Looking at many of college football's prestigous post-season awards you'd think the best players in college football only exist in the Eastern Time zone-television block. Funny, that. Not a single Pac-10 player even qualified as a finalist for any of the major awards. In fact, Hawaii's Colt Brennan was the only player West of Texas to earn an invitation to a major awards ceremony (O'Brien Award for best quarterback).*
The All-American lists, from Coaches to the AP, also leaned Easterly. Sports Illustrated's list actually seemed a respectable bunch, but their absolutely inconceivable decision to reduce Boise State's amazing Fiesta Bowl victory to a mere paragraph betrays an overriding East Coast narcicism.
We actually think this was an amazing year for West Coast football. All of the top teams in the West Coast conferences won their bowl games, and other than about a full quarter of the Fiesta Bowl they all dominated their opponents.
In an effort to recognize the accomplishments of West Coast athletes we've compiled our own list of the best players in the Pac-10, Mountain West, and Western Atlhletic Conferences. We decided to arrange our list as a depth chart rather than the standard 1st team, 2nd team, honorable mentions. While we've tried to assign players to their specialties, we mostly wanted to get the best players on the field, so don't fret about the interchangability of a free safety from a strong safety or the outside versus interior linebackers--most All-America teams or All-conference teams barely separate out the secondary from the linebacking corps. We went with a 3 WR set offense, and a 3-4 defense to maximize the overwhelming talent at receiver and linebacker this year. We've also taken into account a player's performance in their bowl game. We always found it strange that All-Conference honors were bestowed well before the toughest challenges of the season. Congratulations to all of these players for an incredible football season. Hope to see you all at the next level.
OFFENSE
QB
John Beck, Brigham Young
Colt Brennan, Hawaii
Jared Zabransky, Boise State
RB
Marshawn Lynch, California
Ian Johnson, Boise State
Curtis Brown, Brigham Young
WR
DeSean Jackson, California
Davone Bess, Hawaii
Sammie Stroughter, Oregon State
WR
Dwayne Jarrett, Southern California
Chris Williams, New Mexico State
Jason Hill, Washington State
WR
Steve Smith, Southern California
Jason Rivers, Hawaii
James Jones, San Jose State
TE
Jonny Harline, Brigham Young
Zach Miller, Arizona State
Craig Stevens, California
OT
Tala Esera, Hawaii
Sam Baker, Southern California
Chase Johnson, Wyoming
OG
Jake Kuresa, Brigham Young
Erik Robertson, California
Palauni Ma Sun, Oregon
C
Samson Satele, Hawaii
Ryan Kalil, Southern California
Enoka Lucas, Oregon
OG
Jeremy Perry, Oregon State
Chilo Rachal, Southern California
Robert Turner, New Mexico
OT
Ryan Clady, Boise State
Tavo Tupola, Utah
Herb Taylor, Texas Christian
K
Justin Medlock, UCLA
Alexis Serna, Oregon St.
Kenny Byrd, New Mexico
DEFENSE
NT/DT
Sedrick Ellis, Southern California
Brandon Mebane, California
Kelly Talavou, Utah
DE
Justin Hickman, UCLA
Tommy Blake, Texas Christian
Antwan Applewhite, San Diego State
DE
M’kristo Bruce, Washington State
Bruce Davis, UCLA
J.J. Milan, Nevada
LB
Desmond Bishop, California
Spencer Larsen, Arizona
David Vobora, Idaho
LB
Matthew Castelo, San Jose State
Keith Rivers, Southern California
Joe Martin, San Diego State
LB
Korey Hall, Boise State
Cameron Jensen, Brigham Young
Derrick Doggett, Oregon State
LB
Brian Cushing, Southern California
Michael Okwo, Stanford
Drew Fowler, Air Force
S
Eric Frampton, Washington State
Marty Tadman, Boise State
C.J. Wallace, Washington
S
Sabby Piscitelli, Oregon State
John Wendling, Wyoming
Quincy Black, New Mexico
CB
Daymeion Hughes, California
Eric Weddle, Utah
Antoine Cason, Arizona
CB
Dwight Lowery, San Jose State
Stanley Franks, Idaho
Terrell Thomas, Southern California
P
Waylon Prather, San Jose State
Kip Facer, UNLV
Nick Folk, Arizona
PR/KR
DeSean Jackson, California
Sammie Stroughter, Oregon State
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon
*Cal's Daymeion Hughes, the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, did win the Lott Award; however, Ronnie Lott's a West Coast phenomenon and unfortunately the major sports media doesn't recognize the Lott as a major award.
If Ray Maualuga isn't on the list this year, he will be next year. Sure, the guy is a complete thug who would have been fined 15 grand for that hit on Pat Cowen, but you can't deny his freakish talent.
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Posted by: Braden Wolf | January 18, 2007 at 12:06 AM