offense »
defense
coach of the year »
Defense
Photography by Richard Izui
DEFENSE: Left to right, top to bottom: Dallas Griffin, Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete, Texas; Tommy Blake, lineman, Texas Christian; Calais Campbell, lineman, Miami; Chris Long, lineman, Virginia; Glenn Dorsey, lineman, LSU; Chris Miller, punter, Ball State; Antoine Cason, secondary, Arizona; Aqib Talib, secondary, Kansas; Chris Horton, secondary, UCLA; Dwight Lowery, secondary, San Jose State; Keith Rivers, linebacker, USC; James Laurinaitis, linebacker, Ohio State; Erin Henderson, linebacker, Maryland.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN - GLENN DORSEY
LSU - 6'2", 299, Senior -
First-team All-America by AP, SI.com. Finished last season with 64 tackles, 8.5 tackles for losses and three sacks despite being double-teamed all season long.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN - CALAIS CAMPBELL
MIAMI - 6'8", 282, Junior -
Eighty-four tackles including 40 solo. Led his team in tackles for losses with 20.5 and he was second on his team in sacks with 10.5. Forced three fumbles, one fumble recovery, 17 quarterback hurries.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN - TOMMY BLAKE
TCU - 6'3", 252, Senior -
Topped the Mountain West Conference with 16.5 tackles for losses and recorded seven sacks. He is a two-time first-team Mountain West Conference selection and was the Defensive MVP in TCU's victory over Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN - CHRIS LONG
VIRGINIA - 6'4', 284, Senior -
He earned second-team All ACC honors and was voted his team's captain despite being only a junior. Started all 12 games last year at defensive end where he recorded 12 tackles for losses, 21 quarterback pressures and four sacks.
Father is NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long.
LINEBACKER - JAMES LAURINAITIS
OHIO STATE - 6'3", 244, Junior-
Winner of the Nagurski Award last season as the nation's best defensive player, he started all 15 games for the Buckeyes and led his team with 115 tackles including 53 solo stops, plus he had four interceptions.
LINEBACKER - ERIN HENDERSON
MARYLAND - 6'3", 242, Junior-
He was a second-team All-ACC selection last year after coming off a knee injury in 2005. He ranked second in the ACC and 31st nationally in tackles with an average 8.8 per game. His brother, E.J. Henderson, was a Playboy All America in 2002.
LINEBACKER - KEITH RIVERS
USC - 6'3", 230, Senior -
Led his team with 85 tackles last season, 7.5 of them for losses and two sacks. As a two-year starter, he's already recorded 162 tackles. First-team All PAC 10 and is certain to be in the running this year for the Lombardi Award and Lott Trophy.
DEFENSIVE BACK - DWIGHT LOWERY
SAN JOSE STATE - 6'1", 185, Senior -
He was the first player in his school's history to be named a first-team All-America by the Football Writers Association. He finished last season with a school record nine interceptions. We haven't had a San Jose State player on the Playboy All America team for 36 years (Dave Chaney -- 1971).
DEFENSIVE BACK - AQIB TALIB
KANSAS - 6'2", 180, Junior-
A first-team All-Big 12 pick, he had six interceptions, 22 passes deflected and 39 solo tackles. He was selected as a second-team All-America by SI.com and was his team's defensive MVP. Fifty-four tackles, two interceptions, eight pass breakups.
DEFENSIVE BACK - ANTOINE CASON
ARIZONA - 6'0", 185, Senior -
First team All-PAC 10, a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, he had 62 tackles last season, three interceptions and seven pass breakups. He's also the co-president of his school's student-athlete advisory board.
DEFENSIVE BACK - CHRIS HORTON
UCLA - 6'1", 210, Senior -
Led his team in tackles with 95. He had three interceptions and two forced fumbles. He's also a ferocious special teams player. His coach describes him as one of the hardest hitters in the nation at his position.
PUNTER - CHRIS MILLER
- BALL STATE -
He was named Mid-American Conference first team for the second year in a row after averaging 46.3 yards per punt. That was second in the nation at the end of the regular season. His longest punt went for 78 yards. Of his 57 total punts on the year, 20 were placed inside the opponent's 20 yard line. His punting average of 46.3 is second best in Ball State history, behind only Brad Maynard who averaged 46.5.
ANSON MOUNT SCHOLAR/ATHLETE
- CENTER
- DALLAS GRIFFIN
TEXAS - 6'4", 280, Senior -
He was named UT's Most Improved Offensive Player in 2006. He's a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection. He's scheduled to graduate with a double major in Business and Finance and he's posted a perfect 4.0 GPA six times during his undergraduate college career. He'll be entering the prestigious Red McCombs School of Business this Fall as he plays his final year of college football.
offense »
defense
coach of the year »
