AP Writers Right Last Year's Wrong, Name James Sims 1st Team All Big 12

James Sims became the first Jayhawk to rush for 1,000 yards in back to back seasons, and led the Big 12 in rushing for the second consecutive year, rushing for 1,110 yards. Sims rushed for 4.8 yards per carry and 7 touchdowns behind a patchwork offensive line and playing against defenses that had to be keyed into the run.

There's not much to say here other than, while there are some things more important than number of yards rushed for in a season, the circumstances surrounding Sims yet his ability to still lead the league in rushing (2 years in a row!) is incredibly impressive. I'm sure he'd rather have a bowl game to play in, but he helped end a long conference losing streak and hopefully gave running back recruits around the country a look at what a running back could do in Lawrence. He also, hopefully, will be selected in April's NFL draft.

Elsewhere, linebacker Ben Heeney was named to the second team. He had 87 games in 10 seasons, had 11.5 TFL, 2 sacks and 3 picks. He was also the backbone of a much improved defense and will again be the backbone of a defense that looks like it could improve in 2014.