Landman Second Team All-Pac-12 As Coaches Team Released
BOULDER - Senior Nate Landman was named Second-Team All-Pac-12 by the league's coaches, as the conference released its postseason awards Tuesday.
Landman earned mention on one of the teams for the fourth straight season, having earned first-team honors in both 2019 and '20 and honorable mention in 2018.
Also earning mention on the All-Pac-12 team as honorable mention selections were Daniel Arias (All Purpose/Special Teams), Mekhi Blackmon, Jarek Broussard, Christian Gonzalez, Kary Kutsch, Jalen Sami, Josh Watts and Carson Wells.
Landman played in seven games for the Buffaloes in 2021 before being sidelined by injuries but still led the team with 10.1 tackles per game, becoming the first player in CU history to both average 10 tackles per game over four seasons and lead the Buffs in tackles per game four times.
Having played 12 games over the course of the 2020 and '21 seasons, essentially giving himself a full senior season, he became just the sixth player to record 400 career tackles, finishing fifth in CU history with 409, and his 285 solo tackles ranks second all-time. He is CU's all-time leader in third-down stops (53), fourth-down stops (9), and tackles for zero (36).
Arias finished the season third on the team with 18 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown, and on special teams, he led the Buffs for the third straight season with 22 points despite not playing primarily on teams for the first part of the season.
Blackmon finished the season playing in nine games and had 50 tackles, six third-down stops, five pass breakups, an interception, one tackle for loss, one quarterback pressure, and one fumble recovery.
Broussard led the Buffs in rushing for the second straight season and earned mention on one of the teams for the second time, as well, after being named the league's Offensive Player of the Year in 2020. He finished with 661 yards rushing and two touchdowns and added 13 catches for 81 yards and 742 total yards from scrimmage.
Gonzalez finished the season with 54 tackles, including an impressive five tackles for loss, team-leading six pass breakups six third-down stops, one quarterback pressure, and one tackle for zero.
Kutsch started all 12 games at guard for the Buffaloes and anchored the offensive line all season. He played a total of 669 out of 698 snaps with 586 plus plays for a grade of 84.0, best on the team. He led the Buffs with eight touchdown blocks, seven perfect plays on passing touchdowns, allowing just 1.5 sacks, four pressures with two penalties on the season.
Sami played all 12 games on the defensive line for the Buffs and finished with 30 tackles and had five tackles for loss including 1.5 sacks, and five more tackles for zero. He had three third-down stops, a forced fumble, and quarterback pressure, as well.
Watts had one of the best punting seasons in CU history, averaging 47.79 yards per punt, good for third all-time, and moving from 15th to second on the career punting chart. He finished this season with 24 punts of 50-plus yards, with a long of 64 and a net average of 39.50.
Wells had his second straight dominant season at outside linebacker, finishing with 62 tackles and led the team with 15 tackles for loss, including 5.5 sacks, and had four more tackles for zero. He also led the team with 17 quarterback pressures, 15 third-down stops, and added three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
The AP and other organizations should release all-conference teams in the coming days and weeks. PFF is the only other publication to do thus far.
In the PFF, the Buffs were led by Cole Becker, who earned a first-team mention at placekicker. Landman earned second-team while Blackmon, Mustafa Johnson, and Kutsch earned third-team honors, and Gonzalez and Wells earned honorable mention honors.