Jordan Addison earns consensus All-American status

Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press on Monday, after earning the same honor from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America. Sporting News and the American Football Coaches Association have yet to release their lists, but with three of the five outlets placing the receiver on their first teams, Addison has earned consensus All-American status.

Addison racked up 1,479 yards and 17 touchdowns on 93 receptions in 2021. He also tacked on 28 yards and another score on six rushing attempts and managed to amass 185 yards on 11 punt returns. The receiver’s 1,479 receiving yards this year were the second-most ever accrued by a Pitt receiver in a single season. Only Larry Fitzgerald posted a higher single-season total, with 1,672 in 2003.

The sophomore pass-catcher played a pivotal role in the Panthers' success this year, as his connection with Kenny Pickett was the difference between victory and defeat on a number of occasions. The most notable of those was Addison’s four-touchdown, 202-yard performance in Pitt’s 48-38 win over Virginia, which clinched the ACC Coastal. In that primetime matchup, Pitt held a narrow 41-38 lead late in the contest, but Addison caught a pass from Pickett and took it 62 yards to the end zone to put the game out of reach for Virginia. He also went back for that pass, as it was short, and turned a likely interception into a game-sealing touchdown.

As a result of Addison's outstanding season, he has become just the 47th Pitt player to earn consensus All-American status. However, factoring in the six Pitt players who earned consensus status more than once, players with the Pitt program have earned consensus All-American status a total of 54 times.

In addition to his most recent achievement, Addison was placed on the All-ACC first team and was named the winner of the 2021 Biletnikoff Award after an outstanding year in which he led the nation in touchdown receptions and led the Power Five in receiving yards. Addison was the first Pitt player to win the Biletnikoff since 2003, when Fitzgerald was recognized as the nation's top receiver.

If Addison is placed on the Sporting News and AFCA first teams, he would become the 13th Pitt player to earn unanimous All-American status. It would also mark the 15th time overall that a Pitt player earned the honor, as Bill Fralic and Hugh Green were both unanimous selections twice during their college careers. And as a sophomore, Addison has a chance to join the handful of Pitt greats who have earned consensus or unanimous status multiple times in their careers if he can replicate his performance in his remaining time at Pitt.

Kenny Pickett and Calijah Kancey were also placed on AP All-America teams on Monday. Pickett earned a spot on the second team, while Kancey made the third team. Pickett is the only other Pitt player to earn All-American status from any of the other outlets with All-America teams recognized by the NCAA. Pickett was placed on the Walter Camp first team and the FWAA second team. And with two outlets yet to release their lists, Pickett still has a shot at consensus status.