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2022 All-AAC Teams and Individual Awards Revealed

Tulane RB Tyjae Spears and Cincinnati ILB Ivan Pace Jr. headline the major award winners for the conference.

Cincinnati v Temple Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The American Athletic Conference revealed its individual award winners and all-conference teams Wednesday, three days prior to Saturday’s AAC Championship Game between Tulane and UCF in New Orleans.


Individual Awards

The individual awards were voted on by the AAC’s 11 head coaches:

  • Offensive Player of the Year: Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
  • Defensive Player of the Year: Ivan Pace Jr., ILB, Cincinnati
  • Special Teams Player of the Year: Mason Fletcher, P, Cincinnati
  • Rookie of the Year: E.J. Warner, QB, Temple
  • Coach of the Year: Willie Fritz, Tulane

All-AAC Teams

The AAC released First and Second Team selections:

2022 All-AAC First Team

Pos. Player College
Pos. Player College
QB Clayton Tune Houston
RB Keaton Mitchell East Carolina
RB Tyjae Spears Tulane
WR Tank Dell Houston
WR Rashee Rice SMU
WR Keylon Stokes Tulsa
TE Josh Whyle Cincinnati
C Sincere Haynesworth Tulane
OG Lokahi Pauole UCF
OG Cam'Ron Johnson Houston
OG Prince Pines Tulane
OT Ryan Swoboda UCF
OT Patrick Paul Houston
DL Ricky Barber UCF
DL Tre'Mon Morris-Brash UCF
DL Jowon Briggs Cincinnati
DL Dontay Corleone Cincinnati
DL D'Anthony Jones Houston
DL Darian Varner Temple
LB Jason Johnson UCF
LB Ivan Pace Jr. Cincinnati
LB John Marshall Navy
LB Dorian Williams Tulane
CB Ja'Quan Sheppard Cincinnati
CB Jarius Monroe Tulane
S Quindell Johnson Memphis
S Macon Clark Tulane
K Chris Howard Memphis
P Mason Fletcher Cincinnati
RS Jimmy Horn Jr. South Florida

2022 All-AAC Second Team

Pos. Player College
Pos. Player College
QB Michael Pratt Tulane
RB Isaiah Bowser UCF
RB Brian Battie South Florida
WR Ryan O'Keefe UCF
WR Tyler Scott Cincinnati
WR C.J. Johnson East Carolina
WR Xavier Weaver South Florida
TE Caden Prieskorn Memphis
C Matt Lee UCF
OG Sam Jackson UCF
OG Justin Osborne SMU
OT James Tunstall Cincinnati
OT Joey Claybrook Tulane
DL Elijah Chatman SMU
DL Darius Hodges Tulane
DL Patrick Jenkins Tulane
DL Anthony Goodlow Tulsa
LB Xavier Cullens Memphis
LB Layton Jordan Temple
LB Nick Anderson Tulane
LB Justin Wright Tulsa
CB Malik Fleming East Carolina
CB Art Green Houston
S Ja'Von Hicks Cincinnati
S Gervarrius Owens Houston
K Ryan Coe Cincinnati
P Casey Glover Tulane
RS Jha'Quan Jackson Tulane

All-AAC Honorable Mention

The AAC released a list of 14 players receiving honorable mention status:

2022 All-AAC Honorable Mention

Pos. Player College
Pos. Player College
CB Arquon Bush Cincinnati
OT Joe Huber Cincinnati
OG Dylan O'Quinn Cincinnati
WR Isaiah Winstead East Carolina
RS Jayce Rogers Houston
DL Jaylon Allen Memphis
CB Davion Ross Memphis
DL Jacob Busic Navy
LB Dwayne Boyles Jr. South Florida
C Brad Cecil South Florida
OG Jaylon Thomas SMU
S Larry Brooks Tulane
TE Tyrick James Tulane
CB Tyon Davis Tulsa

All-AAC Breakdown by Team - Total (First, Second)

  • Tulane - 13 (6, 7)
  • Cincinnati - 10 (6, 4)
  • UCF - 9 (5, 4)
  • Houston - 7 (5, 2)
  • Memphis - 4 (2, 2)
  • East Carolina - 3 (1, 2)
  • SMU - 3, (1, 2)
  • South Florida - 3 (1, 2)
  • Tulsa - 3 (1, 2)
  • Temple - 2 (1, 1)
  • Navy - 1 (1, 0)

Additional Notes

  • Tulane leads the 11 teams with most All-AAC selections with 13. This is the first time Tulane ranks first in the league with most all-conference honorees. Tulane is tied with Cincinnati for most First Team All-AAC members with six.
  • Tyjae Spears is both the first Tulane player and first non-quarterback to ever win the AAC Offensive Player of the Year award since its inception in 2013.
  • Ivan Pace Jr. is the second consecutive Cincinnati player to win the AAC Defensive Player of the Year award, succeeding Sauce Gardner in 2021.
  • Mason Fletcher is the first punter to solely win the AAC Special Teams Player of the Year award and the first Cincinnati player to receive the honor. Former former Memphis punter Tom Horsney and former Houston punter Dane Roy were co-winners of the award in 2013 and 2019, respectively.
  • E.J. Warner is the first Temple player to win AAC Rookie of the Year. He is the first quarterback to win the award since Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder in 2018.
  • Willie Fritz is the first Tulane head coach to win AAC Coach of the Year. He was unanimously selected.
  • The only unanimous First Team All-AAC selection was Navy outside linebacker John Marshall.