BATON ROUGE — LSU offensive tackle Rodney Reed has been named First Team Verizon Academic All-American, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced.
Reed, a junior from West Monroe, La., earned Second Team Verizon Academic All-America honors last year. Reed is the first First Team Academic All-America selection for LSU since Chad Kessler in 1997.
Reed is one of only three players from the Southeastern Conference named to the first team. Other first team selections from the SEC include offensive lineman Jon Stinchcomb of Georgia and linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer of Vanderbilt.
Reed has a 3.93 grade point average in accounting. He’s a three-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll as well as being name the Outstanding Student for the LSU College of Business in 2001. Reed is also a member of the Mortar Board, Beta Sigma Gamma as well as the Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society.
On the field, Reed has started in 33 straight games for the Tigers, including all 11 this year. LSU has a 24-9 mark with Reed in the starting lineup, a record that dates back to the 2000 season.
The honor for Reed marks the second time this season a member of the LSU football team has been recognized for academic achievement. All-America linebacker Bradie James will be honored next week in New York City as one of only 14 National-Scholar athletes from all NCAA Divisions for 2002.