Nebraska standouts Ameer Abdullah and De’Mornay Pierson-El each received All-America honors on Thursday for their outstanding 2014 performances.

Abdullah was named a second-team All-America running back by CBS Sports.com, while Pierson-El was honored by USA Today as the second-team All-America return specialist.

A senior from Homewood, Ala., Abdullah rushed for 1,523 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2014, including four 200-yard rushing games. Abdullah also became Nebraska’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards, while ranking second on the school’s career rushing yardage list.

Abdullah is one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which will be announced tonight. He has also received All-Big Ten honors for the past three seasons and was a third-team AP All-American in 2013.

Big Ten running backs Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin) and Tevin Coleman (Indiana) were the first-team selections on the CBS Sports.com All-America team, while Abdullah was joined on the second team by James Connor of Pittsburgh.

Pierson-El had a record-setting season as a punt returner in his first year in the Nebraska program. He led the nation in total punt return yards with 589 yards on 33 returns, an average of 17.8 yards per return. Pierson-El’s punt return yardage total is more than 200 yards higher than any other player in the nation and his average ranks third in the nation.

Pierson-El also returned three punts for a touchdown, including a pair of returns of 80 yards or more. The three punt return touchdowns ties for the national lead and is one off the Nebraska school season record.

Pierson-El was one of only two freshmen on the USA Today All-America first or second team squads, joining Alabama punter JK Scott, who was a first-team choice.

Additional All-America teams will be announced in the coming days.