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Seven Tigers Named to AP All-SEC Football Teams

by Jake Terry (@LSUjake)
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Seven Tigers Named to AP All-SEC Football Teams

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Seven members of the LSU football team have earned recognition on the 2010 Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference first and second teams, including three unanimous first team selections, the AP announced Monday.

Senior placekicker Josh Jasper, senior defensive tackle Drake Nevis, senior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and junior cornerback Patrick Peterson received first team honors. Jasper, Nevis and Peterson were unanimous first team selections.

Senior offensive tackle Joseph Barksdale, junior running back Stevan Ridley and sophomore cornerback Morris Claiborne were named to the second team, and Peterson also received second team honors as an all-purpose selection.

LSU has placed 20 players on the AP All-SEC first team and 31 total players on the first and second teams since head coach Les Miles‘ first season in 2005.

Jasper tied the school single-season record and tied for the national lead in field goals with 26, and he also set the school record with five field goals in one game against Mississippi State on Sept. 18. He led the SEC in scoring for kickers with an average of 9.1 points a game, and he also led the league with nine field goals beyond 40 yards.

Nevis led LSU with 13 tackles for a loss and tied for the team lead with six sacks. The Marrero, La., native is fourth on the team with 56 tackles, and he also forced three fumbles, recovered one fumble, recorded a safety and tallied his first career interception.

Sheppard led the team for the second straight season and ranked third in the SEC in tackles with 108, and he recorded 11 tackles for a loss, four sacks and his second career interception against Alabama on Nov. 6.

Peterson picked off four passes and recorded six pass breakups to go along with 36 total tackles on defense, and he ranked second in the SEC in punt returns with a 17.9-yard average per return and second in kickoff returns with a 29.3-yard average. He also broke the school record for kickoff return yards in a single season with 851.

Peterson returned two punts for touchdowns – an 87-yard return against North Carolina and a 60-yard return versus West Virginia – and he ranked fourth in the conference with 116.9 all-purpose yards a game. Peterson was an AP second team All-SEC selection in 2009.

Barksdale started all 12 games at left tackle after taking over for All-SEC player Ciron Black, and he finished the season with 49 knockdown blocks in 779 snaps. He leads the team with 38 straight starts.

Ridley, a native of Natchez, Miss., became the 13th LSU player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season as he tallied 1,042 yards, and he is tied for fifth in LSU history with 14 rushing touchdowns in a single season. 

In his first season as a starting corner, Claiborne led the team and ranked second in the SEC with 11 passes defended and third in the conference with five interceptions in 11 games.

The 2010 Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference football team, with player’s position, name, school, height, weight and class (u-unanimous selection):
 
FIRST TEAM

Offense
WR – Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina, 6-4, 233, So.
WR – Julio Jones, Alabama, 6-4, 220, Jr.
L – u-Lee Ziemba, Auburn, 6-8, 319, Sr.
L – Derek Sherrod, Mississippi St., 6-6, 305, Sr.
L – Barrett Jones, Alabama, 6-4, 301, So.
L – DeMarcus Love, Arkansas, 6-5, 315, Sr.
C – Ryan Pugh, Auburn, 6-4, 297, Sr.
TE – u-D.J. Williams, Arkansas, 6-2, 251, Sr.
QB – u-Cam Newton, Auburn, 6-6, 250, Jr.
RB – u-Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina, 6-0, 218, Fr.
RB – Knile Davis, Arkansas, 6-0, 220, So.
K – u-Josh Jasper, LSU, 5-11, 171, Sr.
All-Purpose – Randall Cobb, Kentucky, 5-11, 186, Jr.

Defense
T – u-Nick Fairley, Auburn, 6-5, 298, Jr.
T – u-Drake Nevis, LSU, 6-2, 285, Sr.
E – Devin Taylor, South Carolina, 6-7, 249, So.
E/OLB – Justin Houston, Georgia, 6-3, 258, Jr.
LB – Kelvin Sheppard, LSU, 6-3, 240, Sr.
LB – Chris White, Mississippi St., 6-4, 245, Sr.
LB – Danny Trevathan, Kentucky, 6-1, 223, Jr.
CB – u-Patrick Peterson, LSU, 6-1, 222, Jr.
CB – Janoris Jenkins, Florida, 5-11, 184, Jr.
S – Ahmad Black, Florida, 5-9, 190, Sr.
S – Mark Barron, Alabama, 6-2, 210, Jr.
P – Chas Henry, Florida, 6-3, 215, Sr.

SECOND TEAM

Offense
WR – Randall Cobb, Kentucky, 5-11, 186, Jr.
WR – A.J. Green, Georgia, 6-4, 212, Jr.
L – Byron Isom, Auburn, 6-3, 302, Sr.
L – Larry Warford, Kentucky, 6-3, 329, So.
L – Joseph Barksdale, LSU, 6-6, 318, Sr.
L – Clint Boling, Georgia, 6-5, 315, Sr.
L – James Carpenter, Alabama, 6-5, 300, Sr.
L – Bradley Sowell, Mississippi, 6-7, 315, Jr.
C – Mike Pouncey, Florida, 6-4, 310, Sr.
TE – Brandon Barden, Vanderbilt, 6-5, 245, Jr.
QB – Ryan Mallett, Arkansas, 6-6, 238, Jr.
RB – Stevan Ridley, LSU, 6-0, 226, Jr.
RB – Mark Ingram, Alabama, 5-10, 215, Jr.
K – Blair Walsh, Georgia, 5-10, 183, Jr.
All-Purpose – Patrick Peterson, LSU, 6-1, 222, Jr.

Defense
T – Marcell Dareus, Alabama, 6-4, 306, Jr.
T – Malik Jackson, Tennessee, 6-5, 265, Jr.
E – Jake Bequette, Arkansas, 6-5, 271, Jr.
E – Antoine Carter, Auburn, 6-4, 256, Sr.
LB – Josh Bynes, Auburn, 6-2, 235, Sr.
LB – Akeem Dent, Georgia, 6-2, 233, Sr.
LB – Dont’a Hightower, Alabama, 6-4, 260, So.
CB – Morris Claiborne, LSU, 6-0, 177, So.
CB – Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina, 6-1, 189, So.
CB – Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt, 5-11, 188, Jr.
CB – Prentiss Waggner, Tennessee, 6-1, 181, So.
S – Robert Lester, Alabama, 6-2, 206, So.
S – Tramain Thomas, Arkansas, 6-0, 198, Jr.
P – Tyler Campbell, Mississippi, 6-2, 210, So.

HONORABLE MENTION

Offense
Vick Ballard, RB, Mississippi St., 5-11, 215, Jr.; Brandon Bolden, RB, Mississippi, 5-11, 215, Jr.; Greg McElroy, QB, Alabama, 6-3, 225, Sr.; Tauren Poole, RB, Tennessee, 5-11, 213, Jr.; William Vlachos, C, Alabama, 6-1, 289, Jr.

Defense
Jonathan Cornell, LB, Mississippi, 6-1, 235, Sr.; Zac Etheridge, S, Auburn, 6-0, 213, Sr.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Cam Newton, Auburn

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Fairley, Auburn

COACH OF THE YEAR
Gene Chizik, Auburn

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina