PROVO, Utah — The American Football Coaches Association today recognized BYU offensive tackle Brady Christensen with his 10th All-America citation of 2020, naming Christensen to the AFCA All-America Second Team.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. The AFCA teams are the only ones chosen exclusively by the head coaches themselves.
A junior from Bountiful, Utah, Christensen announced Wednesday he has decided to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft. He finished the 2020 season as the highest-graded offensive tackle in the country by Pro Football Focus with a 96.0 rating, earning grades above 95.0 as both a pass-blocker and run-blocker throughout the regular 2020 season. He allowed just three pressures across 372 regular-season pass-blocking snaps.
The 6-foot-6, 300-pound left tackle protected the blindside of All-America quarterback Zach Wilson to help the Cougars finish 11-1 in 2020. As a team captain, Christensen helped lead a BYU offense that ranks No. 4 in scoring (43.5 ppg) and No. 7 in total offense (522.2 ypg). USA TODAY called Christensen, “the unsung star of the nation’s fourth-best offense in yards per play.”
With his 10th All-America award this postseason, Christensen has been named to more All-America teams in a single season than any other Cougar, surpassing All-America tight ends Dennis Pitta (2009) and Chris Smith (1990) and All-America quarterback Ty Detmer (1990), who each were named to nine different All-America teams in a single season. Detmer leads BYU with 14 career All-America team citations, while tight end Gordon Hudson had 13 career awards, followed by Smith with 11 and PItta and Jim McMahon with 10 apiece.
Christensen's All-America awards this postseason include first-team honors from The Associated Press, USA TODAY Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, Pro Football Focus and Bleacher Report and second-team recognition from the AFCA, FWAA, The Sporting News and The Athletic. He is the first Cougar to earn multiple first-team All-America honors since Pitta in 2009.
Overall, BYU has had five players named to All-America teams this postseason, including freshman tight end Isaac Rex earning Freshman All-America honors. Wilson and receiver Dax Milne, both juniors, and sophomore kicker Jake Oldroyd have joined Christensen in earning All-America accolades this postseason. Wilson and Milne garnered PFF second-team honors while Oldroyd was a second-team pick by The Athletic and a third-team selection by AP.