Billings, Coleman, Drango named All-Americans

From Baylor Sports Information

Baylor football led the country with three Associated Press (AP) All-America first team selections as junior nose tackle Andrew Billings, junior wide receiver Corey Coleman and senior offensive lineman Spencer Drango were named to the news organization's team Sunday.

Baylor's three first-team selections are the most for a single-season in program history, after having two in 1980 (Frank Ditta, OG, and Mike Singletary, LB). That year was also the only other time that BU has had three total AP All-America selections as running back Walter Abercrombie was on the third team.

It is the second consecutive season that Drango has been honored by the AP, after also being a first-team selection a year ago. Billings and Coleman earned their first career recognitions from the organization.

Billings was one of two defensive tackles, while Drango was one of two offensive tackles and Coleman was one of two receivers on the first team. The Bears had three of the Big 12's four first team All-Americans and only Alabama had as many first-team picks.

With the trio's selection, Baylor has now had at least two All-Americans on the AP team for five straight seasons and a total of 12 in eight years under Art Briles. Baylor has a total of 32 AP selections (27 players) and 22 first-team honorees (19 players) in its history.

Billings, the 2015 Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, was a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection. The Waco, Texas, product started in 11 games, after missing the Iowa State game due to injury. Billings leads the Bears with 15 tackles for loss, including a team-best 5.5 sacks. He has 38 tackles with 31 of those being solo stops. Billings' 1.27 TFL per game ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 34th in the country. He was a major reason for BU boasting the conference's second-best rush defense (156.3 ypg).

Billings has also been named a first-team All-American by SportsOnEarth and a second-team pick by USA Today and CBS Sports. He was honorable mention All-America by Sports Illustrated.

Coleman, an All-Big 12 first-team receiver, racked up historic numbers in his junior season. In starting all 12 games, he has 74 catches for 1,363 yards and won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver last week. The Richardson, Texas, native leads the country in touchdown receptions (20) and is third in receiving yards per game (113.6). The junior's 20 TD grabs are currently ranked tied for third-most for in a single season in Big 12 history and ninth-most in NCAA history.

Coleman has also been named a first-team All-American by Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, CBS Sports and SportsOnEarth.

Drango is only the third back-to-back AP All-America first team selection in program history, joining Singletary (1979 & '80) and Thomas Everett (1985 & '86).

In 2015, he was named the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year and a unanimous All-Big 12 first team selection for a second-straight year. The senior Outland Trophy finalist led all BU blockers with a 90.3 percent coaches grade and 48 knockdowns as a starter in all 12 games. The Cedar Park, Texas, product blocks for an offense that leads the country in points (48.0) and yards (604.6) per game. Drango has helped Baylor's rushing attack rank fourth in the country with 300.2 yards per contest. He is also a key component in helping the Bears give up only 1.25 sacks per game, which ranks 19th-best nationally and leads the Big 12.

Drango has also earned first-team All-America honors from Walter Camp, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, CBS Sports and second-team recognition from SportsOnEarth.

The AP All-America team is one of five teams recognized by the NCAA that a player must be on to earn unanimous All-American status. The other four teams, include the Sporting News, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Walter Camp teams.

Baylor finished the regular season at 9-3 and 6-3 in Big 12 play. BU will now play in the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl against No. 10 North Carolina in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 29. The Bears will be appearing in a bowl game for a sixth-straight season for the first time in program history.

Baylor's AP All-Americans

1930 - Barton Kock, G (2nd)

1938 - Billy Patterson, CB (2nd)

1953 - James Ray Smith, OT (3rd)

1956 - Bill Glass, OG (1st)

1964 - Lawrence Elkins, E (1st)

1967 - Greg Pipes, DT (1st)

1972 - Roger Goree, DT (1st)

1976 - Gary Green, DB (1st)

1979 - Mike Singletary, LB (1st)

1980 - Frank Ditta, OG (1st)

1980 - Mike Singletary, LB (1st)

1980 - Walter Abercrombie, RB (3rd)

1983 - Gerald McNeil, WR (1st)

1985 - Thomas Everett, FS (1st)

1986 - Thomas Everett, FS (1st)

1989 - James Francis, LB (1st)

1991 - Santana Dotson, DT (1st)

1991 - Robin Jones, DL (3rd)

2005 - Daniel Sepulveda, P (2nd)

2006 - Daniel Sepulveda, P (1st)

2009 - J.D. Walton, C (1st)

2011 - Robert Griffin III, QB (1st)

2011 - Kendall Wright, WR (2nd)

2012 - Terrance Williams, WR (1st)

2012 - Cyril Richardson, OG (2nd)

2013 - Cyril Richardson, OG (1st)

2013 - Ahmad Dixon, S (2nd)

2014 - Spencer Drango, OT (1st)

2014 - Shawn Oakman, DE (3rd)

2015 - Andrew Billings, DT (1st)

2015 - Corey Coleman, WR (1st)

2015 - Spencer Drango, OT (1st)