BATON ROUGE — LSU defensive tackle Chad Lavalais picked up another national honor on Wednesday as the Football Writer’s Association of America named him First Team All-America, the organization announced.
Lavalais, a senior from Marksville, La., is one of the four Southeastern Conference players on the 25-man squad. Top-ranked Oklahoma dominated the team with an unprecedented six players on the squad. Other SEC players on the team include Arkansas offensive tackle Shawn Andrews, Florida defensive back Keiwan Ratliff and Tennessee punter Duston Colquitt.
“It is a great honor, but it means nothing to me personally to me without my teammates,” Lavalais said. “I could not have done anything this year without the help of my teammates. I hope they realize a national honor like this goes to the entire team and not just one person.”
Lavalais is the leader of an LSU defense that ranks first in the nation in both scoring (9.4 points per game) and rushing yards (57.7 yards per game). The Tigers also rank third nationally in total defense, allowing only 256.7 yards per game. LSU is the only team in the nation that has yet to allow an opponent to score 20 points in a single-game this season.
In 11 games this year, Lavalais has recorded 48 tackles with 14 of those going for losses. He also has six sacks to go with 21 quarterback hurries. He’s also blocked one field goal and intercepted a pass for the third-ranked Tigers.
“I think it is a very deserving award for him,” LSU coach Nick Saban said. “Chad has played as well as any football player on a consistent basis in terms of the plays he has made and the effort he has given and the intensity he has played with in practice. I think his silent leadership has affected the way everyone on defense plays.”
Lavalais is also one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is presented annually to college football’s top defensive player. Twice this season Lavalais has been named as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, once after LSU’s 31-7 win over Auburn and then last week following the 17-14 victory over Ole Miss.
Lavalais’ honor marks the third straight year in which LSU has had a player named First Team All-America, joining Bradie James in 2002 and Josh Reed in 2001. Lavalais’ honor becomes the 54th time that LSU has had a football player be named First Team All-America.
2003 FWAA ALL-AMERICA TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Jason White, Oklahoma, 6-2, 221, Sr., Tuttle, Okla.
RB Kevin Jones, Virginia Tech, 6-0, 221, Jr., Chester, Pa.
WR Mark Clayton, Oklahoma, 5-11, 187, Jr., Arlington, Texas
WR Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh, 6-3, 225, Soph., Minneapolis, Minn.
WR Mike Williams, Southern California, 6-5, 230, Soph., Tampa, Fla.
TE Kellen Winslow, Miami (Fla.), 6-5, 250, Jr., San Diego, Calif.
OL Shawn Andrews, Arkansas, 6-5, 370, Jr., Camden, Ark.
OL Alex Barron, Florida State, 6-6, 316, Jr., Orangeburg, S.C.
OL Robert Gallery, Iowa, 6-7, 320, Sr., Masonville, Iowa
OL Jacob Rogers, Southern California, 6-6, 305, Sr., Oxnard, Calif.
C Jake Grove, Virginia Tech, 6-3, 300, Sr., Forest, Va.
DEFENSE
E Dave Ball, UCLA, 6-6, 275, Sr., Dixon, Calif.
E Kenechi Udeze, Southern California, 6-4, 285, Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.
T Tommie Harris, Oklahoma, 6-3, 289, Jr., Killeen, Texas
T Chad Lavalais, LSU, 6-3, 292, Sr., Marksville, La.
LB Derrick Johnson, Texas, 6-4, 230, Jr., Waco, Texas
LB Teddy Lehman, Oklahoma, 6-2, 243, Sr., Fort Gibson, Okla.
LB Grant Wiley, West Virginia, 6-1, 235, Sr., Trappe, Pa.
B Will Allen, Ohio State, 6-2, 190, Sr., Dayton, Ohio
B Keiwan Ratliff, Florida, 5-10, 178, Sr., Columbus, Ohio
B Derrick Strait, Oklahoma, 5-11, 195, Sr., Austin, Texas
B Sean Taylor, Miami (Fla.), 6-3, 230, Jr., Miami, Fla.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Nick Browne, TCU, 5-10, 172, Sr., Garland, Texas
P Dustin Colquitt, Tennessee, 6-2, 196, Jr., Knoxville, Tenn.
KR Antonio Perkins, Oklahoma, 6-0, 188, Jr., Lawton, Okla.