MORGANTOWN — Two West Virginia Mountaineers were named to the Associated Press All-America team, which was released on Monday.
Junior linebacker David Long was honored as a second team all-American, and senior wide receiver David Sills was named as a third team all-American. It was the second straight all-American nod for Sills, who was a second team honoree last season.
Long is also the Big 12 defensive player of the year. He led the Mountaineers with 97 tackles (68 solo) in the regular season. He averaged 1.68 tackles for loss per game, ranking eighth nationally. Long is also West Virginia’s sack leader with seven this season.
Sills ranked second nationally with 15 touchdown catches. He led with Mountaineers with 61 receptions and was second on the team with 896 receiving yards.
His back-to-back all-American appearances are like few, if any, to come before it. After enrolling at West Virginia as a freshman receiver, Sills transferred to El Camino (Calif.) Junior College to try his hand at quarterback. He then became an all-American in both of his seasons after returning to West Virginia and switching back to receiver.
This is the third straight season that at least one West Virginia player has been named an AP All-American.
The Dominion Post’s Sean Manning was on the selection panel.
The 16th-ranked Mountaineers (8-3) conclude their season against No. 20 Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl on Dec. 28 in Orlando, Fla.
