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NEW YORK — Utah senior defensive tackle Star Lotulelei has been named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. It is the second major All-America team for Lotulelei, who was named a first-team Walter Camp All-American last week.
Lotulelei (pronounced lo-too-le-LAY) becomes the fourth Ute to make the A.P. All-America first team and the second player at his position. In 1994, defensive tackle Luther Elliss became the first Ute to claim first-team A.P. honors. Others were offensive tackle Jordan Gross in 2002 and kicker Louie Sakoda in 2008. Elliss, Gross and Sakoda were consensus All-Americans, meaning they made at least three of the five major first teams (A.P., Walter Camp, AFCA, Sporting News and FWAA). Sakoda is Utah's only unanimous consensus All-American, having been selected to the first team by all five organizations in 2008.
The 6-foot-4, 320-pound Lotulelei, a two-time first-team all-Pac-12 selection, finished the season with 42 tackles, including a team-high 11 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. The senior also had four pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. He leads the Pac-12 and is tied for second in the nation in fumble recoveries (4).
With his A.P. selection, Lotulelei has made a total of five All-America teams. He was a first-team selection by A.P., Walter Camp, Athlon Sports and Scout.com/FoxSportsNext.com, and made the CBSSports.com second team.
In other news, Lotulelei has also made the Red Pages Hot 100 list for 2013. The Red Pages is an international celebrity contacts database that produces an annual list of the top 100 people to watch in film, TV, music, fashion, sport and literature. Lotulelei and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M were the only college football players to make the list.
