Former Sweeny Bulldog Johnnie Lee Higgins named AFCA All American WR... [Archive]

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12-03-2006, 10:07 PM

**Former Sweeny Bulldog Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. named to team below. Projected to be 1st day draft pick by NFL as WR/KR. Not too bad for a kid who was lightly recruited & at one time was going to play basketball in college. Great job Johnnie & best of luck!

2006 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team

Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (HS)
Offense
WR Calvin Johnson* 6-5 235 Jr. Georgia Tech Chan Gailey Tyrone, Ga. (Sandy Creek)
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr. 6-0 180 Sr. UTEP Mike Price Sweeny, Texas (Sweeny)
TE Zach Miller 6-5 260 Jr. Arizona St. Dirk Koetter Phoenix, Ariz. (Desert Vista)
OL Joe Thomas 6-8 313 Sr. Wisconsin Bret Bielema Brookfield, Wis. (Central)
OL Justin Blalock 6-4 335 Sr. Texas Mack Brown Plano, Texas (East)
C Dan Mozes 6-4 290 Sr. West Virginia Rich Rodriguez Washington, Pa. (Washington)
OL Jake Long 6-7 313 Sr. Michigan Lloyd Carr Lapeer, Mich. (East)
OL Arron Sears 6-4 320 Sr. Tennessee Phil Fulmer Russellville, Ala. (Russellville)
QB Troy Smith 6-1 215 Jr. Ohio St. Jim Tressel Cleveland, Ohio (Glenville)
RB Steve Slaton 5-10 195 So. West Virginia Rich Rodriguez Levittown, Pa. (Conwell-Egan)
RB Marshawn Lynch 5-11 217 Jr. California Jeff Tedford Oakland, Calif. (Tech)

Defense
DL LaMarr Woodley 6-2 269 Sr. Michigan Lloyd Carr Saginaw, Mich. (Saginaw)
DL Gaines Adams 6-5 265 Sr. Clemson Tommy Bowden Greenwood, S.C. (Cambridge)
DL Quinn Pitcock 6-3 295 Sr. Ohio St. Jim Tressel Piqua, Ohio (Piqua)
DL Glenn Dorsey 6-2 299 Jr. LSU Les Miles Gonzales, La. (East Ascension)
LB Rufus Alexander 6-1 230 Sr. Oklahoma Bob Stoops Baton Rouge, La. (Christian Life Acad.)
LB Buster Davis 5-11 246 Sr. Florida St. Bobby Bowden Daytona Beach, Fla. (Mainland)
DB LaRon Landry 6-2 202 Sr. LSU Les Miles Ama, La. (Hahnville)
DB Daymeion Hughes 6-0 188 Sr. California Jeff Tedford Los Angeles, Calif. (Crenshaw)
DB Leon Hall 5-11 193 Sr. Michigan Lloyd Carr Vista, Calif. (Vista)
DB Eric Weddle 6-0 200 Sr. Utah Kyle Whittingham Alta Loma, Calif. (Alta Loma)
DB Dwight Lowery 6-1 185 Jr. San Jose St. Dick Tomey Santa Cruz, Calif. (Soquel)
Specialists
P Daniel Sepulveda 6-3 230 Sr. Baylor Guy Morriss Dallas, Texas (Highland Park)
PK Justin Medlock 6-0 197 Sr. UCLA Karl Dorrell Fremont, Calif. (San Jose Mission)
AP Darren McFadden 6-2 212 So. Arkansas Houston Nutt Little Rock, Ark. (Pulaski Oak Grove)

*-2005 All-American

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12-03-2006, 10:12 PM

2006 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team Announced

11/30/2006
WACO, TEX. -- Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, Michigan defensive lineman LaMarr Woodley and Arkansas all-purpose threat Darren McFadden headline the 2006 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.

THE OFFENSE

The field general for the No. 1 team in the country, Troy Smith is joined in the backfield by runningbacks Steve Slaton of West Virginia and Marshawn Lynch of California.

Smith directed a Buckeye offense that averaged 409 yards per game in total offense. In 12 games this season Smith completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,507 yards and 30 touchdowns as the Buckeyes rolled through the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record to clinch a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game in January. Smith's 30 touchdown passes this season is a new Ohio State single-season record.

Steve Slaton has rushed for 1,621 yards for the Mountaineers this season and currently ranks No. 2 nationally in yards per game with an average of 147.4 yards per game. Cal's Lynch also ranks among the national leaders in rushing with an average 107.1 yards per game for the Golden Bears.

Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson, UTEP's Johnnie Lee Higgins Jr. and Arizona State's Zach Miller make up this year's All-America receiving corps.

Johnson, the lone returnee from the 2005 AFCA All-America Team is one of the nation's most explosive and acrobatic receivers. The Tech junior has caught 13 touchdown passes and is averaging 15.2 yards per catch. **Higgins is No. 2 in receiving yards this season with an average of 109.2 yards per game and caught 13 touchdown passes for the Miners**. Miller has been a key component of the Sun Devil offense, leading ASU in receiving and catching three touchdown passes.

The offensive line features Wisconsin's Joe Thomas, Texas' Justin Blalock, West Virginia's Dan Mozes, Michigan's Jake Long and Tennessee's Arron Sears.

Thomas has helped clear the way for a Wisconsin offense that is averaging 387.5 yards and 30.2 points per game this season. Blalock is the top blocker on a Longhorn offensive line that helped Texas average nearly 400 yards in total offense per game. Mozes centers an offensive line that clears the way for a Mountaineer attack averaging 465 yards a game. Long headlines an offensive line that has Michigan ranked among the nation's rushing leaders. Sears is the key bloker for one of the nation's top pass offenses and has posted 71 “intimidation” blocks for the Vols.

THE DEFENSE

Michigan's LaMarr Woodley headlines the defense this year. He is joined by Clemson's Gaines Adams, Ohio State's Quinn Pitcock and LSU's Glen Dorsey.

Woodley finished the regular season with 15.5 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks and four forced fumbles for the Wolverines. Adams posted 14.5 TFLs and 10.5 sacks to go along with 24 quarterback pressures. Pitcock anchors a Buckeye defensive front that helped OSU hold its opponents to 93 yards rushing per game. Dorsey spearheads an LSU defense that is limiting opponents to just 12.5 points per game.

The linebacking corps features Rufus Alexander of Oklahoma and Buster Davis of Florida State.

Alexander has posted 95 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and three forced fumbles for the Sooners as Oklahoma is limiting its opponents to just 99 yards per game on the ground this season. Davis topped the century mark in total tackles, finishing the regular season with 102 stops for the Seminoles.

The defensive backs named to this year's AFCA Coaches' All-America Team are LaRon Landry of LSU, Daymeion Hughes of California, Leon Hall of Michigan, Eric Weddle of Utah and Dwight Lowery of San Jose State.

Landry led LSU in tackles this season and is one of the most feared pass defenders in the Southeastern Conference. Hughes is Cal's second-leading tackler and leads the team with eight interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Hall finished the regular season with 41 tackles, three interceptions and 15 pass break-ups for Michigan. Weddle ended the year with 58 tackles and six interceptions for the Utes. In his first year at San Jose State, Lowery finished among the national leaders in interceptions per game with eight picks in 11 contests to date.

THE SPECIALISTS

The specialists on this year's AFCA Coaches' All-America Team are all-purpose player Darren McFadden of Arkansas, punter Daniel Sepulveda of Baylor and placekicker Justin Medlock of UCLA.

McFadden is a versatile offensive threat for the Razorbacks. The sophomore has rushed for 1,485 yards, caught nine passes for 122 yards and scored at least one touchdown rushing, receiving, passing and as a kick returner. Sepulveda averaged 46.8 yards per punt in 66 attempts for the Bears to lead the nation in punting average. Medlock leads the nation in field goals per game, converting 24 of 28 attempts for the Bruins with one game to go.