LSU Gold

Football's Wingo Among AP All-America Teams

by Michael Bonnette
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Football's Wingo Among AP All-America Teams

BATON ROUGE – LSU defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo has been selected third-team All-America by the Associated Press, the organization announced on Monday.

Wingo, a St. Louis native in his first year at LSU after transferring from Missouri, established himself as one of the nation’s top run stoppers in 2022. In 13 games, Wingo racked up 44 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He broke up four passes, had four QB hurries and was responsible for creating three turnovers.

Wingo started LSU’s final 12 games, moving into the lineup when sophomore Maason Smith was lost for the season in the first quarter of the season-opener against Florida State. Wingo responded by rarely coming off the field, playing over 700 snaps for an LSU defense that rated among the best in the SEC.

A Freshman All-SEC selection last year at Missouri, Wingo earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2022 as he helped lead LSU to a 9-4 overall mark and the SEC Western Division crown.

Wingo was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance in LSU’s 45-20 win over No. 7 Ole Miss in late October. In that game, Wingo recorded seven tackles along with 1.5 sacks totaling 18 yards in losses. He also forced a fumble, batted down two passes and added a quarterback hurry as the Tigers limited the Rebels to 116 rushing yards and only three points over the final three quarters of the game.

Wingo and the Tigers will go after their 10th win of the season on Jan. 2 when LSU faces Purdue in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando.