Charlotte, N.C.----- For the first time in 13 years, a San Jose State University football player received first-team All-America honors. Defensive tackle Cade Hall, a junior from Morgan Hill, Calif., and second nationally in sacks per game, was named a 2020 The Sporting News' first-team All-America defensive lineman.
Hall has 10.0 quarterback sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss for the 19th-ranked and unbeaten Spartans (7-0). The Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year had a quarterback sack in five of his team's seven games. He had personal single-game bests of 3.0 quarterback sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss in the 34-17 victory over UNLV on November 14.
Named the Mountain West Football Championship Defensive Most Valuable Player, Hall had his second consecutive game of at least 2.0 quarterback sacks in a 34-20 victory over Boise State, a team San Jose State had not beaten in 14 previous tries until 10 days ago.
The Sporting News' first-team All-America honor is the second All-America honor for Hall. Earlier, he was named a USA Today second-team All-America defensive lineman.
Before 2020, the last San Jose State player named a first-team All-America was cornerback Dwight Lowery who received first-team All-America recognition in 2006 and 2007. Other Spartans named a first-team All-America include end Lloyd Thomas in 1938 by the Associated Press, fullback Leroy Zimmerman in 1939 by the Associated Press, linebacker Dave Chaney in 1971 by the Associated Press and the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and return specialist Charles Pauley in 2002 by collegefootballnews.com.
San Jose State concludes its 2020 season, Thursday, December 31, facing Mid-American Conference champion Ball State (6-1) in the Offerpad Arizona Bowl. CBS Sports (KPIX, Channel 5, San Francisco) will provide live over-the-air national coverage from Tucson, Ariz., beginning at 12:00 p.m. (MT)/11:00 a.m. (PT)/1:00 p.m. (CT)/2:00 p.m. (ET).