Washington State’s Andre Dillard earns third team All-American recognition from Associated Press

PULLMAN – Expect a few more awards to trickle in for the Washington State football team as All-American teams are announced throughout the week.

For the Cougars, the first of those came on Monday morning, when senior left tackle Andre Dillard was named a third team All-American by the Associated Press.

It marks the third straight year WSU has had an offensive lineman on one of the AP All-American teams. Former left guard Cody O’Connell was a first-teamer in 2016 and a second-teamer in 2017.

Dillard, a native of Woodinville, has had an impressive run at the left tackle position for the Cougars over the past four years. The Dec. 28 Alamo Bowl against Iowa State will mark the 42nd game of Dillard’s career and his 40th start in a Cougar uniform.

An All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention selection in 2017, Dillard won first-team all-conference honors last week, from both Pac-12 coaches and media members. The 6-foot-5, 306-pound tackle recently accepted an invitation to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, on Jan. 26 alongside Cougars QB Gardner Minshew.

This season, Dillard anchored the left side of an offensive line that allowed just 11 sacks all season. That number is drastically improved from 2017, when the Cougars conceded 44 sacks.

Dillard and the Cougars also blocked for the nation’s best passing attack, which produced 379.8 yards per game and an FBS-high 443 completions.

In addition to the Associated Press, the NCAA also recognizes All-American teams from the Football Writers Association of America, the American Football Coaches Association, Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.