Dec 22, 2005

CHICAGO, Ill. - Defensive end Chris Gocong of Cal Poly and quarterback Erik Meyer of Eastern Washington headlined the 40-man 2005 I-AA All-Star team announced by I-AA.org, the leading news service of the NCAA's top championship football classification.

Gocong, the NCAA I-AA's leading sack specialist and national Buchanan award winner is the defensive player of the year.

Meyer, a record-setting slinger and national Payton award winner is the offensive player of the year.

Dave Clawson, who led Richmond to a share of the Atlantic 10 title and well into the playoffs is the coach of the year.

Jeff Bolton, Montana State's most dominant offensive lineman in a generation is lineman of the year.

Cal Poly's James Noble, who finished fourth best in I-AA rushing is the freshman of the year.

Jason Hunter of Appalachian State capped off a spectacular tournament run by making the defining plays in both the semifinal and the championship games is the playoff most valuable player.

In addition to those awards, I-AA.org honored 15 offensive players, 15 defensive performers and five special teams athletes at individual positions. Those 35 players are listed below.

Northern Colorado defensive back Reed Doughty, Cal Poly linebacker Kyle Shotwell and UC Davis wide receiver Tony Kays were recognized by I-AA.org.

Unlike other All-American teams, the I-AA.org All-Star squad is designed to include every player you would need to field an actual team.

On offense, there are centers, guards and tackles, not just five randomly picked linemen. There are also all-purpose running backs, a fullback, enough receivers to run a modern college offense and even a run-oriented quarterback to team with an outstanding passer.

On defense, there are extra linemen, linebackers and defensive backs for just about any scheme that a defensive coordinator could design.

And on special teams, we honor a place kicker, punter, kickoff and punt returners and even a long snapper.

The I-AA.org All-Star squad puts a premium not only on performance, but also on excellence in the classroom, character off the field and other intangibles.

In all, 28 teams and 11 conferences have players on this team. National champion Appalachian State leads all teams with five players, Illinois State follows with four and Cal Poly plus Furman add three each.

A player-by-player summary of the whole team will be included in the I-AA.org Magazine 2005 Review to published later next week.

THE I-AA.ORG 2005 ALL-STAR TEAM


Coach of the Year
Dave Clawson, Richmond


Offensive Player of the Year
Erik Meyer, QB, Eastern Washington


Defensive Player of the Year
Chris Gocong, DE, Cal Poly


Lineman of the Year
Jeff Bolton, C, Montana State


I-AA Playoff Most Valuable Player
Jason Hunter, DE, Appalachian State


Freshman of the Year
James Noble, TB, Cal Poly


OFFENSE
WR David Ball, New Hampshire
WR Laurent Robinson, Illinois State
WR Eric Kimble, Eastern Washington
WR Tony Kays, UC Davis
T Matt Isenhour, Appalachian State
T Willie Colon, Hofstra
G Matt Magerko, James Madison
G Patrick Covington, Furman
C Stafford Davis, Illinois State
TE Patrick Bugg, Eastern Kentucky
QB Ricky Santos, New Hampshire
QB Richie Williams Appalachian State
FB Jerome Felton, Furman
TB Nick Hartigan, Brown
AB Arkee Whitlock, Southern Illinois


DEFENSE
DE Brent Hawkins, Illinois State
DE Marques Murrell, Appalachian State
DT Fred Evans, Texas State
DT Katon Bethay, Wofford
DL Jeff Charleston, Idaho State
LB Kyle Shotwell, Cal Poly
LB Brian Hulea, Villanova
LB Cameron Siskowic, Illinois State
LB John Mohring, Georgia Southern
RV Reed Doughty, Northern Colorado
CB Cletis Gordon, Jackson State
CB Jay McCareins, Princeton
SS Corey Lynch, Appalachian State
FS Shannon James, Massachusetts
NB Cortland Finnegan, Samford


SPECIAL TEAMS
K Chris James, Western Kentucky
P Ingle Martin, Furman/Travis Lulay, Montana State
KR Rondreikas Darby, South Carolina State
PR Steve Silva, Holy Cross
LS Pat Davis, Lafayette

ABOUT I-AA.ORG I-AA.org was launched in 2001 as a news service for individuals, organizations and broadcasters who seek information about the collegiate football Division I-AA. Publishing thousands of news articles each year, I-AA.org is the worldwide leader in I-AA news distribution.

At its website, http://www.I-AA.org, I-AA.org presents official I-AA collegiate news from source collegiate Conferences and Institutions. Columnists and correspondents from across the nation provide additional coverage and commentary.