6-2 |
210 |
Perth, Australia |
| RB |
Jaren Mangham |
South Florida |
Jr. |
6-2 |
221 |
Detroit, Mich. |
| K |
Spenser Shrader |
South Florida |
Jr. |
6-2 |
186 |
Lithia, Fla. |
| WR |
Rashee Rice |
SMU |
Jr. |
6-3 |
206 |
North Richland Hills, Texas |
| C |
C.J. Perez |
Temple |
Gr. |
6-2 |
295 |
Shawnee, Kan. |
| C |
Sincere Haynesworth 2 |
Tulane |
So. |
6-1 |
305 |
Pearland, Texas |
| LB |
Dorian Williams 2 |
Tulane |
So. |
6-2 |
225 |
Indian Land, S.C. |
| S |
Macon Clark |
Tulane |
Jr. |
6-0 |
190 |
St. Rose, La. |
| OT |
Chris Paul |
Tulsa |
Sr. |
6-4 |
324 |
Houston, Texas |
| LB |
Justin Wright |
Tulsa |
Jr. |
6-2 |
239 |
Abilene, Texas |
1 2 H indicates previous selections to the first, second or honorable mention all-conference teams