Gophers center John Michael Schmitz, running back Mohamed Ibrahim earn AP All-America honors

One has rushed for nearly 1,600 yards this season and almost 4,600 for his career. The other helped pave the way for all those yards, doing the dirty work of knocking defensive players off the line of scrimmage and oftentimes on their keisters.

Together, the Gophers' John Michael Schmitz and Mohamed Ibrahim received Associated Press All-America honors on Monday, Schmitz on the first team and Ibrahim on the second.

Schmitz, a sixth-year senior from Flossmoor, Ill., became the first Gophers player to receive AP first-team honors since safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in 2019. Schmitz is the first Gophers center since Greg Eslinger in 2005 to earn AP first-team honors.

Schmitz was a Rimington Trophy finalist, awarded to the nation's top center, and a semifinalist for both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Awards. He is the nation's top-graded center and interior offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus.

"It was about just trusting the process,'' Schmitz said in November. "When I got here in 2017, the guys before me showed me the ropes. It's just special to see how far this program has come and to see where it's going to go in the future.''

Schmitz also received first-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America and second-team honors from the Walter Camp Foundation.

"He's one of the greatest, if not arguably the greatest, offensive lineman to ever play here,'' Fleck said of Schmitz.

Ibrahim, a sixth-year senior from Baltimore, saw his career put in peril because of a torn Achilles' tendon suffered in the 2021 opener against Ohio State. Instead, he returned to rush for 1,594 yards and 19 touchdowns. His 144.91 yards per game ranks second nationally, and his TD total is tied for second.

A second-team All-America honoree by both the FWAA and Walter Camp Foundation, Ibrahim is closing in on two prominent Gophers rushing records. He needs 33 yards in the Dec. 29 Pinstripe Bowl against Syracuse to break David Cobb's single-season record of 1,626 set in 2014. Ibrahim has 4,597 career yards and needs 58 to break Darrell Thompson's program record of 4,654 set from 1986-89.

"You talk about the king of the too's — too small, too short, too slow, too everything," Fleck said of Ibrahim. "And all he's done is prove it to himself. He's exactly who he says he is. I haven't seen a guy earn more respect on a team than Mohamed Ibrahim throughout his career. And he's had to earn everything he's gotten."

Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt, a sophomore from North Oaks and a former Totino-Grace standout, also earned first-team honors from the AP.

Ibrahim to East-West Shrine Bowl

The Gophers announced that Ibrahim will participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 2 in Las Vegas, joining Minnesota cornerback Terell Smith.

Schmitz already had accepted a bid to play in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 4 in Mobile, Ala., and safety Jordan Howden will play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 28 in Pasadena, Calif.