Nine Pirates Land On Coaches All-Conference Teams
December 05, 2006 | Football
Dec. 5, 2006
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA announced its 2006 Coaches All-Conference football teams today, as selected by the 12 head football coaches. Each school was represented with at least four selections, with C-USA Champion Houston producing a league-high 12 total selections, followed by Tulsa with 11 and East Division Champion Southern Miss with 10 players on the squad.
Headlining Houston's all-conference players is senior QB Kevin Kolb. Kolb leads the league and ranks 12th in the nation in passing this season and is UH's all-time leader in passing yards. He is joined on the first team by Cougar senior offensive lineman Sterling Doty, senior linebacker Wade Koehl and senior defensive back Will Gulley.
Tulsa's 11 all-league members include four first team choices. Offensive lineman Jeff Perrett is joined by defensive lineman Robert Latu, linebacker Nick Bunting and defensive back Bobby Blackshire on the first unit.
Southern Miss produced a pair of first team offensive lineman in seniors George Batiste and Travis Cooley. That duo help paved the way for true freshman RB Damion Fletcher, who set new school and conference records for rushing yards by a freshman with 1,330.
UTEP produced nine members on the All-Conference squads, while East Carolina had eight and Rice, SMU and UAB each had six players earn recognition on the teams. Three members of the UTEP special teams earned first team honors, as kicker Reagan Schneider is joined by kick returner Johnnie Lee Higgins and long snapper Aaron King. East Carolina's honorees included offensive lineman Eric Graham, wide receiver Aundrae Allison and kick returner Chris Johnson, all named to the second team. Rice's choices were led by record-setting sophomore wide receiver Jarett Dillard, SMU's included first team defensive lineman Justin Rogers and UAB's were topped by defensive lineman Larry McSwain.
Marshall joined Houston, Southern Miss and Tulsa in garnering four first team choices, led by junior RB Ahmad Bradshaw, the league's leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. The Thundering Herd had five total selections. Memphis, Tulane and UCF all four had four total choices. Memphis' picks were led by first team punter Michael Gibson, Tulane listed second team defensive back Israel Route and punter Chris Beckman, while UCF had first team punt returner Joe Burnett and second team running back Kevin Smith.
C-USA will announce the coaches selections for Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams Players of the Year, as well as the Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year on Wednesday.
Five Conference USA teams will play in bowl games this holiday season. Houston will face South Carolina in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Southern Miss takes on Ohio in the GMAC Bowl, Tulsa tackles Utah in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, East Carolina battles South Florida in the Papajohns.com Bowl and Rice takes on Troy in the R+ L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
2006 C-USA FOOTBALL COACHES ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback - Kevin Kolb, Sr., Houston
Running Back- Ahmad Bradshaw, Jr., Marshall
Running Back- Damion Fletcher, Fr., Southern Miss
Offensive Lineman- George Batiste, Sr., Southern Miss
Offensive Lineman- Sterling Doty, Sr., Houston
Offensive Lineman- Travis Cooley, Sr., Southern Miss
Offensive Lineman- Doug Legursky, Jr., Marshall
Offensive Lineman- Jeff Perrett, Sr., Tulsa
Tight End- Shawn Nelson, So., Southern Miss
Wide Receiver- Jarett Dillard, So., Rice
Wide Receiver- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEP
Wide Receiver- Mike Walker, Sr., UCF
DEFENSE
Defensive Lineman- Robert Latu, Sr., Tulsa
Defensive Lineman- Albert McClellan, So., Marshall
Defensive Lineman- Larry McSwain, Sr., UAB
Defensive Lineman- Justin Rogers, Sr., SMU
Linebacker- Nick Bunting, Sr., Tulsa
Linebacker- Troy Collavo, Sr., UTEP
Linebacker - Wade Koehl, Sr., Houston
Defensive Back- Bobby Blackshire, Sr., Tulsa
Defensive Back- Quintin Demps, Jr., UTEP
Defensive Back- Will Gulley, Sr., Houston
Defensive Back- Curtis Keyes, Sr., Marshall
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker- Reagan Schneider, Sr., UTEP
Punter- Michael Gibson, Sr., Memphis
Kick Returner- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEP
Punt Returner- Joe Burnett, So., UCF
Long Snapper- Aaron King, Sr., UTEP
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback - Paul Smith, Jr., Tulsa
Running Back- Anthony Alridge, Jr., Houston
Running Back- Kevin Smith, So., UCF
Offensive Lineman- Jeff Akeroyd, Jr., Houston
Offensive Lineman- Aaron Dannenhauer, Sr., Tulsa
Offensive Lineman- Eric Graham, Sr., East Carolina
Offensive Lineman- Jon Hameister-Ries, Sr., Tulsa
Offensive Lineman- Julius Wilson, Sr., UAB
Tight End- Ryan Kennedy, Sr., SMU
Wide Receiver- Aundrae Allison, Sr., East Carolina
Wide Receiver- Vincent Marshall, Sr., Houston
Wide Receiver- Idris Moss, Sr., Tulsa
DEFENSE
Defensive Lineman- Courtney Gordon, Sr., Rice
Defensive Lineman- Adrian Haywood, Sr., SMU
Defensive Lineman- Marquay Love, Sr., Houston
Defensive Lineman- Martavius Prince, Jr., Southern Miss
Linebacker- Nelson Coleman, Jr., Tulsa
Linebacker - Orlandus King, Sr., UAB
Linebacker- Brian Raines, So., Rice
Defensive Back- Willie Gaston, Sr., Houston
Defensive Back- Nick Graham, Sr., Tulsa
Defensive Back- Israel Route, Sr., Tulane
Defensive Back- Joe Sturdivant, Sr., SMU
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker- Darren McCaleb, Sr., Southern Miss
Punter- Chris Beckman, Sr., Tulane
Kick Returner- Chris Johnson, Jr., East Carolina
Punt Returner- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEP
Long Snapper- Mike Buscemi, Sr., UCF
THIRD TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback - Jordan Palmer, Sr., UTEP
Running Back- Jackie Battle, Sr., Houston
Running Back- Matt Forte, Jr., Tulane
Running Back- Quinton Smith, Sr., Rice
Offensive Lineman- Blake Butler, Sr., Memphis
Offensive Lineman- Chris Clark, Jr., Southern Miss
Offensive Lineman- Josh Coffman, Jr., East Carolina
Offensive Lineman- Brandon Pearce, So., Memphis
Offensive Lineman- Robby Heos, Jr., Rice
Tight End- Davon Drew, So., East Carolina
Wide Receiver- Donnie Avery, Sr., Houston
Wide Receiver- Bobby Chase, Sr., SMU
Wide Receiver- Damarcus Davis, Sr., Tulane
DEFENSE
Defensive Lineman- Marcus Hands, So., East Carolina
Defensive Lineman- Robert Henderson, Jr., Southern Miss
Defensive Lineman- Phillip Hunt, So., Houston
Defensive Lineman- Alex Obomese, Sr., UTEP
Linebacker- Reggie Carrington, Sr., SMU
Linebacker- Chris Chamberlain, So., Tulsa
Linebacker- Quentin Cotton, So., East Carolina
Linebacker- Joe Henderson, So., UAB
Defensive Back- Will Dunbar, Jr., UAB
Defensive Back- Caleb Hendrix, Sr., Southern Miss
Defensive Back- Brandon Sumrall, Jr., Southern Miss
Defensive Back- Brandon McDonald, Sr., Memphis
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker- Robert Lee, Sr., East Carolina
Punter- Ryan Dougherty, Sr., East Carolina
Kick Returner- Marculus Elliott, Sr., UAB
Punt Returner- Emmanuel Spann, So., Marshall
Long Snapper- Drew Clardy, Sr., Rice
EAST CAROLINA HONORABLE MENTION
Quarterback- James Pinkney, Sr., East Carolina
Running Back- Brandon Fractious, Sr., East Carolina
Wide Receiver- Phillip Henry, Jr., East Carolina
Defensive Lineman- Mark Robinson, Jr., East Carolina
Defensive Lineman- Zach Slate, So., East Carolina
Linebacker- Pierre Bell, So., East Carolina
Linebacker - Van Eskridge, Fr., East Carolina
Linebacker - Fred Wilson, Jr., East Carolina
Defensive Back - Jamar Flournoy, Sr., East Carolina
Defensive Back - Pierre Parker, Sr., East Carolina
Defensive Back - Kasey Ross, Sr., East Carolina
Defensive Back - Travis Williams, Jr., East Carolina
Long Snapper- Wilson Raynor, So., East Carolina
