DALLAS -- San Diego State football juniors Matt Araiza (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) and Cameron Thomas (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS) have each been named to the 2021 Football Writers Association of America All-America Team, presented in partnership with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Araiza was named to the first team as a punter, while Thomas made the second team as a defensive lineman.
Araiza and Thomas are the eighth and ninth Aztecs to ever make a FWAA All-America team, and first since Luq Barcoo was a second-team in pick in 2019. Araiza is the second SDSU punter to make a FWAA team, joining Noel Prefontaine in 1996, while Thomas and Barcoo are the only San Diego State defensive players to make a FWAA squad.
The announcement comes one day after Araiza (first team) and Thomas (second team) each made the Walter Camp All-America teams. The Walter Camp and FWAA are two of the five teams that comprise the NCAA's consensus All-America team. Next week is the Associated Press (Dec. 13), The Sporting News (Dec. 14) and the AFCA (Dec. 15) All-America teams.
Araiza, who last night was named the winner of the Ray Guy Award for the nation's best collegiate punter, has punted 76 times for 3,904 yards, ranking first in FBS history in punt average (51.4 avg.), 60-yard punts (18) and 50-yard punts (39). Out of Araiza's 76 punts, 36 have landed inside the 20-yard line as Araiza has posted a 44.3 net punt average. One of four players in the nation who is handling all three kicking duties (punts, PATs/field goals and kickoffs), Araiza has added 17 field goals, including three 50-plus yarders, and has kicked off 67 times (excluding onside kicks) for a 65.06 average with 56 going for a touchback.
Araiza leads all FBS players in punt average (51.37), total punt yards (3,904) and punt yards per game (300.31), and is tied for first in PAT percentage (100.00), tied for second in punts inside the 20-yard line (36) and total punts (76), third in kickoff average (65.06), tied for fifth in punts per game (5.85), sixth in net punt average (44.28), tied for sixth in field goal attempts (28), eighth in kickoff touchback percentage (83.58), and tied for eighth in kickoff touchbacks (56) and field goal attempts per game (2.08).
Araiza has six punts of at least 70 yards, the most in the country (five are tied for second with two 70-yard punts), including the longest (86 yards), fifth-longest (81, tied), ninth longest (79), 12th longest (77, tied), 17th longest (75, tied) and 28th longest (72, tied).
Araiza has also been named The Action Network's Special Teams Player of the Year, and a first-team All-America selection by Walter Camp, The Athletic, USA Today, ESPN, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, The Action Network and Sports Info Solutions (SIS). Araiza has also been selected as the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year, a first-team all-league punter and a second-team kicker.
Thomas, meanwhile, has totaled 68 tackles, while leading the team in tackles for loss (20.5), sacks (11.5) and quarterback hurries (21). The 11.5 sacks this year by Thomas are the sixth most in SDSU single-season history, while his 20.5 tackles for loss are seventh and tied for the most in league history. Among the national leaders, he is third in tackles for loss (20.5), fourth in tackles for loss per game (1.58), tied for sixth in sacks (11.5) and 12th in sacks per game (0.88).
According to Pro Football Focus, Thomas has the fourth-highest defensive grade (90.3, min. 600 snaps) in the country. Thomas also has the most quarterback pressures (sacks/hits/hurries) (77) and hits (21) in FBS, and the sixth-most hurries (44).
Thomas has also been named a first-team All-America pick by The Athletic and Sports Info Solutions (SIS), a second-team pick by FWAA, USA Today, as well as the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-league selection for a third straight year.
The FWAA's All-America Committee selected this 78th annual team based on nominations from the entire membership. This is the ninth season in the modern era (post-1950) that the FWAA has named a second team. For a fifth consecutive year, the FWAA has selected a 54-man full team, but the additional wide receivers were selected in lieu of recognizing all-purpose players this season.
San Diego State (11-2), which has tied a school record with 11 victories this season and was 24th in the final College Football Playoff Rankings, plays No. 24 (AP) UTSA (12-1) in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 21 in Frisco, Texas.
SDSU All-Time FWAA All-Americans
1992 - 1st team - Marshall Faulk, RB
1993 - 1st team - Marshall Faulk, RB
1996 - 1st team - Noel Prefontaine, P
1997 - 1st team - Kyle Turley, OL
1999 - 1st team - Mike Malano, OL
2016 - 2nd team - Donnel Pumphrey, RB
2017 - 1st team - Rashaad Penny, RB
2019 - 2nd team - Luq Barcoo, DB
2021 - 1st team - Matt Araiza, P
2021 - 2nd team - Cameron Thomas, DL
SDSU's All-America Selections (Recognized by the NCAA)
Walter Camp (Dec. 9): Matt Araiza (1st team), Cameron Thomas (2nd team)
FWAA (Dec. 10): Matt Araiza (1st team), Cameron Thomas (2nd team)
Associated Press (Dec. 13): TBA
The Sporting News (Dec. 14): TBA
AFCA (Dec. 15): TBA
Araiza and Thomas Named FWAA All-Americans
