Michael Sam named consensus All-American

Missouri defensive end Michael Sam has earned one of his biggest awards yet. The senior is now a consensus All-American after the AP placed the Mizzou star on its list Tuesday morning.

Sam earned first team All-American honors from the Sporting News and Walter Camp Football Foundation.

With those three All-American honors, Sam has “consensus” status. The NCAA recognizes five lists in football, with the other two released by the American Football Coaches Association and the Football Writers Association of American. A player must be on three of the five lists to be recognized as a “consensus” All-American.

Sam was awarded AP SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was also named a first-team all conference selection by SEC coaches. Sam has 10.5 sacks and 18 tackles for lost this season.