Miami quarterback Darian Mensah was the overwhelming choice for first-team quarterback on The Associated Press midseason All-America team released Thursday, according to a report published October 16, 2026. Mensah has led the unbeaten Miami team to a No. 3 ranking while maintaining an 84.2% completion rate.
According to Sportradar, Mensah has averaged 10.8 yards per pass attempt and has recorded 15 touchdown passes with no interceptions. His 84.2% completion rate is the highest accuracy rate among quarterbacks with at least 130 passing attempts through Week 6 since at least 2000. Mensah previously played at Duke last year and at Tulane in 2024.
Other first-team offensive selections include running backs Jamal Roberts of Missouri and Nate Sheppard of Duke. The offensive line features tackles x-Trevor Goosby of Texas and x-Carter Smith of Indiana, guards x-Kade Pieper of Iowa and x-Shadre Hurst of Houston, and center Anthony Boswell of Houston. The wide receivers selected are Ohio State’s x-Jeremiah Smith, Miami’s Malachi Toney, and Oregon State freshman Jesse Legree, who leads the nation with 155.3 yards per game and 12 touchdowns.
UCLA led all teams with three players on the first-team unit, including all-purpose player x-Wayne Knight, linebacker Sammy Omosigho, and defensive back Ta’Shawn James. Other defensive first-team picks include edge rushers x-Colin Simmons of Texas and Princewill Umanmielen of LSU, interior linemen Xavier Gilliam of Tennessee and Xavier Lewis of North Carolina, and linebackers Chris Cole of Georgia and Nicholas Rodriguez of Missouri. The defensive secondary features cornerbacks x-Leonard Moore of Notre Dame and Ashton Hampton of Clemson, safeties Kingston Lopa of California and Robert Fitzgerald of Northwestern, and defensive back Ta’Shawn James of UCLA. Tyler White of Texas A&M was named the first-team punter.
The midseason All-America team was determined by a panel of media members who vote each week in the AP Top 25. A total of 21 schools are represented on the first team. The selection includes eight players from the Southeastern Conference and seven each from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten. Nine players who were named to the AP preseason All-America first team were also voted to the midseason first team, while four other preseason first-team picks were placed on the second team.
