FCS Preseason All-American Teams Announced

Defending national champion Appalachian State claims five selections

July 16, 2007

Defending national champion Appalachian State leads the way on the 2007 College Sporting News preseason NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All- American football teams with five players named overall.

Mountaineer senior tailback Kevin Richardson, who rushed a season-high 30 times for 179 yards and four touchdowns in the national title game last year to guide ASU to their second straight Division I crown is joined on the first team by teammate Kerry Brown who was chosen at offensive guard.

McNeese State and Northern Iowa both placed four players on the All-American teams while Cal Poly, Furman, Montana, North Dakota State, Portland State, South Dakota State and Youngstown State landed three players each on the 75-player squad. There were nine schools that received two selections.

42 different schools and each of the 15 conferences received All-American picks lead by the Southern Conference with 12 selections and the Big Sky and Great West with 11 each.

Reigning Walter Payton Award winner and New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos is one of only four players to repeat as first-team preseason picks. He is joined by fullback Jerome Felton of Furman, center Brennan Carvalho of Portland State and offensive guard Matt Alfred of Eastern Washington. James Madison safety Tony LeZotte, a first-team pick in 2006, made the second team this season.

Other players who made one of the three preseason teams in 2006 and were among the 75 players honored this year include Brown and safety Corey Lynch of Appalachian State, Broderick Cole of Nicholls State, punter Mike Dragosavich of North Dakota State, running back Lex Hilliard of Montana, defensive end Kendall Langford of Hampton, quarterback Eric Sanders of Northern Iowa and kicker Rob Zarrilli of Hofstra.

There are also 12 players from the 2006 CSN postseason "Fabulous Fifty FCS Team" represented on this year's preseason honors squad.

On offense, Santos, Richardson, Brown, Felton, Carvalho, Alex Watson of Northern Arizona, Jerome Simpson of Coastal Carolina, Ramses Barden of Cal Poly and Josh Johnson of San Diego were 2006 honorees. On defense, Lynch is the lone repeater. Special teamers Steven Whitehead of McNeese State and Jayson Foster of Georgia Southern complete that group.

The complete squad follows:

2007 COLLEGE SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS

FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Ricky Santos, New Hampshire
RB Kevin Richardson, Appalachian State
FB Jerome Felton, Furman
WR Alex Watson, Northern Arizona
WR Jerome Simpson, Coastal Carolina
TE Blake Martin, Sam Houston State
C Brennan Carvalho, Portland State
OG Kerry Brown, Appalachian State
OG Matt Alfred, Eastern Washington
OT Chad Rinehart, Northern Iowa
OT Brandon Hale, Sam Houston State

DEFENSE
DE Bryan Smith, McNeese State
DE Kroy Biermann, Montana
DT John Faletoese, UC Davis
DT Mychal Savage, Youngstown State
LB Joe Mays, North Dakota State
LB Kye Stewart, Illinois State
LB Jason Hatchell, Massachusetts
S Corey Lynch, Appalachian State
S Bobbie Williams, Bethune-Cookman
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State CB Andrew Berry, Harvard

SPECIAL TEAMS
K Blake Bercegeay, McNeese State
P Mike Dragosavich, North Dakota State
RS Steven Whitehead, McNeese State

SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Josh Johnson, San Diego
RB Lex Hilliard, Montana
FB Broderick Cole, Nicholls State
WR Clyde Edwards, Grambling State
WR Ramses Barden, Cal Poly
TE Chris Wagner, South Dakota State
C Billy Krause, UT-Martin
OG Mitch Erickson, South Dakota State
OG Peter St. John, Portland State
OT Cody Balough, Montana
OT Matt Austin, Massachusetts

DEFENSE
DE Kendall Langford, Hampton
DE Brian Johnston, Gardner-Webb
DT Mark Huygins, Northern Iowa
DT Justin Brown, Furman
LB Donald Thomas, Eastern Illinois
LB Colin Disch, Albany
LB Mike Gallihugh, Colgate
S Brent Webber, Sacramento State
S Tony LeZotte, James Madison
CB Brandon Jackson, Georgia Southern
CB Ricky Wilson, Northern Arizona

SPECIAL TEAMS
K Rob Zarrilli, Hofstra
P Brandon Lane, Elon
RS Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State

THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Eric Sanders, Northern Iowa
RB Donald Chapman, UT-Martin
FB Bobby McClintock, Portland State
WR Micah Rucker, Eastern Illinois
WR Bruce Hocker, Duquesne
TE Louis Irizarry, Youngstown State
C Stephen Field, Cal Poly
OG Jon Compas, UC Davis
OG Matt Jenkins, Texas State
OT Nate Safe, North Dakota State
OT David Hale, Weber State

DEFENSE
DE Eric Bakhtiari, San Diego
DE Mike Boyd, Texas Southern
DT Tim Washington, App. State
DT Geoffrey Woods, Tennessee Tech
LB Ryan Shotwell, Cal Poly
LB Andrew Jones, Furman
LB James Terry, Youngstown State
S Chris Parsons, Northern Iowa
S Jarmaul George, Southern
CB Casey Gough, Holy Cross
CB Jerome Touchstone, App. State

SPECIAL TEAMS
K Parker Douglass, South Dakota State
P Chris MacDonald, Texas State
RS Jayson Foster, Georgia Southern