Four years after arriving at Colorado as an unheralded fullback prospect, Jordon Dizon is going out as a consensus All-America linebacker.
A 6-foot, 220-pound senior, Dizon was named Tuesday to The Associated Press All-America first team. Dizon previously earned first-team status on The Sporting News and Walter Camp teams. That makes the native Hawaiian the first non-kicker to earn consensus All-America honors for CU since current Broncos tight end Daniel Graham in 2001.
Punter Mark Mariscal (2002) and place-kicker Mason Crosby (2005) also were named consensus All-Americans during this decade. Dizon became the first Colorado linebacker to earn consensus All-America status since Matt Russell in 1996.
A semifinalist for the Butkus Award, Dizon recorded 160 tackles during the regular season, including 120 unassisted. He becomes the 28th player in CU history to become a consensus All-American in football, beginning with Byron “Whizzer” White in 1937.
“I’ve got to give a shout to my defensive line, who made things easy for me, and to my fellow linebackers and really all my teammates,” Dizon said during the Butkus Award ceremony last week. “And (linebackers) Coach (Brian) Cabral has been such a tremendous influence in my life.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
