Babalola, Brantly Grab First-Team Freshman All-America Honors From Rivals.com
Nov 29, 2005 | Football
November 29, 2005
Texas A&M?™s Yemi Babalola, Justin Brantly and Martellus Bennett were named to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America team, which was released on Tuesday.
Texas A&M was one of five schools with multiple first-team selections, joining Arkansas, California, Nebraska and Oregon.
Babalola, a redshirt freshman from Bryan, Texas, received first-team honors after starting all 11 games at offensive tackle for the Aggies. Babalola beat out the Aggie offense?™s most experienced player during fall camp to earn his spot in the starting lineup. Babalola helped the Aggies roll to an average of 442.3 yards of total offense per game in 2005, which was the No. 2 average output in school history. The 6-foot-4, 317-pound Babalola also helped pave the way for 234.9 rushing yards per game, which is A&M?™s top rushing effort since 1991.
Brantly, a true freshman punter from Sealy, Texas, also received first-team recognition after breaking NFL All-Pro Shane Lechler?™s A&M freshman record for season punt average. The nation?™s top freshman punter, Brantly averaged 43.2 yards on 46 punts in 2005, which broke Lechler?™s record of 42.7 set in 1996.
Bennett, a true freshman tight end from Alief, Texas, received second-team honors after finishing fourth on the A&M squad with 18 catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Bennett, who began practices with the Aggie basketball team on Monday, started five games for the Aggies and saw action in all 11 games.
