Blake Martin, Brandon Hale named to College Sporting News Preseason All-America Squad
7/15/2007 1:00:00 AM | Football
CHICAGO, IL - Two Sam Houston State seniors, tight end Blake Martin and offensive lineman Brandon Hale, have been named as first team selections on the 2007 College Sports News NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision preseason All-America Team.
Martin, a business major from Hemphill, and Hale, a criminal justice major from Grand Prairie, are joined on the team by five other Southland Conference players.
Defensive end Bryan Smith and kicker Blake Bercegeay of McNeese State are second team selections. Offensive lineman Matt Jenkins and punter Chris MacDonald of Texas State-San Marcos were named to the third team.
Defending national champion Appalachian State led all teams with five players on the All-America squad.
A total of 42 different schools and each of the 15 conferences received All-America picks lead by the Big Sky, Great West and Southern Conferences with 11 each.
Both Martin and Hale earned first team All-Southland Conference honors as juniors, helping lead Sam Houston State to a runner-up league finish in 2006.
Martin has caught 71 passes for 827 yards during his three-year Bearkat career. He ranked fourth in the Southland in pass receiving with 39 catches for 481 yards last year.
Hale started all 11 games last season, opening holes for the league's leading rusher, D. D. Terry.
College Sporting News was launched in 2000 as a news service for individuals, organizations and broadcasters who seek information about the collegiate Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
At its website, http://www.CollegeSportingNews.com, College Sporting News presents official FCS collegiate news from source collegiate Conferences and Institutions, and a staff of columnists and correspondents from across the nation provide additional coverage and commenta
The complete squad follows:
2007 COLLEGE SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
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-San Marcos
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
K Parker Douglass, South Dakota State
P Chris MacDonald, Texas State-San Marcos
RS Jayson Foster, Georgia Southern
