Andre Smith and Terrence Cody earned miseason All-America team honors from The Sporting News. Here’s the press release:

TUSCALOOSA – The Sporting News named Alabama junior left tackle Andre Smith and junior nose guard Terrence Cody to its 2008 midseason All-America team on Friday.

The second-ranked Crimson Tide was one of four teams that had two players selected to the 26-man team. Ohio State, USC and Texas also had two players selected while the Southeastern Conference led all leagues with seven selections.

Smith, a junior from Birmingham, Ala., is the cornerstone of the Crimson Tide’s offensive line. The Huffman High School graduate has allowed just one sack all season, providing time for UA quarterback John Parker Wilson to post a passing efficiency rating of 133.19, which ranks third in the SEC. Alabama also averages 209.6 yards per game on the ground to rank 19th nationally.

“Andre Smith is the best pass protector in the game, and better than many current NFL starting left tackles,” Sporting News Today college football writer Matt Hayes said.

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Cody, a native of Fort Myers, Fla., and a transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College has made one of the biggest impacts of any newcomer nationally. The 6-foot, 5-inch, 365-pound nose guard has occupied two and three blockers on almost every play this season. He has made 15 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss to help the Crimson Tide’s rush defense rank fourth nationally at 66.1 yards per game. With Cody in the game at nose guard, 13 of the 37 rushing attempts up the middle against the Crimson Tide defense have gone for zero or minus yards.

“No first-year defensive player has changed his team as much as Cody,” Sporting News’ Dave Curtis said. “His size and athleticism are one-of-a-kind, even in the SEC.”

Alabama travels to Tennessee on Saturday to put its 7-0 record and No. 2 national ranking on the line against the Volunteers. The game is slated to kickoff at 6:45 p.m. (CDT) and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Sporting News Today’s Midseason All-American team

Offense
QB Colt McCoy, Texas
RB Javon Ringer, Michigan State
RB Shonn Greene, Iowa
WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
WR Eric Decker, Minnesota
TE Chase Coffman, Missouri
OL Andre Smith, Alabama
OL Michael Oher, Mississippi
OL Duke Robinson, Oklahoma
OL Alex Mack, California
OL Herman Johnson, LSU
K Louie Sakoda, Utah
KR Derrick Williams, Penn State

Defense
DE Brian Orakpo, Texas
DE Jerry Hughes, TCU
DT Terrence Cody, Alabama
DT Fili Moala, USC
LB Rennie Curran, Georgia
LB Scott McKillop, Pittsburgh
LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
CB Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State
CB Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest
S Eric Berry, Tennessee
S Kevin Ellison, USC
P Kevin Huber, Cincinnati
PR Brandon James, Florida