We did the offense on Monday. Now for the defense. Again, I try to honor a player at each of the proper positions instead of (for instance) having four ends represent the defensive line (as some All-American teams do):

Defensive End

1st Team: Whitney Mercilus, Illinois; Sam Montgomery, LSU

2nd Team: Andre Branch, Clemson; Melvin Ingram, South Carolina

3rd Team: Vinny Curry, Marshall; Nick Perry, USC

Honorable Mention
Frank Alexander, Oklahoma
Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas
Barkevious Mingo, LSU
Dion Jordan, Oregon
Bruce Irvin, West Virginia
Ronnell Lewis, Oklahoma
Quinton Coples, North Carolina
Shea McClellin, Boise State

Comment: Mercilus was a terror off the edge, leading the nation with 14.5 sacks, while Montgomery was the best player on LSU’s fearsome defensive line.

Defensive Tackle

1st Team: Devon Still, Penn State; Kawann Short, Purdue

2nd Team: Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati; Fletcher Cox, Mississippi State

3rd Team: Jerel Worthy, Michigan State; Logan Harrell, Fresno State

Honorable Mention
Brandon Thompson, Clemson
Kendall Reyes, Connecticut
Mike Daniels, Iowa
Mike Martin, Michigan
Alameda Ta’amu, Washington

Comment: It was a strong year for interior defensive linemen in the Big Ten, with Short notching 17.5 tackles for loss (despite the loss of Ryan Kerrigan to the draft) and Still getting 17 to lead the Nittany Lions.

Outside Linebacker

1st Team: Sammy Brown, Houston; Courtney Upshaw, Alabama

2nd Team: Lavonte David, Nebraska; Jarvis Jones, Georgia

3rd Team: Sean Spence, Miami; Chase Thomas, Stanford

Honorable Mention
Danny Trevathan, Kentucky
Zach Brown, North Carolina
Chris Borland, Wisconsin
Mychal Kendricks, California
Nigel Bradham, Florida State
Emmanuel Acho, Texas
Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma

Comment: Brown’s 28 tackles for loss led the nation, but he also had 88 tackles and 12.5 sacks. Upshaw made plays all year long for the Tide, collecting 17 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

Inside Linebacker

1st Team: Luke Kuechley, Boston College

2nd Team: Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

3rd Team: Dont’a Hightower, Alabama

Honorable Mention
Audie Cole, North Carolina State
Tank Carder, TCU
Carmen Messina, New Mexico
Chris Marve, Vanderbilt
Adrien Cole, Louisiana Tech

Comment: Keuchley is simply the best tackler college football has seen in a long time. Te’o had another fine season for the Irish.

Cornerback

1st Team: Morris Claiborne, LSU; Tyrann Mathieu, LSU

2nd Team: Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama; Dave Amerson, North Carolina State

3rd Team: Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt; Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech

Honorable Mention
DeQuan Menzie, Alabama
Desmond Trufant, Washington
Nickell Robey, USC
Chase Minnifield, Virginia
Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina
Micah Hyde, Iowa
Keith Tandy, West Virginia
Jordan Poyer, Oregon State

Comment: Between the two, Claiborne is the purest corner, but Mathieu is the better overall football player. They were the keys to LSU’s SEC title run.

Free Safety

1st Team: Bacarri Rambo, Georgia

2nd Team: T.J. McDonald, USC

3rd Team: Markelle Martin, Oklahoma State

Honorable Mention
Robert Lester, Alabama
Trenton Robinson, Michigan State
Aaron Henry, Wisconsin
Eric Reid, LSU

Comment: In an amazing year for SEC defensive backs, Rambo stood out at the free safety spot, snagging a league-high 7 interceptions.

Strong Safety

1st Team: Winston Guy, Kentucky

2nd Team: Mark Barron, Alabama

3rd Team: Brandon Taylor, LSU

Honorable Mention
Eddie Pleasant, Oregon
Tavon Wilson, Illinois
Antonio Allen, South Carolina
Delano Howell, Stanford

Comment: Barron had another fine season, but Guy was special for the Wildcats, collecting 120 tackles, 14 tackles for loss  and intercepting two passes.

It’s time for the 8th annual edition of the very prestigious Heismanpundit.com All-American squad. First, the offense:

Quarterback

1st Team: Robert Griffin III, Baylor

2nd Team: Andrew Luck, Stanford

3rd Team: Kellen Moore, Boise State

Honorable Mention:
Case Keenum, Houston
Russell Wilson, Wisconsin
Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
Matt Barkley, USC
Collin Klein, Kansas State

Comment: A deep group here, with the Heisman Trophy winner edging out Luck.

Running Back

1st Team: Montee Ball, Wisconsin

2nd Team: Trent Richardson, Alabama

3rd Team: LaMichael James, Oregon

Honorable Mention:
Bobby Rainey, Western Kentucky
Ronnie Hillman, San Diego State
David Wilson, Virginia Tech
Bernard Pierce, Temple
Chris Polk, Washington

Comment: Ball’s 38 touchdowns gives  him the edge over Richardson. James quietly led the nation in rushing yards per game.

Fullback

1st Team: Alexander Teich, Navy

2nd Team: Cody Johnson, Texas

3rd Team: Rhett Ellison, USC

Honorable Mention
Ryan Hewitt, Stanford
Bradie Ewing, Wisconsin
Joe Suhey, Penn State

Comment: Unlike other honors teams, we pick a fullback All-American because, after all, it is a position in football. Teich was a bulldozer for the Midshipmen while Johnson was an excellent blocker and short-yardage back for the Longhorns.

Tight End

1st Team: Coby Fleener, Stanford

2nd Team: Dwayne Allen, Clemson

3rd Team: Orson Charles, Georgia

Honorable Mention
Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame
Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Lafayette
Ryan Otten, San Jose State
Nick Provo, Syracuse
Gavin Escobar, San Diego State

Comment: Another deep group, but Fleener was Stanford’s only dynamic threat and he averaged a remarkable 20.25 yards per catch. Allen and Charles also had fine seasons.

Wide Receiver

1st Team: Robert Woods, USC; Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State

2nd Team: Sammy Watkins, Clemson; Kendall Wright, Baylor

3rd Team: Keenan Allen, California; Jordan White, Western Michigan

Honorable Mention
Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
Patrick Edwards, Houston
Marquess Wilson, Washington State
Jarius Wright, Arkansas
Marqise Lee, USC
Marvin McNutt, Iowa
B.J. Cunningham, Michigan State
Tyler Shoemaker, Boise State
Nick Harwell, Miami (OH)

Comment: Another deep unit that was hard to grade, but the nod goes to Woods and Blackmon, who were virtually unstoppable all season. Watkins has the most upside of the bunch and is a surefire All-American next season.

Offensive Line Unit

Per HP tradition, we will not choose individual All-Americans on the offensive line.

We refuse to do so because we believe it’s basically impossible to pick the five best offensive linemen.

There are no individual stats to go by. Highlights rarely show what they do. We don’t know their assignments on a given play. We could go purely off of hearsay, but wouldn’t that be dishonest? What’s more, there are 600 starting offensive linemen in Division One. It’s almost impossible to have seen enough of them to know who is really the best. So, while other All-American teams choose linemen based almost solely on reputation, we will not. Instead, we look at a combination of factors, including sacks allowed, rushing offense, tackles for loss allowed, etc., to come up with our All-American unit.

1st Team: Stanford

2nd Team: Oklahoma State

3rd Team: Boise State

Honorable Mention
USC
Penn State
LSU
TCU
Georgia Tech

Comment: Stanford gave up a remarkable 33 tackles for loss–the fewest allowed in the last five seasons by far–plus 9 sacks while averaging 208 yards rushing per game. OSU’s line allowed just 11 sacks for a team that threw 553 times and was ninth in tackles for loss allowed. Boise State tied for the national lead with just 8 sacks allowed, was ninth in tackles for loss allowed and rushed for 170 yards per game.

Check back at HP for the defensive team on Tuesday…

We did the offense last week, now for the defense:

Defensive End

1st Team: Da’Quan Bowers, Clemson; Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue

2nd Team: Brandon Jenkins, FSU; Dontay Moch, Nevada

3rd Team: J.J. Watt, Wisconsin;  Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy

Honorable Mention
Bruce Irvin, West Virginia
Vinny Curry, Marshall
Wayne Daniels, TCU
Tyrone Crawford, Boise State
Sam Acho, Texas
 
Defensive Tackle

1st Team: Nick Fairley, Auburn; Jared Crick, Nebraska

2nd Team: Jurell Casey, USC; Drake Nevis, LSU

3rd Team: Stephen Paea, Oregon State; Logan Harrell, Fresno State

Honorable Mention
Kawann Short, Purdue
Brandon Bair, Oregon
J.R. Sweezy, NC State
Damik Scafe, Boston College
Mike Daniels, Iowa

Outside Linebacker

1st Team: Lavonte David, Nebraska; Justin Houston, Georgia

2nd Team: Mason Foster, Washington; Von Miller, Texas A&M

3rd Team: Sean Spence, Miami; Travis Lewis, Oklahoma

Honorable Mention
Danny Trevathan, Kentucky
Tanner Brock, TCU
Akeem Ayers, UCLA
Colin McCarthy, Miami
Nigel Bradham, FSU

Middle Linebacker

1st Team: Nate Irving, NC State

2nd Team: Luke Kuechly, Boston College

3rd Team: Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut

Honorable Mention
Bruce Taylor, Virginia Tech
Manti Te’o, Notre Dame
Shayne Skov, Stanford
Brian Rolle, Ohio State
Greg Jones, Michigan State

Cornerback

1st Team: Patrick Peterson, LSU; Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech

2nd Team: Prince Amukamara, Nebraska; Talmadge Jackson, Oregon

3rd Team: Casey Heyward, Vanderbilt; Jamell Fleming, Oklahoma

Honorable Mention
Janoris Jenkins, Florida
Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama
Omar Bolden, Arizona State
Johnny Patrick, Louisville
Keith Tandy, West Virginia

Safety

1st Team: Tejay Johnson, TCU; Mark Barron, Alabama

2nd Team: Jaiquan Jarrett, Temple; Robert Sands, West Virginia

3rd Team: Tyler Sash, Iowa; Ahmad Black, Florida

Honorable Mention
Rahim Moore, UCLA
Quinton Carter, Oklahoma
T.J. McDonald, USC
Robert Lester, Alabama
Chris Conte, California

It’s time for the seventh annual edition of the very prestigious HP All-American team.  First, the offense:

Quarterback

1st team: Cameron Newton, Auburn

2nd team: Andrew Luck, Stanford

3rd team: Denard Robinson, Michigan

Honorable Mention:
Kellen Moore, Boise State
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
Andy Dalton, TCU
Darron Thomas, Oregon
Tyrod Taylor, Va. Tech

Notes: Cam Newton is a no-brainer at the top spot.  I think Luck is a special talent who has to be recognized, while Robinson’s yardage was basically the same as Newton’s…he just had fewer touchdowns.

Running Back

1st team: LaMichael James, Oregon

2nd team: Daniel Thomas, Kansas State

3rd team: Mikel LeShoure, Illinois

Honorable Mention:
Jordan Todman, Connecticut
Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
Knile Davis, Arkansas
Vai Taua, Nevada

Notes: James led the nation in rushing and when healthy is a really special player.  Thomas is the nation’s premier power back, while LeShoure might be the rising star of the bunch.

Fullback

1st team: Charles Clay, Tulsa

2nd team: Vince Murray, Navy

3rd team: Stanley Havili, USC

Honorable Mention
Owen Marecic, Stanford
Fred Munzenmaier, Georgia

Notes: Clay capped an outstanding career with another productive season.  Same goes with Murray and Havili.

Wide Receiver

1st team: Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State; Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina

2nd team: Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma; Greg Salas, Hawaii

3rd team: Juron Criner, Arizona; Kealoha Pilares, Hawaii

Honorable Mention:
Jordan White, Western Michigan
Aldrick Robinson, SMU
Leonard Hankerson, Miami
Torrey Smith, Maryland
Michael Floyd, Notre Dame

Notes: Some tough calls here, but with Blackmon being the no-brainer of the bunch, I had to go with Jeffery for the other spot.  I just see him as being more physically dominant than Broyles, who had an incredible year in his own right.  I’m not so sure that Pilares isn’t better than Salas, but I think they are both future NFL guys.  Criner was the clear standout receiver in the Pac-10.

Tight Ends

1st team: Michael Egnew, Missouri

2nd team: Lance Kendricks, Wisconsin

3rd team: Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Lafayette

Honorable Mention
D.J. Williams, Arkansas
Eric Lair, Minnesota
Ted Bolser, Indiana
Orson Charles, Georgia
Joe Halahuni, Oregon State

Notes: Seems like every year there is a Missouri or Wisconsin tight end on this list.  Both Egnew and Kendricks carried on the tradition quite well.  Green is often overlooked, but he had a great year.

Offensive Line Unit

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 are the best offensive linemen.

There are no individual stats to go by. Highlights rarely show what they do. We could go purely off of hearsay, but wouldn’t that be dishonest? What’s more, there are 600 starting offensive linemen in Division One. It’s almost impossible to have seen enough of them to know who is really the best.  So, while other All-American teams choose linemen based almost solely on reputation, we will not.  Instead, we look at a combination of factors, including sacks allowed, rushing offense, tackles for loss allowed, etc., to come up with our All-American unit.

1st team: Oregon 

2nd team: Stanford

3rd team: Boise State

Honorable Mention:
Auburn
Michigan
Utah
TCU
Oklahoma State

Notes: Oregon’s offense was dominant for much of the year and that was due, in large part, to the ability of its offensive line to execute Chip Kelly’s spread to perfection.  Stanford’s line was able to both protect the quarterback and run the ball effectively as well as any other unit.  The same can be said for Boise State.

It’s been a great first half of the 2010 season.  Now for the All-Americans of the midway point:

QB–Denard Robinson, Michigan: The most impressive offensive player of the first half.  Second in rushing, 12th in passing efficiency.  Heisman front runner.

RB–LaMichael James, Oregon: The nation’s top running back.  First in rushing yardage per game.  Main weapon on nation’s top offense. 

FB–Owen Marecic, Stanford: Throwback fullback who can run, block and catch.  Also plays defense.

WR–Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State; Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina: Blackmon leads the nation in receiving yardage and scoring.  Jeffery has turned into a physically dominant wide out.

TE–Michael Egnew, Missouri: The latest in a recent line of stud Tiger tight ends.

OL Unit–Oregon: This fivesome has paced the Ducks to 317 rushing yards per game, while allowing just two sacks.

DE–Vinny Curry, Marshall; Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue: Curry leads the nation in sacks with 8, while Kerrigan already has 13 tackles for loss.

DT–Brandon Bair, Oregon; Drake Nevis, LSU: Bair leads the Pac-10 with 12.5 tackles for loss, while Nevis has 5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss.

LB–Lavonte David, Nebraska;  Akeem Ayers, UCLA; Greg Jones, Michigan State–These three backers are the heart and souls of their respective defenses.

CB–Patrick Peterson, LSU; Greg Reid, Florida State: Two lockdown corners who also serve as great return men.

S–Mark Barron, Alabama; Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma: Barron leads the Tide defense in tackles, while Jefferson might be the best freshman defender in the country.

P–Trevor Hankins, ASU–Leads the nation with an average of 48.5 yards per punt.

PK–Nate Whitaker, Stanford:  A perfect 11 for 11 on field goals (including a game winner), plus an impressive 15 touchbacks on kickoffs.

We did the offense yesterday, now for the defensive HP preseason All-Americans.  The season is nigh, so no commentary, just the list, fast and quick:

Defensive Tackle

First Team: Jared Crick, Nebraska; Jurrell Casey, USC

Second Team: Jurrelle Powe, Ole Miss; Stephen Paea, Oregon State

Third Team: Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson; Drake Nevis, LSU

Honorable Mention: Karl Klug, Ian Williams, Ollie Ogbu, Lawrence Guy, Anthony Gray

Defensive Ends

First Team: Sam Acho, Texas; Robert Quinn, North Carolina

Second Team: Adrian Clayborn, Iowa; Allen Bailey, Miami

Third Team: Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma; Von Miller, Texas A&M

Honorable Mention: Da’Quan Bowers, Cameron Heyward, Marcell Dareus, Kenny Rowe, Cameron Jordan

Outside Linebackers

First Team: Akeem Ayers, UCLA; Mark Herzlich, Boston College

Second Team: Bruce Carter, North Carolina; Travis Lewis, Oklahoma

Third Team: Ross Homan, Ohio State; Malcolm Smith, USC

Honorable Mention: Emmanuel Acho, Nigel Bradham, Lawrence Wilson, Craig Stevens, Sean Spence

Middle Linebackers

First Team: Greg Jones, Michigan State

Second Team: Tank Cardner, TCU

Third Team: Nate Irvin, NC State

Honorable Mention: Shane Skov, Quan Sturdivant, Martez Wilson, Brian Rolle, Dont’a Hightower

Cornerbacks

First Team: Patrick Peterson, LSU; Brandon Harris, Miami

Second Team: Prince Amukamara, Nebraska; Ras-I Dowling, Virginia

Third Team: Curtis Brown, Texas; Janoris Jenkins, Florida

Honorable Mention: Trevin Wade, Rashad Carmichael, Kendric Burney, Aaron Williams

Safeties

First Team: Rahim Moore, UCLA; Tyler Sash, Iowa

Second Team: Deunta Williams, North Carolina; Mark Barron, Alabama

Third Team: Robert Sands, West Virginia; Ahmad Black, Florida

Honorable Mention: DeAndre McDaniel, Jermale Hines, Duke Ihenacho, Blake Gideon