Philadelphia, PA – The Sports Network FCS Preseason All- America Team could play one mean intrasquad game.
Such a game would look a lot like last season.
The preseason first team released on Monday returns 14 players who were named to the 2011 All-America first team by a national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries this past December.
Overall, 35 players return to the three preseason teams.
Returning to the first-team offense are running backs Shakir Bell of Indiana State and 2011 Jerry Rice Award recipient Terrance West of Towson; fullback Eric Breitenstein of Wofford; wide receivers Nicholas Edwards of Eastern Washington, Aaron Mellette of Elon and Ryan Spadola of Lehigh; and tight end Colin Anderson of Furman.
On defense, returning to the first team are defensive tackle Brent Russell of Georgia Southern; 2011 Buck Buchanan Award-winning linebacker Matt Evans of New Hampshire; cornerback Marcus Williams of North Dakota State; and safeties Kejuan Riley of Alabama State and Darnell Taylor of Sam Houston State.
Portland State place-kicker Zach Brown and Liberty kick returner Kevin Fogg also return to the preseason first team.
Among the backs, Bell was the FCS rushing leader (1,670 yards, 151.8 yards per game) last season, while West scored the most touchdowns (29). Breitenstein is the FCS' active career leader in rushing yards (3,695) and touchdowns (46).
Evans' 13.75 tackles per game last season is the highest total among all returning players in the FCS.
No returning player had more than Riley's nine interceptions. Williams grabbed seven in an electrifying season for North Dakota State's national championship squad.
Brown's 24 field goals led the FCS last season and he tied for the national high among kickers with 9.2 points per game. Fogg's 33.5-yard average and three touchdowns on kickoffs topped all returners.
Chattanooga linebacker Wes Dothard also made the All-America first team as a sophomore last season, but there's so much returning talent that 2011 second- team selections Jeremy Kimbrough of Appalachian State, Blake Pfeifer of Southeast Missouri State and Keith Pough of Howard have knocked him to the preseason second team.
Southland Conference champion Sam Houston State, the national runner-up last season, clearly has the talent to get back to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, placing a national-high five players on the Preseason All- America Team.
Taylor, running back Timothy Flanders, who rushed for 1,644 yards and scored 24 touchdowns, and all-purpose selection Richard Sincere are on the first team. Defensive tackle J.T. Cleveland is part of the second team and cornerback Daxton Swanson is on the third team.
"This is a great honor for not only these players, but for our program as well as our university," Sam Houston State coach Willie Fritz said. "All of those guys bring something special to this team, and I am happy to see them get some national recognition for their hard work and dedication to this program."
Southern Utah, which is moving to the Big Sky Conference, follows Sam Houston State with four selections, including quarterback Brad Sorensen and center Gavin Farr on the first team. Sorensen has thrown for over 3,100 yards in each of his two seasons at Southern Utah.
The Thunderbirds' other preseason All-Americas are defensive tackle Cody Larsen on the second team and offensive guard Zach Brackus on the third team.
"I am very pleased that The Sports Network is recognizing the hard work of so many of our players. All four of these players are excellent representatives of their teammates and of Southern Utah University," Southern Utah coach Ed Lamb said.
Like Southern Utah, Appalachian State (Kimbrough and cornerback Demetrius McCray), Indiana State (Bell and defensive end Ben Obaseki) and Liberty (Fogg and offensive guard Malcolm Boyd) have two first-team selections.
Other members of the preseason first team are offensive tackles Aaron Adams of Eastern Kentucky and Blake Matthews of Norfolk State and offensive guard Earl Watford of James Madison.
On defense, joining the preseason first team are San Diego defensive end Blake Olijaro and Montana State defensive tackle Zach Minter.
Old Dominion punter Jonathan Plisco and McNeese State punt returner Darius Carey have top honors on special teams.
The Sports Network FCS Preseason All-America Team consists of 93 players over three teams. The Big Sky and CAA Football lead all conferences with 15 selections each from nine member schools.
The Southland Conference has 14 selections and the Southern Conference follows with 13. All 13 FCS conference have at least two selections and 11 conferences have at least one player on the first team.
The full team can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6wftuhx.
The 2012 Sports Network All-America Team will be announced after the regular season on Dec. 19.
The Sports Network also presents the four major awards in the division - the Walter Payton (FCS outstanding player), the Buck Buchanan (FCS outstanding defensive player), the Jerry Rice (FCS outstanding freshman player) and the Eddie Robinson (FCS coach of the year) - after the season. In addition, TSN presents the FCS's most widely recognized weekly Top 25 poll and weekly awards honoring the nation's top offensive player, defensive player, special teams player and freshman.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/07/09/in-fcs-huddle-preseason-all-america-team-looks-familiar/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fsports+%28Internal+-+Sports+-+Mixed%29#ixzz208koECdK
2012 The Sports Network FCS Preseason All-America Team
First Team - Offense
Player School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt.
Brad Sorensen Southern Utah QB Sr 6-5 225
Shakir Bell Indiana State RB Jr 5-7 185
Timothy Flanders Sam Houston State RB Jr 5-9 210
Terrance West Towson RB So 5-11 222
Eric Breitenstein Wofford FB Sr 5-11 225
Nicholas Edwards Eastern Washington WR Sr 6-3 200
Aaron Mellette Elon WR Sr 6-4 212
Ryan Spadola Lehigh WR Sr 6-3 205
Colin Anderson Furman TE Sr 6-4 231
Aaron Adams Eastern Kentucky T Sr 6-6 290
Blake Matthews Norfolk State T Sr 6-4 315
Malcolm Boyd Liberty G Sr 6-4 280
Earl Watford James Madison G Sr 6-4 290
Gavin Farr Southern Utah C Jr 6-3 300
Richard Sincere Sam Houston State AP Jr 5-10 180
Zach Brown Portland State PK Sr 6-1 200
Kevin Fogg Liberty KR Sr 5-10 175
First Team - Defense
Player School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt.
Ben Obaseki Indiana State DE Sr 6-3 235
Blake Olijaro San Diego DE Jr 6-5 250
Zach Minter Montana State DT Sr 6-1 285
Brent Russell Georgia Southern DT Sr 6-2 291
Matt Evans New Hampshire LB Sr 6-0 219
Jeremy Kimbrough Appalachian State LB Sr 5-11 238
Blake Pfeifer SE Missouri State LB Jr 6-1 225
Keith Pough Howard LB Sr 6-3 235
Demetrius McCray Appalachian State CB Sr 6-0 185
Marcus Williams North Dakota State CB Jr 5-11 190
Kejuan Riley Alabama State S Sr 6-2 208
Darnell Taylor Sam Houston State S Sr 6-0 195
Jonathan Plisco Old Dominion P Sr 6-0 220
Darius Carey McNeese State PR Sr 6-0 185
Second-Team Offense
Player School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt.
Casey Brockman Murray State QB Sr 6-2 215
Jordan Brown Bryant RB Sr 5-9 185
Matt Denham Eastern Kentucky RB Sr 5-11 181
Andrew Pierce Delaware RB Jr 5-11 200
Kendall Gaskins Richmond FB Sr 6-1 228
Cordell Roberson Stephen F. Austin WR Sr 6-3 200
Rodrick Rumble Idaho State WR Sr 6-2 201
Norman White Villanova WR Sr 6-4 210
Kyle Juszczyk Harvard TE Sr 6-3 240
Evan Conrad SE Missouri State T Sr 6-3 305
Alec Savoie McNeese State T Sr 6-7 332
Chris Howley Maine G Sr 6-3 300
Danny Kistler Montana G Jr 6-8 315
Mike Sellers The Citadel C Jr 6-0 275
Gralyn Crawford Stephen F. Austin AP Sr 5-11 175
Tyler Sievertsen Northern Iowa PK Jr 6-2 185
Fabian Truss Samford KR Jr 5-9 180
Second-Team Defense
Player School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt.
Willie Jefferson Stephen F. Austin DE Sr 6-6 230
Joseph LeBeau Jackson State DE Sr 6-1 245
J.T. Cleveland Sam Houston State DT Sr 6-0 290
Cody Larsen Southern Utah DT Sr 6-4 272
Clarence Bumpas Northern Colorado LB Sr 6-2 244
Wes Dothard Chattanooga LB Jr 6-1 235
Jody Owens Montana State LB Sr 6-0 221
Alvin Scioneaux Wofford LB Sr 6-2 214
Charles James Charleston Southern CB Sr 5-10 175
B.W. Webb William & Mary CB Sr 5-11 175
Malcolm Bronson McNeese State S Sr 5-11 192
Serge Kona Duquesne S Sr 5-10 215
Patrick Murray Fordham P Sr 5-7 160
Darius Drummond South Carolina State PR Jr 5-11 175
Third-Team Offense
Player School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt.
DeNarius McGhee Montana State QB Jr 5-11 213
Jamaine Cook Youngstown State RB Sr 5-9 205
Washaun Ealey Jacksonville State RB Sr 5-11 215
Miguel Maysonet Stony Brook RB Sr 5-10 205
Jordan Neukirch Illinois State FB Jr 6-2 235
Lanny Funsten Davidson WR Sr 6-2 185
Brandon Kaufman Eastern Washington WR Jr 6-5 215
Tyrone Walker Illinois State WR Sr 5-11 200
David Duran Coastal Carolina TE Sr 6-5 250
Patrick Ford Eastern Kentucky T Sr 6-6 306
Terren Jones Alabama State T Sr 6-7 320
Ricky Archer New Hampshire G Jr 6-2 280
Zach Brackus Southern Utah G Sr 6-4 315
Ray Wilburn UC Davis C Sr 6-2 280
Dae'Quan Scott James Madison AP Jr 5-9 190
Cameron Yaw Samford PK Sr 5-11 182
Jordan Wells SE Louisiana KR So 5-11 195
Third-Team Defense
Player School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt.
Frank Beltre Towson DE Sr 6-3 245
Joshua Williams Chattanooga DE Sr 6-3 235
Chris Burnette Old Dominion DT Sr 6-4 290
Caraun Reid Princeton DT Sr 6-2 290
Seth Allison Central Arkansas LB Sr 5-11 198
Aaron Archie Indiana State LB Sr 6-0 235
Stephon Robertson James Madison LB Jr 5-11 220
Tyler Starr South Dakota LB Jr 6-5 236
Jeremy Moore Georgetown CB Sr 5-11 175
Daxton Swanson Sam Houston State CB Jr 5-11 185
Jordan Dangerfield Towson S Sr 5-11 185
Jestin Love Central Arkansas S Jr 6-0 204
Sam Martin Appalachian State P Sr 6-1 205
Sam Hoekstra San Diego PR Jr 5-10 180
