Top Pac-12 Quarterback? Easy. Minshew is AP Panel’s Choice

(AP) -There's no question at quarterback: Washington State's Gardner Minshew II leads the way in the Pac-12.

Minshew, a graduate transfer who leads the nation with an average of 373.1 passing yards per game, was the unanimous choice for first-team quarterback on The Associated Press All-Pac-12 team, selected by a panel of sports writers who cover the conference.

Unsurprisingly, he also got the nod as the league's Offensive Player of the Year.

Minshew has thrown for 4,477 yards and 36 touchdowns for the Cougars, who are 10-2 overall and headed to the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 against Iowa State.

Stanford's K.J. Costello earned the second team quarterback honors.

Minshew joins Arizona State running back Eno Benjamin as the two unanimous first-team selections on offense. There were several on the first-team defense: Washington's Greg Gaines at defensive tackle, fellow Husky Ben Burr-Kirven at linebacker and Utah's Bradlee Anae at defensive end.

As for Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Washington State's Mike Leach also topped all the ballots. Burr-Kirven was defensive player of the year and Minshew got the nod as newcomer of the year.

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The 2018 Associated Press All-Pac-12 team, as selected by a panel of sports writers who regularly cover the league for newspapers or broadcast outlets. Players at all positions are listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown; "u-" denotes unanimous selections.

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First team

Offense

Quarterback — u-Gardner Minshew II, Washington State, 6-2, 220, sr., Brandon, Missouri.

Running back — u-Eno Benjamin, Arizona State, 5-10, 200, soph., Wylie, Texas; Joshua Kelley, UCLA, 5-11, 204, jr., Lancaster, California.

Tackles — Andre Dillard, Washington State, 6-5, 310, sr., Woodinville, Washington; Calvin Throckmorton, 6-5, 318, jr., Bellevue, Washington.

Guards — Shane Lemieux, Oregon, 6-4, 317, jr., Yakima, Washington. Jordan Agasiva, Utah, 6-4, 320, sr., Kalihi, Hawaii.

Center — Nick Harris, Washington, 6-1, 300, jr., Inglewood, California.

Tight end — Caleb Wilson, UCLA, 6-4, 235, jr., Dallas, Texas.

Wide receiver — N'Keal Harry, Arizona State, 6-4, 213, jr., Chandler, Arizona; JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Stanford, 6-3, 225, sr., Inman, South Carolina.

All-purpose player — J.J. Taylor, Arizona, 5-6, 184, soph., Corona, California.

Kicker — Matt Gay, Utah, 6-0, 230, sr., Orem, Utah.

Defense

Defensive ends — u-Bradlee Anae, Utah, 6-3, 254, jr. Laie, Hawaii; Justin Hollins, Oregon, 6-5, 242, sr., Arlington, Texas.

Defensive tackles — u-Greg Gaines, Washington, 6-2, 316, sr., La Habra, California; Mustafa Johnson, Colorado, 6-2, 290, soph., Turlock, California.

Linebackers — u-Ben Burr-Kirven, Washington, 6-0, 221, sr., Menlo Park, California; Chase Hansen, Utah, 6-3, 230, sr., Highland, Utah; Evan Weaver, California, 6-3, 245, jr., Spokane, Washington.

Cornerbacks — Byron Murphy, Washington, 5-11, 182, soph., Scottsdale, Arizona; Paulson Adebo, Stanford, 6-1, 189, soph., Mansfield, Texas.

Safeties — Taylor Rapp, Washington, 6-2, 200, jr., Bellingham, Washington; Ashtyn Davis, California, 6-1, 190, jr. Santa Cruz, California.

Punter — Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah, 6-2, 220, sr., Perth Australia.

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Second Team

Offense

Quarterback — K.J. Costello, Stanford, 6-5, 215, jr., Coto de Caza, California.

Running back — Myles Gaskin, Washington, 5-10, 193, sr., Lynwood, Washington; Zack Moss, Utah, 5-10, 215, jr., Hialeah Gardens, Florida.

Tackles — Kaleb McGary, Washington, 6-8, 324, sr., Fife, Washington; Patrick Mekari, California, 6-4, 310, jr., Westlake Village, California.

Guards — Chris Brown, USC, 6-5, 310, sr., Los Angeles; Gus Lavaka, Oregon State, 6-4, 353, jr., Kearns, Utah.

Center — Jake Hanson, Oregon, 6-5, 297, jr., Eureka, California.

Tight end — Kaden Smith, Stanford, 6-5, 252, jr., Flower Mound, Texas.

Wide receivers — Dillon Mitchell, Oregon, 6-2, 189, jr., Memphis, Tennessee; Laviska Shenault Jr., Colorado, 6-2, 220, jr., DeSoto, Texas.

All-purpose player — Britain Covey, Utah, 5-8, 170, soph., Provo, Utah.

Kicker — Jet Toner, Stanford, 6-4, 201, jr., Honolulu.

Defense

Defensive ends — Logan Tago, Washington State, 6-3, 250, sr., Fagasa, American Samoa; Christian Rector, USC, 604, 275, jr., Pasadena, California.

Defensive tackles — Leki Fotu, Utah, 6-5, jr., West Valley City, Utah; Jordan Scott, Oregon, 6-1, 329, sophomore, Largo, Florida.

Linebackers — Jordan Kunaszyk, California, 6-3, 235, sr., Sacramento, California; Colin Schooler, Arizona, 6-0, 236, soph., Dana Point, California; Nate Landman, Colorado, 6-3, 235, jr., Danville, California.

Cornerbacks — Thomas Graham Jr., Oregon, 5-11, 191, soph., Rancho Cucamonga, California; (tie) Camryn Bynum, California, 6-0, 180, soph., Corona California, Elisha Guidry, UCLA, 5-11, 182, fr., Murrieta, Georgia, and Julian Blackmon, Utah, 6-1, 190, jr., Layton, Utah.

Safeties — Jalen Thompson, Washington State, 6-0, 190, jr., Downey, California; Ugochukwu Amadi, Oregon, 5-10, 201, sr., Nashville, Tennessee.

Punter — Jake Bailey, Stanford, 6-2, 202, sr., Solana Beach, California.

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Coach of the year — Mike Leach, Washington State.

Offensive player of the year — Gardner Minshew II, Washington State.

Defensive player of the year — Ben Burr-Kirven, Washington.

Newcomer of the year — Gardner Minshew II, Washington State.

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Voting panel:

Tony Parks, 1280 The Zone, Salt Lake City; Theo Lawson, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington; Gary Horowitz, The Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon; Joey Kaufman, Southern California News Group; Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, San Jose, California; James Crepea, The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon; Brian Howell, Buffzone.com, Boulder, Colorado; Adam Jude, The Seattle Times; Christian Caple, The Athletic; Lauren Kirschman, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington.