July 16, 2007

Elmhurst, IL - The Great West Football Conference was rated the top Football Championship Subdivision league in 2006 and it looks like 2007 will be another banner year based on the College Sporting News preseason NCAA FCS All- American football teams, named today. The Great West is second among the 15 FCS leagues for players represented on the 75-member team with 11 players, including three on the first team.

Named to the first team from the Great West were linebacker Joe Mays and punter Mike Dragosavich from North Dakota State and UC Davis defensive tackle John Faletoese. All three players were members of the All-Great West first team in 2006.

McNeese State and Northern Iowa both placed four players on the All-American teams while Cal Poly, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Furman, Montana, Portland State and Youngstown State landed three players each on the 75-player squad. There were nine schools that received two selections.

42 different schools and each of the 15 conferences received All-American picks led by the Great West, Big Sky and Southern Conferences with 11 each.

Great West players named to the Second Team were wide receiver Ramses Barden of Cal Poly and tight end Chris Wagner and offensive guard Mitch Erickson from South Dakota State.

Third team members were center Stephen Field and linebacker Ryan Shotwell from Cal Poly, offensive guard Jon Campos from UC Davis, offensive tackle Nate Safe from North Dakota State and kicker Parker Douglass from South Dakota State.

Reigning Walter Payton Award winner and New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos is one of only four players to repeat as first-team preseason picks. He is joined by fullback Jerome Felton of Furman, center Brennan Carvalho of Portland State and offensive guard Matt Alfred of Eastern Washington. James Madison safety Tony LeZotte, a first-team pick in 2006, made the second team this season.

Other players who made one of the three preseason teams in 2006 and were among the 75 players honored this year include Brown and safety Corey Lynch of Appalachian State, Dragosavich of North Dakota State, Broderick Cole of Nicholls State, running back Lex Hilliard of Montana, defensive end Kendall Langford of Hampton, quarterback Eric Sanders of Northern Iowa and kicker Rob Zarrilli of Hofstra.

There are also 12 players from the 2006 CSN postseason "Fabulous Fifty FCS Team" represented on this year's preseason honors squad.

On offense, Barden of Cal Poly, Santos, Richardson, Brown, Felton, Carvalho, Alex Watson of Northern Arizona, Jerome Simpson of Coastal Carolina and Josh Johnson of San Diego were 2006 honorees. On defense, Lynch is the lone repeater. Special teamers Steven Whitehead of McNeese State and Jayson Foster of Georgia Southern complete that group.

The complete squad follows:

2007 COLLEGE SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE QB Ricky Santos, New Hampshire RB Kevin Richardson, Appalachian State FB Jerome Felton, Furman WR Alex Watson, Northern Arizona WR Jerome Simpson, Coastal Carolina TE Blake Martin, Sam Houston State C Brennan Carvalho, Portland State OG Kerry Brown, Appalachian State OG Matt Alfred, Eastern Washington OT Chad Rinehart, Northern Iowa OT Brandon Hale, Sam Houston State

DEFENSE DE Bryan Smith, McNeese State DE Kroy Biermann, Montana DT John Faletoese, UC Davis DT Mychal Savage, Youngstown State LB Joe Mays, North Dakota State LB Kye Stewart, Illinois State LB Jason Hatchell, Massachusetts S Corey Lynch, Appalachian State S Bobbie Williams, Bethune-Cookman CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State CB Andrew Berry, Harvard

SPECIAL TEAMS K Blake Bercegeay, McNeese State P Mike Dragosavich, North Dakota State RS Steven Whitehead, McNeese State

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE QB Josh Johnson, San Diego RB Lex Hilliard, Montana FB Broderick Cole, Nicholls State WR Clyde Edwards, Grambling State WR Ramses Barden, Cal Poly TE Chris Wagner, South Dakota State C Billy Krause, UT-Martin OG Mitch Erickson, South Dakota State OG Peter St. John, Portland State OT Cody Balough, Montana OT Matt Austin, Massachusetts

DEFENSE DE Kendall Langford, Hampton DE Brian Johnston, Gardner-Webb DT Mark Huygins, Northern Iowa DT Justin Brown, Furman LB Donald Thomas, Eastern Illinois LB Colin Disch, Albany LB Mike Gallihugh, Colgate S Brent Webber, Sacramento State S Tony LeZotte, James Madison CB Brandon Jackson, Georgia Southern CB Ricky Wilson, Northern Arizona

SPECIAL TEAMS K Rob Zarrilli, Hofstra P Brandon Lane, Elon RS Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State

THIRD TEAM OFFENSE QB Eric Sanders, Northern Iowa RB Donald Chapman, UT-Martin FB Bobby McClintock, Portland State WR Micah Rucker, Eastern Illinois WR Bruce Hocker, Duquesne TE Louis Irizarry, Youngstown State C Stephen Field, Cal Poly OG Jon Compas, UC Davis OG Matt Jenkins, Texas State OT Nate Safe, North Dakota State OT David Hale, Weber State

DEFENSE DE Eric Bakhtiari, San Diego DE Mike Boyd, Texas Southern DT Tim Washington, App. State DT Geoffrey Woods, Tennessee Tech LB Ryan Shotwell, Cal Poly LB Andrew Jones, Furman LB James Terry, Youngstown State S Chris Parsons, Northern Iowa S Jarmaul George, Southern CB Casey Gough, Holy Cross CB Jerome Touchstone, App. State

SPECIAL TEAMS K Parker Douglass, South Dakota State P Chris MacDonald, Texas State RS Jayson Foster, Georgia Southern