Dec. 14, 2010
Texas A&M senior Von Miller (DeSoto, Texas) was named to the 2010 Associated Press All-America first team on Tuesday, becoming the first Aggie to earn AP first-team honors since punter Shane Lechler in 1999.
A 2009 first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News, Miller enters the bowl season as the Big 12 sack leader for the second straight year with 9.5 sacks in 2010. An unanimous All-Big 12 selection at linebacker by The Associated Press this season, Miller was arguably the conference's most disruptive defender with 9.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for losses, six batted down passes, three forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles.
The All-American nod from the AP was a sweet reward for Miller, who considered entering the NFL Draft after posting a NCAA-best 17 QB sacks in 2009. Miller's return to the Aggies has helped the A&M defense return to Wrecking Crew status. After 12 games, A&M's defense has improved an average of 62 spots in the NCAA statistics in the four major defensive categories - total defense, rushing defense, pass efficiency defense and scoring defense. The Aggies led the Big 12 in rushing defense and rank in the top four in all four categories.
In other Aggie football news, freshmen Luke Joeckel and Damontre Moore were named Freshman All-American by Rivals.com on Tuesday. Joeckel, from Arlington, Texas, started all 12 games at offensive tackle for the Aggies after enrolling at A&M early and earning the starting job during spring drills. Moore turned in an impressive stat line of 39 tackles, including 5.5 QB sacks, and also contributed an interception and a team-high three forced fumbles. Moore was named National Defensive Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards after coming off the bench to make seven tackles, including two QB sacks and another tackle for loss of yardage in the Aggies 48-16 win over Louisiana Tech. Moore also forced three fumbles and recovered one against the Bulldogs.
The Aggies will finish out the 2010 season at the 2011 AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 7 against the LSU Tigers at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.