Texas A&M Leads The Sporting News Freshman All-American Team
Dec 08, 2004 | Football
December 08, 2004
Texas A&M placed four players on The Sporting News (TSN) Freshman All-American team Wednesday, matching Southern Cal for the most players selected to the publication's first, second, or third teams.
Defensive tackle Joseph "Red" Bryant and defensive end Jason Jack were named to the first-team while safety Japhus Brown earned second team accolades. A&M center Chris Yoder was selected to the third team.
All four of the Aggies are redshirt freshmen who helped A&M post a 7-4 regular season record and earn a bid to the SBC Cotton Bowl.
"This is another well deserved honor for a group of young men who helped our team get better and be in a position to play in a New Year's Day bowl game like the SBC Cotton Bowl," A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. "We had 17 first-time starters crack the starting lineup and many others played key roles in our depth. I mentioned many times how this group of redshirt freshmen brought a certain air of confidence to the competition for positions, as well as competing hard on game days."
There are 55 schools represented on TSN's Freshman All-America list. Only A&M, Southern Cal, Michigan and Tennessee placed three or more on the compilation.
Bryant, from Jasper High School, started every game this season as a defensive tackle and made 33 stops including 3.5 for losses with 1.5 quarterback sacks. He broke up two passes and was a force in the middle as the Aggies' run defense improved a great deal from 2003.
Bryant also earned first team freshman All-America selection from Rivals.com and was named TSN Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.
Yoder, from Kingwood High School, started all 11 games at center and graded out well averaging 10 knockdowns per game including a season-high 18 knockdowns against Clemson. The Aggie offense ranked among the nation's best as far as balance between the run and the pass.
Yoder was also named to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America first team.
Brown, from Edna High School, made nine starts at safety for the Aggies and led the team with three interceptions and recorded 58 tackles.
Brown received second team Freshman All-America honors from Rivals.com.
Jack, from Humble High School, started 10 games at defensive end and gave the Aggies a strong push on the outside of the formation and was strong enough to play the running game. He ended the regular season with 48 tackles with six coming behind the line of scrimmage.
An honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches, Jack was selected to Rivals.com second team Freshman All-America team.
Last week, A&M led all schools with four freshmen being named to either the first or second team Rivals.com Freshman All-America squad.
A&M will face Tennessee in the SBC Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 in Dallas.
2004 TSN Freshman All-American First Team
- OFFENSE
WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech*
WR Dwayne Jarrett, USC*
TE Zach Miller, Arizona State*
L (T) Jake Long, Michigan
L (T) Barry Ricahrdson, Clemson*
L (T) Sam Baker, USC
L (G) Charlston Gray, North Carolina
L (G) Will Arnold, LSU
QB Chad Henne, Michigan*
RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma*
RB Jamario Thomas, North Texas*
DEFENSE
L (E) Quentin Groves, Auburn
L (E) Jason Jack, Texas A&M
L (T) Franklin Okam, Texas*
L (T) Red Bryant, Texas A&M
LB Brandon Siler, Florida*
LB Dan Connor, Penn State*
LB Brian Toal, Boston College*
DB (CB) Roshaun Fellows, Tennessee
DB (FS) Ko Simpson, South Carolina*
DB (CB) Antoine Cason, Arizona*
DB (CB) Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh*
SPECIALISTS
K Alexis Serna, Oregon State
P Chris MacDonald, Arizona State
KR Ted Ginn, Ohio State*
*denotes true freshman
2004 TSN Freshman All-American Second Team
- OFFENSE
WR Austin Collie, BYU*
WR Todd Blythe, Iowa State
TE Andrew Mooney, New Mexico State*
L (G) Roy Schuening, Oregon State
L (G/C) Jeff Byers, USC*
L (G) Peter Graniello, Arizona
L (T) Steve Rehring, Ohio State*
L (G) Andrew Crummey, Maryland
QB Erik Ainge, Tennessee*
RB Michael Hart, Michigan*
RB Adell Givens, Ball State*
DEFENSE
L (E) Stanley McClover, Auburn
L (E) Wallace Gilberry, Alabama
L (E) Lawrence Jackson, USC
L (T) Tony Jenkins, Syracuse
LB Jordon Dizon, Colorado*
LB Jonathan Abbate, Wake Forest
LB Josh Williams, Arkansas State
DB (CB) Jonathan Hefney, Tennessee*
DB (FS) Anthony Reddick, Miami*
DB (S) Japhus Brown, Texas A&M
DB (CB) Ryan Smith, Utah
SPECIALISTS
K Chris Nendick, Northern Illinois*
P Jay Ottovegio, Stanford
KR Kevin Robinson, Utah State*
*denotes true freshman
2004 TSN Freshman All-American Third Team
- OFFENSE
WR Kevin Robinson, Utah State*
WR Ernie Wheelwright, Minnesota
TE Kory Sperry, Colorado State*
L (C) Robbie Krutilla, Western Michigan*
L (T) Matt Brim, Wake Forest*
L (G) Shannon Tevaga, UCLA*
L (G) Ryan Wendell, Fresno State*
L (C) Chris Yoder, Texas A&M
QB Bret Meyer, Iowa State
RB Marshawn Lynch, California*
RB Darius Walker, Notre Dame*
DEFENSE
L (E) Michael Tuohy, New Mexico
L (E) Chris Ellis, Virginia Tech
L (E) Jesse Nading, Colorado State
LB Jeremy Engstrom, Nevada
LB Vince Hall, Virginia Tech
LB Thomas Keith, Central Michigan
LB Garry Pack, Mississippi*
DB (SS) Danny Verpaele, South Florida*
DB (CB) Nigel Morris, Toledo
DB (CB) Jackie Bates, Oregon*
DB (FS) Quintin Demps, UTEP
SPECIALISTS
K Jermey Ito, Rutgers*
P Ben Woods, Buffalo*
KR Chris Davis, Duke*
*denotes true freshman
