Bay area Bull joins George Selvie as just the second USF player to earn NCAA Consensus All-America honors and the first since 2007;
Kick returner named to program record tying nine All-America teams
TAMPA, DEC. 16, 2021 – USF’s Brian Battie (Sarasota) has been named a 2021 NCAA Consensus All-American, becoming just the second in program history and first since defensive end George Selvie earned the elite recognition in 2007.
With first team selection from Walter Camp and FWAA, two of the five major selectors (American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News, Walter Camp Football Foundation), Battie earned consensus honors. He also earned his sixth first team All-America selection as Phil Steele named the standout kick returner to his All-America first team and six Bulls to one of his American Athletic All-Conference teams.
Following a record-setting season that saw the Bay area native lead the nation with three kickoff returns for touchdowns, tie an NCAA game record and break the Bulls’ season return average record, the second-year Bull has been named to nine All-America teams, including first team honors from six selectors including FWAA, Walter Camp, Phil Steele, Action Network, Bleacher Report and Pro Football Network.
Battie’s six first team selections are the second-most in USF history behind defensive end George Selvie, who became the Bulls’ first consensus first-team All-American in 2007 with first team selections from nine organizations including Walter Camp, AP, FWAA & AFCA. Battie’s nine total All-America selections – including second team honors from Sporting News, Pro Football Focus and CBS/247Sports – are tied with Selvie for the most ever garnered in one season by a Bull.
BATTIE’S 2021 All-AMERICA SELECTIONS:
Walter Camp – First Team
FWAA – First Team
Phil Steele – First Team
Action Network – First Team
Bleacher Report – First Team
Pro Football Network – First Team
The Sporting News – Second Team
Pro Football Focus – Second Team
CBS Sports/247 Sports – Second Team
Phil Steele also named Battie to his AAC All-Conference first team. Steele also recognized linebacker Antonio Grier (second team), running back Jaren Mangham (third team), wide receiver Xavier Weaver (third team), guard Demetris Harris (third team) and kicker Spencer Shrader (third team) on his all-conference teams.
Battie joined Selvie, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (2009) and cornerback Mike Jenkins (2007) among the Bulls’ four first team FBS All-America selections in program history.
USF now has a total of six first-team All-Americans, as punter Tony Umholtz (1999) and kicker Bill Gramatica (1998) earned FCS All-America selections, respectively. A total of 13 Bulls have earned All-America recognition of some kind, with Battie becoming the first since kicker Marvin Kloss earned second-team honors from Athlon Sports and honorable mention from SI.com in 2013.
Battie is the second kick returner to earn All-America honors for USF. He broke the Bulls’ 18-year-old season kick return average record set by J.R. Reed in 2003 as Reed led the nation with a 31.7 average on 18 returns and earned honorable mention All-America honors from SI.com. Going into bowl season, Battie currently stands fourth nationally with a 33.9 yards per return average on 19 returns and could end the season higher as the three players ahead of him will all compete in bowl games.
Named the American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week twice on the 2021 season and second-team all-conference by Pro Football Focus, Battie had an NCAA record-tying performance vs. Houston with two 100-yard kickoff returns in the game. Battie dazzled the Raymond James Stadium crowd on homecoming as he joined Utah’s Reggie Dunn (vs. Cal in 2012) as the only two players in NCAA history to post two 100-yard kickoff returns in the same game, part of three touchdowns and 236 all-purpose yards for the 5-8 running back/kick returner in the game. Battie also scored on a 29-yard touchdown run and his 208 kickoff return yards in the game are second all-time at USF behind Terrence Horne’s 264 vs. Georgia Tech in 2018.
Battie posted a 100-yard return vs. Tulsa in Week 7 and finished the season with three, one behind Dunn’s NCAA record of four posted in the 2012 season. He joined Alabama’s Jameson Williams as the only players to post two touchdown returns in the same game this season. Williams doing so vs. Southern Mississippi.
Battie is the first USF player to post more than one 100-yard return on their career and he set USF season and career records by posting three touchdown returns on kickoffs. He joined fellow Bull Terrence Horne among just 27 players in NCAA history to post two returns for touchdowns in one game, Horne doing so in 2018 vs. Georgia Tech (98 & 97).
He also ran for 324 yards and one touchdown on the season while averaging 5.6 yards per carry and caught seven passes for 67 yards as he led the Bulls with 1,035 all-purpose yards (86.3 ypg).
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and celebrated its 25th season (22nd at the FBS level) in 2021. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 15 All-America selections and 31 first-team all-conference selections, and have seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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– #GoBulls –
