BATON ROUGE — For the third time in four years, LSU has put a player on the Walter Camp All-America Team as defensive end Marcus Spears has been named to the prestigious squad.
The Walter Camp All-America team, considered to be the most prestigious of all of the All-America squads, is selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the 117 Division 1-A football schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm.
Spears, a senior from Baton Rouge, led the 11th-ranked Tigers and ranked second in the Southeastern Conference with nine sacks and 17 tackles for losses. He finished the year with a total of 48 tackles, 31 of which were solo stops.
“This is a tremendous honor as something that I’m extremely proud of,” Spears said from ESPN’s Home Depot Awards Show in Orlando on Thursday. “Obviously I couldn’t have done this without my teammates and this award is as much for them as it is for me.
“To be here and to be a part of this awards show with all of these great players from across the country is very exciting. It’s an honor to be here representing LSU and to be recognized with these players.”
The All-America honor is the second for Spears who was named to the America Football Coaches All-America squad last week.
Spears becomes the third Tiger to earn Walter Camp honors under Nick Saban, joining defensive tackle Chad Lavalais in 2003 and wide receiver Josh Reed in 2001. LSU’s had nine players earn recognition as a Walter Camp First Team All-America in its history.
In all, the Tigers had three players named to the Walter Camp squad with seniors Ben Wilkerson and Corey Webster earning a spot on the second team. Wilkerson, who earlier today was named the co-recipient of the Rimington Award, was named the center for the second team, while Webster was one of four defensive backs on the second team.
Walter Camp,