Written For The LSWA
The voting panel for the 2010 Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana College Football team had a tough time picking some of the award winners on this year’s team but they were pretty sure of their decision for state Defensive Player of the Year.
LSU’s Patrick Peterson was a unanimous pick of those who elected to case votes for Defensive Player of the Year as well as a unanimous selection on the first-team defense.
But other awards weren’t as easy for the 26 LSWA panel members to decide.
Ben McLaughlin, who racked up gaudy numbers through the air for Louisiana College, edged out by one vote, Frank Warren of Grambling, who had one of the state’s top rushing totals, for state Offensive Player of the Year.
Linebacker Trent Mackey of Tulane edged out Lennon Creer of Louisiana Tech for the Newcomer of the Year for first-year non-freshman Louisiana players and ULM quarterback Kolton Browning was named the Freshman of the Year.
LSU Coach Les Miles, who will lead his 10-2 Tigers to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 7, was voted the state’s top coach.
The team was selected based on nominations from the sports information directors from the various football playing schools in the state. LSWA members then voted on the nominations to choose the team.
Peterson, who also made the first team as return specialist, captured the Jim Thorpe (nation’s top defensive back) and the Bednarik (national’s top defender) Awards, was the SEC Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Year. He keyed an LSU defense that ranked among top 10 in the nation in total defense. Peterson had 36 tackles with four interceptions, 6 pass breakups and returned two punts for touchdowns. The native of Pompano, Fla., is a junior.
McLaughlin, a senior from Dierks, Ark., threw for a nation’s best 3,770 passing yards in earning Third-Team AP Little All-American honors, with 42 touchdowns passes, a 159.93 efficiency rating and only 13 interceptions in 446 passing attempts. One of four finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy (the highest award in D3), he rushed as well for 4 TDs and accomplished all this while working full-time as a math teacher at Alexandria’s Bolton High School as pursues his master’s in education at LC.
Newcomer winner Mackey, a transfer from Duke, earned first team All-Conference USA honors after starting every game for the Wave and finished with 124 total tackles, 63 of which were solo. The sophomore from Port Sulphur, La., had 10-plus tackles in eight games, including a best of 17 against Army. He also had 7.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and an interception.
Browning made the most of his freshman season, starting all 12 games for ULM and throwing for 2,552 yards and 18 touchdowns passing and four touchdowns on the ground. His 244.8 yards of total offense was the third most this year by a freshman in the NCAA. He tied a ULM single-game record with five touchdown passes against North Texas and posted these numbers while playing the final five games with a lower-body injury.
Miles earned Coach of the Year honors as he won 10 games and put the Tigers in a bowl game for the sixth straight season in his tenure. It was his fourth 10-win season, most in school history with wins over four top 25 teams in 2010, including Florida and Alabama.
Joining McLaughlin on the first team are offensive linemen Sanford Banks of Grambling, Joseph Barksdale of LSU, Michael Booker of Northwestern State, Miguel Gauthreaux of McNeese and Rod McGill of Louisiana Tech. Stevan Ridley of LSU and Frank Warren of Grambling were chosen as first team running backs with one of McLaughlin’s favorite targets, Jordan Rideaux from LC joining Simmie Yarborough of Southeastern as first team wide receivers. Ladarius Green of Louisiana-Lafayette was named the first-team tight end.
Joining Peterson and Mackey on the first-team defense were line choices Matt Broha of Tech, Ken Dorsey of Louisiana-Monroe, Desmund LIghten of McNeese and Drake Nevis of LSU. The other two linebackers were Derek Rose of Northwestern State and Kelvin Shepherd of LSU with the three remaining backs Tommy Connors of Southeastern, Morris Claiborne of LSU and Phillip Davis of Tulane.
The Tigers swept the special teams selection with Derek Helton at punter, Josh Jasper at placekicker and Peterson getting double duty as return specialist.
LOUISIANA SPORTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION ALL-LOUISIANA FOOTBALL TEAM
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
POS/NAME/SCHOOL/CL./HOMETOWN/NOTES
OL/Sanford Banks/Grambling State/So./Columbus, Ga./First Team All-SWAC
OL/Joseph Barksdale/LSU/Sr./Detroit, Mich./Second Team All-SEC
OL/Michael Booker/Northwestern State/Sr./Paris, Texas/Second Team AP A-A (FCS)
OL/Miguel Gauthreaux/McNeese State/Jr./Plaquemine, La./First Team All-SLC
OL/Rod McGill/Louisiana Tech/Sr./Metairie, La./First Team All-WAC
RB/Stevan Ridley/LSU/Jr./Natchez, Miss./First Team All-SEC, 14 TDs
RB/Frank Warren/ Grambling State/Sr./Pleasantville, Ala./Third Team AP A-A (FCS), 19 TDs
WR/Jordan Rideaux/Louisiana College/Sr./Carencro, La./First Team All-ASC; ASC Special Team POY
WR/Simmie Yarborough/Southeastern La./Jr./Brookhaven, Miss./Second-Team All-SLC, 9 TDs
TE/Ladarius Green/Louisiana-Lafayette/Jr./Pensacola, Fla./First Team All-SBC, 7 TD
QB/Ben McLaughlin/Louisiana College/Sr./Dierks, Ark./ASC Offensive POY, 3,770 yds (1st nation), 42 TD
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
POS/NAME/SCHOOL/CL./HOMETOWN/NOTES
DL/Matt Broha/Louisiana Tech/Jr./Baton Rouge, La./Second Team All-WAC, 44 tackles, 9 sacks
DL/Ken Dorsey/Louisiana-Monroe/Jr./Homewood, Ala./13.0 TFL, 5.0 sacks
DL/Desmund Lighten/McNeese State/Jr./Monroe, La./First Team All-SLC, 65 tackles, 4 sacks
DL/Drake Nevis/LSU/Sr./Marrero, La./Second Team A-A, 56 tackles, 6.0 sacks
LB/Trent Mackey/Tulane/So./Port Sulphur, La./First Team All-C-USA, 124 tackles, 75. TFL
LB/Derek Rose/Northwestern State/So./New Orleans, La./First Team All-SLC, 142 tackles, 2 sacks
LB/Kelvin Sheppard/LSU/Sr./Stone Mountain, Ga./First Team All-SEC,108 tackles, 4.0 sacks
DB/Morris Claiborne/LSU/So./Shreveport, La./Second Team All-SEC, 5 INT, 6 PBU
DB/Tommy Connors/Southeastern La./Sr./Marrero, La./First Team All-SLC, 3 INT, 7 PBU
DB/Phillip Davis/Tulane/Sr./Suwanee, Ga./First Team All-C-USA, 3 INT, 12 PBU
DB/*Patrick Peterson/LSU/Jr./Pompano, Fla./Thorpe, Bednarik Winner, First-Team A-A
FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
POS/NAME/SCHOOL/CL./HOMETOWN/NOTES
P/Derek Helton/LSU/Sr./Hoyt, Kan./45.4 avg., 42% downed inside 20
PK/Josh Jasper/LSU/Sr./Memphis, Tenn./First Team All-SEC, 26-31 FG, 31-32 PAT
RS/Patrick Peterson/LSU/Pompano Beach, Fla./SEC Special Team POY, 2 PR TDs
*unanimous selection
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Ben McLaughlin, Louisiana College
Voting – McLaughlin 11, Frank Warren 10, Kolton Browning 2, Ladarius Green 1, Phillip Livas 1, No vote 1
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Patrick Peterson, LSU
Voting – Peterson 25, No vote 1
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Kolton Browning, ULM
Voting – Browning 11, Orleans Darkwa 8, Tyrann Mathieu 5, Ik Enemkpali 1, no vote 1
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Trent Mackey, Tulane
Voting – Mackey 8, Lennon Creer 7, Darnell Williams 5, Andre Anderson 3, Brandon Collins 1, Ryan McCaul 1, No vote 1
COACH OF THE YEAR – Les Miles, LSU
Voting – Miles 17, Bradley Dale Peveto 5, Dennis Dunn 2, Todd Berry 1, No vote 1
All-Louisiana Second Team Offense
OL – Ian Burks, Louisiana-Lafayette (Sr., Baton Rouge, La.); Pete Hendrickson, Tulane (Sr., Tampa, Fla.), Kevin Hughes, Southeastern La. (Sr., New Orleans, La.), P.J. Lonergan, LSU (So., New Orleans, La.), Ryan McCaul, ULM (Jr., Moore, Okla.).
RB – Lennon Creer, Louisiana Tech (Jr., Tatum, Texas); Orleans Darkwa, Tulane (Fr., Nashville, Tenn.).
WR – Luther Ambrose, ULM (Jr., St. James, La.), Casey Robottom, Tulane (Sr., LaPlace, La.).
TE – Cody Sparks, Tulane (Sr., Bridge City, Texas)
QB – Kolton Browning, ULM (Fr., Mabank, Texas)
All-Louisiana Second Team Defense
DL – Justin Adams, Tulane (Sr., Missouri City, Texas), Nathan Clophus, Southeastern La. (Sr., Sulphur, La.), Jordan Miller, Southern (Sr., Upper Marlboro, Md.), Dezman Moses, Tulane (Jr., Willingboro, N.J.)
LB — Ryan Baker, LSU (Jr., Grand Ridge, Fla.), Nate Jansen, Louisiana College (So., Pottsboro, Texas), Mark Newbill, Southeastern La. (Sr., Monroe, La.)
DB – Chad Boyd, Louisiana Tech (So., Westwego, La.), Malcolm Bronson, McNeese (So., Jasper, Texas), Bobby Felder, Nicholls (Jr., McComb, Miss.), Tyrann Mathieu, LSU (Fr., New Orleans, La.).
All-Louisiana Second Team Special Teams
P – Patrick Dolan, Nicholls (Grad, Mobile, Ala.)
PK – Josh Lewis, McNeese (So., Denham Springs, La.)
RS – Phillip Livas, Louisiana Tech (Sr., Houma, La.)
Honorable Mention
Offense – OL: Andrew Neirman, Tulane. WR: Terrence Toliver, LSU. Defense – DL: Antonio Leonard, Grambling; Ledell Love, Northwestern State. LB: Cliff Exama, Grambling. DB: Reggie Calhoun, Louisiana College.