It’s time to select the very prestigious Heismanpundit.com All-American team for 2006.
You know, a lot of schools throw around the term ‘All-American’ in a very loose fashion. But, at this time, the NCAA only recognizes five All-American teams as being official. Those teams are the ones selected by the AP, the Football Coaches Assocation, the Football Writers Association, The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Foundation.
That means that if a player from your school makes the CBS Sportsline.com team, that’s all well and good, but he’s not really an All-American. If he makes the Collegefootballnews.com team or the ESPN.com team or the Rivals.com team, good for him–but he’s not really an All-American as recognized by the NCAA.
In order to be a real All-American, he must be from one of the five teams I mentioned earlier.
That said, this simple rule does not prevent some schools from claiming more All-Americans than they should when they hype up their players at the start of each season. It is in this spirit that I offer my All-American team for 2006. Even though it is not an official team, I expect to see several players touted as Heismanpundit.com All-Americans in next year’s media guides. Now, on with the show:
OFFENSE
QB–Troy Smith, Sr., Ohio State: Every season has an indispensable player and Smith was it in 2006. The 72nd Heisman winner and leader of the No. 1 team. 2,507 yards, 30 TDs, 5 picks, 167.9 efficiency rating.
RB–Darren McFadden, So., Arkansas: About to become the first SEC running back since Bo Jackson to finish in the top five in the Heisman vote. 1,485 yards, 14 TDs, 6.1 ypc.
FB–Brian Leonard, Sr., Rutgers: HP always picks an All-American fullback instead of an extra running back and Leonard is now a two-time selection to this team. 378 rushing yards, 35 catches, 4 TDs.
WR–Calvin Johnson, Jr., Georgia Tech: A superior talent stuck in a bad offense, he’ll be the first receiver taken in the next NFL draft. 59 catches, 899 yards, 13 TDs.
WR–Jarett Dillard, So., Rice: Had about as dominant a year as you can have as a wide receiver. 82 catches, 1,176 yards, 20 TDs.
TE–Jonny Harline, Sr., BYU: The Cougars turned into a juggernaut on offense and Harline was a big reason. 49 catches, 754 yards, 11 TDs.
Kicker–Justin Medlock, Sr., UCLA: The latest addition to the proud lineage at ‘Placekicker U.’ 24 of 28 field goals, long of 51.
Offensive Line–Per HP tradition, we will not choose individual All-Americans on the offensive line.
We refuse to do so because, unlike other people who pick All-Americans, we admit that we have no idea who really is the best offensive linemen.
There are no individual stats to go by. Highlights rarely show what they do. We could go off of hearsay, but wouldn’t that be dishonest? What’s more, there are 585 starting offensive linemen in Division One. It’s almost impossible to have seen enough of them to know who is the best. So, while other All-American teams choose linemen almost solely based on reputation, we will not.
However, we will choose the best line unit in the country, since this is a lot easier to quantify. That honor goes to Arkansas. The Razorback front paved the way for its backs to gain 236 rushing yards per game while allowing an NCAA-low eight sacks. This is a remarkable accomplishment considering that true freshman Mitch Mustain–not exactly the most mobile of QBs–was behind center for much of the season. The Hogs’ combination of stellar run blocking and outstanding pass protection enabled them to vault their way to 10-straight wins and the SEC West title.
DEFENSE
DE–LaMarr Woodley, Sr., Michigan: The star of one of the better defensive lines in the country. 33 tackles, 11 sacks, 15.5 TFL, 4 forced fumbles, 4 recovered fumbles.
DE–Anthony Spencer, Sr., Purdue: His stats are mind-boggling and it’s no wonder he was his team’s MVP. 86 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 26.5 TFL, 6 pass breakups, 5 forced fumbles, 1 blocked kick, 1 recovered fumble.
DT–Derek Landri, Sr., Notre Dame: One of the few bright spots for the Irish defense in 2006. 65 tackles, 7 sacks, 15.5 TFL, 4 blocked kicks.
DT–Quinn Pitcock, Sr., Ohio State: Lombardi Award finalist and the key cog for OSU in the middle. 33 tackles, 10 TFL, 8 sacks.
LB–Patrick Willis, Sr., Ole Miss: The likely Butkus winner was once again all over the field for Ole Miss. 137 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery.
OLB–Keith Rivers, Jr., USC: Rivers is a super-athletic outside backer who led the Trojan defense in tackles. 71 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 3 forced fumbles.
OLB–Rufus Alexander, Sr., Oklahoma: Led an outstanding Sooner defensive unit that was the nation’s best by season’s end. 95 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 3 pass break ups, 1 fumble recovery, 3 forced fumbles.
CB–Daymeion Hughes, Sr., California: Had an incredible year and should be the front runner for the Thorpe Award. 62 tackles, 8 interceptions (2 for TDs), 19 pass break ups.
CB–Brandon Flowers, So., Virginia Tech: Burst onto the scene to lead a Hokie defense that was the nation’s stingiest. 48 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 21 pass break ups, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble.
SS–Eric Weddle, Sr., Utah: This guy is so talented, he even played some running back for the Utes. 58 tackles, 2 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 6 interceptions (2 for TDs), 2 pass break ups, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble.
FS–Reggie Nelson, Jr., Florida: Provided clutch play for Florida all season long. 48 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 interceptions, 5 pass break ups.
Punter–Danny Sepulveda, Sr., Baylor: The only bright spot in an otherwise dismal year for Baylor. 46.48 average.
Kick Returner–Marcus Thigpen, So., Indiana: 30.13 yards per return, 3 touchdowns.
Punt Returner–DeSean Jackson, So., California: As explosive a player as there is in college football. 18.96 per punt return, 4 TDs.
Coach of the Year–Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: Stoops began the year with a team that was in disarray. Then, he lost Adrian Peterson mid-season. No one thought OU would amount to much, but he righted the ship and now the Sooners are 10-2 and in the Big 12 title game. Imagine where they would be had officials not muffed the final minutes of the Oregon game!
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