Three Football Buckeyes Earn Walter Camp All-America Recognition – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis was a repeat first-team All-America selection by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, announced Thursday at the ESPN College Football Awards Show in Orlando. Vernon Gholston and Malcolm Jenkins both were second-team selections.
NEW HAVEN, CT Arkansas running back Darren McFadden headlines the 2007 Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team, the 118th honored by the organization. The nation’s oldest All-America team was announced live this evening on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show.
McFadden, a junior running back from Little Rock, Ark., is a repeat First Team All-America selection after rushing for 1,725 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Razorbacks. McFadden was also named the 2007 Walter Camp Player of the Year the first Arkansas player to receive the honor.
Joining McFadden in the offensive backfield is Central Florida junior running back Kevin Smith and Flor Tim Tebow. The first UCF player to earn Walter Camp All-America honors, Smith leads the nation in rushing (2,448 yards) and touchdowns (30). Tebow has accounted for 51 touchdowns (29 passing, 22 rushing) this season, and has passed for 3,132 yards.
Two wide receivers from the Big 12 Conference freshman Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech) and junior Jordy Nelson (Kansas State) – join junior tight end Travis Beckum (Wisconsin) on the first team.
Seniors Jake Long (Michigan), Sam Baker (USC) and Tony Hills (Texas) join junior Anthony Collins (Kansas) on the offensive line. Long is a repeat Walter Camp First Team All-America selection. Junior Jonathan Luigs (Arkansas) is the offensive center. Senior John Sullivan (New Mexico), who connected on 26-of-29 field goals this season, is the placekicker.
Leading the defensive unit is a repeat Walter Camp All-America selection, junior linebacker Jam e). Laurinaitis leads the nation’s top defensive unit with 103 tackles and has added five quarterback sacks and two interceptions. Joining Laurinaitis in the middle are Penn State linebacker Dan Connor (136 tackles, 6.5 quarterback sacks) and Colorado’s Jordon Dizon (160 tackles).
Three seniors Glenn Dorsey (LSU), Chris Long (Virginia) and Sedrick Ellis (USC) along with sophomore George Selvie (South Florida) comprise the first team defensive interior. Selvie leads the nation with 31.5 tackles for loss. A trio of seniors Jamie Silva (Boston College), Antoine Cason (Arizona) and Craig Steltz (LSU) – join junior Aqib Talib (Kansas) in the defensive secondary. Silva and Steltz each have six interceptions on the season, while Cason and Talib had five and four, respectively.
The punter is senior Kevin Huber (Cincinnati), who leads the nation with a 46.9 yard-p kick returner is junior Felix Jones (Arkansas), who has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
The Walter Camp All-America team is selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm. Walter Camp Football Foundation President John Barbarotta was pleased with the voting participation.
“We had 80 percent of the Bowl Subdivision schools participate in this year’s voting,” Barbarotta said. “We are very appreciative of the cooperation of the coaches and SIDs in our effort to honor the most outstanding college players each and every season.”
Walter Camp, “The Father of American Football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp a former Yale University athlete and football coach is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the n als and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation a New Haven based all-volunteer group was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
Members of the 2007 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on January 12, 2008 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. Please call (203) 288-CAMP for tickets ($275.00).
