DeVonta Smith becomes the first receiver to ever win AP Player of the Year award
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The Crimson Tide continue to rack up postseason hardware as DeVonta Smith has been named the 2020 AP Player of the Year.
Incredibly, Mac Jones finished second in the voting.
The AP has given out its Player of the Year award annually since the 1998 season and the honor has never been given to a receiver until this season. Smith is also the first player from Alabama to win the award.
In the 22 years the AP Player of the Year award has been awarded, the honor has gone on to the eventual Heisman Trophy winner 17 times.
Smith received 26 first-place votes, which doubled any other player in the nation. Jones and Trevor Lawerence each finished second as they each received nine first-place votes.
During his most recent media availability for the upcoming Rose Bowl showdown against Notre Dame, Nick Saban was asked to comment on coaching Smith. If you were unaware, Smith actually switched to defense early in his college career to help the Crimson Tide during a time when the defense was hit hard by injuries.
Probably one of the most selfless guys that I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach in terms of whatever he can do to help the team he wants to do,” Saban said on Monday. “The guy is one of the most popular guys on the team and also one of the leaders of the team that everybody looks up to because of the example that he sets every day and how he goes about his work.”
AP Player of the Year voting
- DeVonta Smith, Alabama – 114 (26 first-place votes)
- Mac Jones, Alabama – 67 (9)
- Trevor Lawrence, Clemson – 49 (9)
- Kyle Trask, Florida – 44 (3)
- Kyle Pitts, Florida – 5
- Travis Etienne, Clemson – 3 (1)
- Javonte Williams, North Carolina – 3 (1)
- Zach Wilson, BYU – 3
- Najee Harris, Alabama – 2
- Ian Book, Notre Dame – 2
- Zaven Collins, Tulsa – 1
- Breece Hall, Iowa State – 1
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
