Alabama’s young players earned respect from the Southeastern Conference as four Alabama freshmen were named to the SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman Team. Here’s the official release from the conference.
2008 SEC FOOTBALL ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM ANNOUNCED
BIRMINGHAM — Nine of the Southeastern Conference football squads are represented on the ninth annual SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman Team, it was announced Thursday.
Georgia led the way with six selections. Arkansas had five selections, while Alabama, Florida and Vanderbilt added four on the rookie squad. Auburn had three members on the team.
Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green, center Ben Jones, Vanderbilt linebacker Chris Marve and Auburn punter Clinton Durst were the only players to be a unanimous selections to the team. Green was the SEC Freshman of the Year.
The entire team is listed below:
2008 FRESHMAN ALL-SEC FOOTBALL TEAM
(*-Ties / #-Unanimous Selection / Coaches could not vote for their own players)
FRESHMAN ALL-SEC — OFFENSE
Pos. Name School Ht. Wt. Hometown
TE Brandon Barden Vanderbilt 6-5 245 Lincolnton, Ga.
OL Justin Anderson Georgia 6-5 338 Ocilla, Ga.
OL Cordy Glenn Georgia 6-5 331 Riverdale, Ga.
OL *John Michael Boswell Alabama 6-5 300 Tuscaloosa, Ala.
OL *Grant Cook Arkansas 6-6 320 Jonesboro, Ark.
OL *Kyle Fischer Vanderbilt 6-6 300 Columbia, S.C.
OL *Quentin Saulsberry Miss. State 6-3 293 Independence, Miss.
C #Ben Jones Georgia 6-3 304 Centerville, Ala.
WR #A.J. Green Georgia 6-4 200 Summerville, S.C.
WR Julio Jones Alabama 6-4 210 Foley, Ala.
QB Randall Cobb Kentucky 5-11 185 Alcoa, Tenn.
RB Mark Ingram Alabama 5-10 215 Flint, Mich.
RB *Jeffery Demps Florida 5-8 176 Winter Garden, Fla.
RB *Chris Rainey Florida 5-9 185 Lakeland, Fla.
FRESHMAN ALL-SEC — DEFENSE
Pos. Name School Ht. Wt. Hometown
DL Jake Bequette Arkansas 6-5 265 Little Rock, Ark.
DL *T.J. Greenstone Vanderbilt 6-3 278 Lawrenceville, Ga.
DL *Zach Stadther Arkansas 6-1 285 N. Little Rock, Ark.
DL *DeAngelo Tyson Georgia 6-2 306 Statesboro, Ga.
LB #Chris Marve Vanderbilt 6-0 225 Memphis, Tenn.
LB Dont’a Hightower Alabama 6-4 250 Lewisburg, Tenn.
LB Jerry Franklin Arkansas 6-2 229 Marion, Ark.
LB *Spencer Pybus Auburn 6-0 207 Dothan, Ala.
LB *Daryl Vereen Tennessee 6-0 200 Charlotte, N.C.
DB Janoris Jenkins Florida 5-10 185 Pahokee, Fla.
DB Will Hill Florida 6-2 203 West Orange, N.J.
DB Charles Mitchell Miss. State 5-11 196 Clarksdale, Miss.
DB Neiko Thorpe Auburn 6-2 171 Tucker, Ga.
FRESHMAN ALL-SEC — SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos. Name School Ht. Wt. Hometown
PK Blair Walsh Georgia 5-10 183 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
P #Clinton Durst Auburn 6-1 190 Destin, Fla.
RS Dennis Johnson Arkansas 5-7 195 Texarkana, Ark.
Here’s more detail on Alabama’s members of the SEC All-Freshman team from UA’s Media relations:
(UA) BIRMINGHAM — Four University of Alabama football players were named to the 2008 SEC Coaches Freshman All-SEC Team, the league office announced today.
The list includes receiver Julio Jones, running back Mark Ingram, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and offensive lineman John Michael Boswell.
Jones started all 13 games and led the Crimson Tide with 51 catches for 847 yards and four touchdowns this season, setting UA rookie records in all three categories. He ranks fourth in the SEC with 65.15 yards per game and seventh in the league with 3.92 catches per game this year. Jones was the only UA player to catch a pass in all 13 games this season and he led the Tide in receiving eight times. He had three 100-yard games against Tennessee (6-103), LSU (7-128) and Florida (5-124) and his 64-yard catch against the Gators in the SEC Championship Game was the longest pass play for the Tide this season.
Ingram carried the ball 135 times for 702 yards and a freshman school record 12 rushing touchdowns in 13 games. He is seventh in the SEC with 54.0 rushing yards per game and also averaged 5.2 yards per carry for the Tide. Ingram tied Florida’s Tim Tebow for the fourth-most rushing TDs (12) in the SEC this season and tied Tebow for fifth-place with 12 total touchdowns. Ingram was fifth in the league in scoring with 5.7 points per game.
Hightower played in 13 games and made 12 starts at linebacker this season for an Alabama defense that ranked in the Top 5 nationally in scoring, rushing and total defense. He was fourth on the team with 62 tackles and ranked fifth with five quarterback pressures. Hightower also added two tackles for loss (-6), recovered two fumbles and forced one fumble this season. He had a season-high 11 tackles in the Tide’s SEC Western Division-clinching win at LSU on Nov. 8. He added 10 tackles in the win over Tulane.
Boswell appeared in seven games as a back-up offensive lineman. He saw action against Western Kentucky, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas State, Mississippi State and Auburn. The Crimson Tide’s offensive line paved the way for 196.46 rushing yards per game this season , the second-highest total in the league.