FIRST TEAM
Offense
TE – Cody Slate,
Marshall, 6-4, 225, Sr.
WR – DeAndre Brown, Southern Miss, 6-6, 228, So.
WR – Tyron Carrier, Houston, 5-8, 162, So.
WR – Emmanuel Sanders, SMU, 5-11, 186-230, Sr.
OT – Tyler Holmes, Tulsa, 6-4, 306, So.
OT – Mike Aguayo, UTEP, 6-4, 290, Sr.
OG – Ryan Hebert, Southern Miss, 6-5, 310, Sr.
OG – Curt Puckett, Tulsa, 6-4, 309, Sr.
C – Sean Allen, East Carolina, 6-3, 310, Sr.
QB – Case Keenum, Houston, 6-1, 210, Jr.
RB – Damion Fletcher, Southern Miss, 5-10, 177, Sr.
RB – Bryce Beall, Houston, 5-11, 205, So.
Defense
DE – Albert
McClellan, Marshall, 6-2, 252, Sr.
DE – C.J.Wilson, East Carolina, 6-4, 278, Sr.
DT – Terrell Troup, UCF, 6-3, 315, Sr.
DT – Jay Ross, East Carolina., 6-3, 314, Sr.
LB – Mario Harvey, Marshall, 6-0, 244, Jr.
LB – Nick Johnson, East Carolina, 6-1, 217, Sr.
LB – Mike Bryan, Tulsa, 6-3, 226, Sr.
CB – Brandon Brinkley, Houston, 6-0, 185, Sr.
CB – Cornelius Brown, UTEP, 6-0, 200, Sr.
Safety – Van Eskridge, East Carolina, 6-0, 195, Sr.
Safety – James Lockett, Tulsa, 5-11, 203, Sr.
Specialists
Punter – Ross
Thevenot, Tulane, 6-0, 185, Sr.
PK – Ben Hartman, East Carolina, 5-11, 209, Sr.
KR – Damaris Johnson, Tulsa, 5-8, 170, So.
SECOND
TEAM
Offense
TE – Jeffrey
Anderson, UAB, 6-3, 225, Sr.
WR – Kris Adams, UTEP, 6-3, 190, Jr.
WR – Aldrick Robinson, SMU, 5-10, 176, Jr.
WR – Patrick Edwards, Houston. 5-9, 175, So.
OT – Scott Mitchell, Rice, 6-4, 290, Jr.
OT – C.J. Wood, Marshall, 6-5, 290, So.
OG – Cameron Raschke, UTEP, 6-4, 320, Sr.
OG – Dominik Riley, Memphis. 6-4, 315, Jr.
C – Carl Bennett, Houston, 6-2, 285, Sr.
QB – Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP, 6-2, 220, Jr.
RB – Darius Marshall, Marshall, 5-10, 190, Jr.
RB – Curtis Steele, Memphis, 6-0, 185, Sr.
Defense
DE – Bruce Miller,
UCF, 6-2, 258, Jr.
DE – Scott Solomon, Rice, 6-3, 263, Jr.
DT – Linval Joseph, East Carolina. 6-6, 322. Sr.
DT – Anthony Gray, Southern Miss, 6-0, 301, Jr.
LB – Greg Jackson, Memphis. 6-2, 212, Sr.
LB – Marcus McGraw, Houston, 5-11, 220, So.
LB – Pete Fleps, SMU, 6-1, 228, Jr.
CB – Travis Simmons, East Carolina. 5-10, 177, Jr.
CB – Andre Watson, Southern Miss. 5-10, 180, Sr.
Safety – Andrew Sendejo, Rice, 6-1, 211, Sr.
Safety – Eddie Hicks, Southern Miss, 6-2, 183, Sr.
Specialists
Punter – Chase
Turner, Houston, 6-4, 229, Sr.
PK – Clark Fangmeier, Rice, 5-11, 184, Sr.
KR – D.A. Griffin, Memphis, 5-11, 185, Jr.
Offensive
Player of the Year
Case Keenum, Houston
Defensive
Player of the Year
C.J. Wilson, East
Carolina
Special
Teams Player of the Year
Damaris Johnson,
Tulsa
|
FIRST TEAM
Offense
TE Cody Slate, Marshall
WR Emmanuel Sanders, SMU
WR DeAndre Brown, Southern Miss
WR Kris Adams, UTEP
OT Scott Mitchell, Rice
OT Tyler Holmes, Tulsa
OG Curt Puckett, Tulsa
OG Doug Palmer, East Carolina
C Sean Allen, East Carolina
QB Case Keenum, Houston
RB Damion Fletcher, Southern Miss
RB Bryce Beall, Houston
Defense
C.J. Wilson, East
Carolina
DE Albert McClellan, Marshall
DT Jay Ross, East Carolina
DT Linval Joseph, East Carolina
LB Nick Johnson, East Carolina
LB Marcus McGraw, Houston
LB Mario Harvey, Marshall
CB Brandon Brinkley, Houston
CB Emmanuel Davis, East Carolina
Safety Van Eskridge, East Carolina
Safety James Lockett, Tulsa
Specialists
Punter Ross Thevenot,
Tulane
Placekicker Clark Fangmeier, Rice
RS Damaris Johnson, Tulsa
SECOND TEAM
Offense
TE Jeffery Anderson,
UAB
WR Dwayne Harris, East Carolina
WR Duke Calhoun, Memphis
WR Carlos Singleton, Memphis
OT Mike Aguayo, UTEP
OT Kelvin Beachum, SMU
OG Ryan Hebert, Southern Miss
OG Cory Dowless, East Carolina
C Dominik Riley, Memphis
QB Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP
RB Curtis Steele, Memphis
RB Andre Anderson, Tulane
Defense
DT Reggie Scott,
Tulane
DT Torrell Troup, UCF
DE Logan Kelley, Tulane
DE Bruce Miller, UCF
LB Greg Jackson, Memphis
LB Cory Hogue, UCF
LB Matt Nicholson, Houston
CB Travis Simmons, East Carolina
CB Cornelius Brown, UTEP
Safety Charles Davis, Tulsa
Safety Eddie Hicks, Southern Miss
Specialists
Punter Chase Turner,
Houston
Placekicker Ben Hartman, East Carolina
RS Michael Bowman, East Carolina
Offensive Player of the Year
Case Keenum, QB,
Houston
Defensive
Player of the Year
C.J. Wilson, East
Carolina
Special
Teams Player of the Year
Ross Thevenot,
Tulane
NOTES
- Though Keenum
was voted by the league – and me – as the
Offensive Player of the Year, he is not the
league’s best offensive player. That nod goes to
Southern Miss receiver DeAndre Brown. Keenum
will get the honor, though, as a product of an
offensive system that inflates statistics.
- Wilson is
simply the league’s best defensive player. He is
the type of difference maker who doesn’t have to
appear in the box score to make a serious
impact.
- Expect Cody
Slate to be a unanimous all-league pick at the
end of the season. There is a severe shortage of
tight ends in C-USA.
- Differentiating
between offensive linemen is a serious challenge
in this league. Unlike more
geographically-cohesive leagues like the SEC,
ACC, Big Ten, etc., C-USA media members don’t
have the opportunity to see a lot of the other
schools play, and you are reliant almost
exclusively on the write-ups from media
relations directors. The media chose to vote
offensive linemen by position – as opposed to
just naming the five best – which made this an
even greater challenge.
- ECU OG Doug
Palmer was not a nominee, but he makes my
first-team ballot as a write-in vote. Palmer is
one of the best linemen in the league.
- Tyron Carrier
was a first-team honoree from the combined
media, but he didn’t make either my first or
second team. There is no shortage of receivers
in C-USA and I think others – like Kris Adams –
will have breakout seasons.
- None of my
second-team receivers made the final cut by the
combined media. I’m gambling on the quarterback
situation being stable at Memphis, and I don’t
think there is a better receiving tandem than
Calhoun and Singleton. Both are red zone
nightmares.
- Dwayne Harris
made my team because of his versatility. He
could be one of the league leaders in terms of
all-purpose yardage and is simply a human
highlight reel in the open field.
- Jeffery
Anderson’s presence on the second team amplifies
the league shortage at tight end. This was a
position that last year included standouts Shawn
Nelson (Southern Miss), Davon Drew (East
Carolina), and James Casey (Rice), although
Casey was really more a receiver than tight end.
- I took Tulane
runner Andre Anderson over Marshall’s Darius
Marshall on the second team. I like Anderson’s
toughness, and head coach Bob Toledo’s focus on
tough-inside running could lead to a big season
for Anderson.
- Voting three
defensive linemen from the same school to the
first team might seem a little biased, but it
was hard not to honor three Pirates here. UCF’s
Terrell Troup made the media’s first team over
ECU’s Linval Joseph, and he did have better
stats than Joseph last year. But playing
alongside Jay Ross could give Joseph an edge, as
could the strength he added in the off-season
(as if he needed to get stronger).
- Emmanuel Davis
is another write-in vote who wasn’t nominated.
You’ll have a hard time convincing me there is a
better corner in C-USA.
|
