Photo courtesy of BlueGoldNews.com Beanie Bishop drops an Oklahoma State runner earlier this season. Bishop became the 13th player in WVU history to be named a consensus All-American on Thursday.
MORGANTOWN — It doesn’t happen that way often, and it’s not unanimous among all Americans.
They are the blue bloods of college football. They don’t sneak up on you and have their name come out of the clouds onto postseason All-American teams, but Beanie Bishop did just that.
When he came through the transfer portal to West Virginia from Minnesota, he was taken because the Mountaineers had big holes in the secondary that they thought he could fill. They weren’t asking for an All-American, just a competent defender.
He wasn’t a star at Minnesota, and out of high school he ended up debuting at Western Kentucky.
Well, on Thursday, Beanie Bishop became the 13th player in WVU history to earn a consensus All-American.
“Beanie has had a fantastic season and is very deserving of consensus All-America honors.” WVU coach Neil Brown said in a school statement as he began preparations for Duke’s Mayo Bowl meeting with North Carolina on Dec. 27 in Charlotte. “Everyone associated with the Mountaineer football program is proud of him and what he has accomplished this year. He has been an excellent leader and a great representative of Mountaineer football, the university and the state.”
To earn Consensus All-America distinction, a player must earn a majority of first-team All-America recognition from the five All-America teams recognized by the NCAA, including the Associated Press, the American Football Coaches Association, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Football, football. Sports Writers Association of America.
Players who have earned at least three first-team All-America awards automatically qualify for consensus awards. If the spots at the selected position are not filled, players with at least two first team selections will be taken into consideration, and then the second team selections will be used as a tiebreaker.
In case of a true tie, all players are included. A player who earns five unanimous first-team spots will be named an All-American.
Bishop, of Louisville, was named first-team All-Big 12 defensive tackle and was a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award. He led the nation in passes defended with 24 and pass breakups with 20, resulting in 17 incomplete passes.
He needs two more breakaways to become WVU’s single-season leader with 22. The record of 21 was set in 2003 by Brian King.
After the win over Central Florida, when he was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week along with Rookie of the Week in which he had a pair of interceptions, a pass breakup and four tackles in a 41-28 win, Neil Brown offered up that praise.
“He was one of the positive stories out of the gate. We had a clear need and wanted someone who was a veteran, had leadership and could cover, and so far, all three of those areas have been testing.”
That game was where he made one of the most amazing defensive plays of the season. On a deep shot coverage, the pass was incomplete when the receiver inadvertently kicked the ball into the air. Bishop turned cautiously and caught his first two interceptions.
WVU scored touchdowns after both.
The list of other 12 All-Americans, as one might expect, carries a lot of WVU football history.
It begins alphabetically with the man considered the best cornerback ever to play at WVU, Aaron Beasley, who was honored in 1995. Beasley was a junior that season, and led the nation with 10 interceptions.
Next up was tackle Bruce Bosley from the 1955 team. He played in the 1954 Sugar Bowl, helped the Mountaineers to a 31-7 record while there with Sam Huff and went on to a 13-year NFL career.
Center Mike Compton from 1992 became a third-round pick of the Detroit Lions, where he played for eight years before being traded to the New England Patriots, where he won two Super Bowl rings.
Kanute Curtis, a pass rush demon since 1996, powered the nation’s No. 1 defense that season and was a finalist for all major defensive awards that year.
Brian Jozwiak, a giant of a man and a giant of a player, was Don Nehlen’s second consensus All-American in 1985 and a first-round NFL pick whose career was sidelined by injury three years later.
Dan Moses is a close runner-up, with Compton, who took unanimous honors in 2006 when he also won the Remington Award, a symbol of the nation’s top finish.
Ira Eret “mouse” Rodgers was West Virginia University’s first consensus All-American, earning that honor in 1919. That set him on the path to his place in the College Football Hall of Fame.
In 1994, Todd Sauerbrunn earned All-American honors, and to this day he remains one of the greatest punters in college football history. That season he established an NCAA kicking record by averaging 48.4 yards per punt and had one 90-yard kick against Nebraska.
Steve Slaton, who teamed with Pat White as one of the greatest offensive duos in college football history, was a consensus All-American in 2006 as he rushed for 1,744 yards, a school record, and 16 touchdowns.
Just three years ago, Darius Stills, a defensive lineman from Vermont, became the last consensus All-American player before Bishop as he was named Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year.
And finally, there were two linebackers who would qualify as true WVU legends, Darrell Talley who was Nehlen’s first consensus All-American in 1992 before embarking on a long NFL career in Buffalo that took him to four Super Bowls, And Grant Wiley from the 2003 team who surpassed Talley’s record for career tackles at 492.
West Virginia University’s bishops have once again made waves in the world of collegiate sports, as the team continues to rack up accolades and achievements. With a strong presence in both news and sports headlines, the bishops are proving themselves not only as top athletes, but also as leaders and role models in their communities. Their hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed, and the team has become a source of pride and inspiration for the entire WVU community. With their recent successes, it’s clear that the bishops are a force to be reckoned with, and their future looks bright as they continue to excel in their respective sports.