The University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team on Tuesday earned 17 All-American Athletic Conference selections, with quarterback Desmond Ridder being named AAC Offensive Player of the Year and Bearcats Head Coach Luke Fickell earning AAC Coach of the Year.
The all-conference selections are the most by any team in the American this season and the most in school history, besting the 11 the Bearcats had in 1995, 1996, 2004 and last season.
Ridder is the first Cincinnati player to earn the conference's top offensive honor since running back Isaiah Pead was the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2011.
Ridder has passed for 1,821 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 526 yards and 11 scores this season
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior has 21 career rushing touchdowns, the most by a quarterback in program history.
Ridder, who was named the AAC Rookie of the Year in 2018, is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien Award. The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the best all-around college football player in the country, while the Davey O'Brien Award is given to the nation's top quarterback.
Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow won both awards last season en route to leading LSU to a national championship.
The Bearcats had eight first-team All-AAC nods, including Ridder, senior cornerback Coby Bryant, senior running back Gerrid Doaks, sophomore cornerback Ahmad Gardner, junior offensive tackle James Hudson, junior defensive end Myjai Sanders, senior linebacker Jarell White and senior safety James Wiggins.
The eight first-team selections are a school record. UC had seven a season ago.
Wiggins is the leader of a UC secondary that paces the conference in interceptions (13) and passes defended (48) this season.
"Cincinnati, with that secondary, might be the best in the country," AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco said Monday. "(I'm) not sure there's a better one. With (sophomore nickelback) Arquon Bush, James Wiggins, Ahmad Gardner, Coby Bryant, I mean, these are some great players. You've got a great defense overall."
The 6-foot, 200-pound Wiggins, a Miami native, has accepted an invitation to the Reese's Senior Bowl and is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to the best defensive back in college football.
Seven Bearcats earned second-team All-AAC nods, including senior linebacker Darrian Beavers, senior defensive tackle Marcus Brown, senior defensive lineman Elijah Ponder, senior punter James Smith, sophomore wide receiver and return specialist Tre Tucker, sophomore tight end Josh Whyle and junior Notre Dame transfer receiver Michael Young Jr.
Smith, a native of Wangaratta, Australia, closes out his career with four all-conference honors, earning first-team recognition in 2017 and 2018 and second-team nods in each of the past two seasons.
Senior safety Darrick Forrest and senior offensive tackle Darius Harper received honorable mention All-AAC honors.
Fickell, who is 34-13 in four seasons at Cincinnati, earns his second AAC Coach of the Year honor, adding to the one he won in 2018.
The 47-year-old Columbus native and former Ohio State standout has led Cincinnati to berths in the AAC championship game in each of the past two seasons. Fickell and the Bearcats (8-0, 6-0 AAC) will look to capture their first AAC championship when they host Tulsa (6-1, 6-0 AAC) on Saturday at Nippert Stadium.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on ABC.