Nov. 29, 2006

IRVING, Texas (SMU/C-USA) - Conference USA announced its 2006 Media All-Conference football teams today, as selected by a panel of media members in each conference city. Each school was represented with at least two selections, with West Division Champion Houston producing a league-high 13 total selections, followed by East Division Champion Southern Miss with 12 players on the squad. SMU ranked third among the 12 school with nine selections.

Three members of the SMU defense earned first team honors, as defensive linemen Adrian Haywood and Justin Rogers are joined by defensive back Joe Sturdivant. The first-team honors earned by the trio are the first garnered by SMU players since Vic Viloria and Cody Cardwell were tabbed first-team All-WAC in 2002.

The trio helped anchor an SMU defense that ranked as tops in the conference in rushing defense, sacks and tackles-for-loss. Haywood finished the year ranked second in C-USA in tackles for loss, while Rogers ranked second in sacks and third in tackles-for-loss. Sturdivant was seventh in the entire NCAA in solo tackles and was third in C-USA in total tackles.

SMU had four players named to the second team - center Ben Poynter, linebacker Reggie Carrington, defensive lineman Cory Muse and kick returner Jessie Henderson. Senior tight end Ryan Kennedy, sophomore punter Thomas Morstead and freshman wideout Emmanuel Sanders made the third team.

C-USA will announce the media's selections for Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams Players of the Year, as well as the Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year later today. The coaches' selections for the awards will be released on Wednesday, December 6.

Conference USA will stage its second annual Championship Game this Friday night when Houston hosts Southern Miss (8 p.m. EST on ESPN 2).

2006 C-USA FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAMOFFENSEQuarterback - Kevin Kolb, Sr., HoustonRunning Back- Ahmad Bradshaw, Jr., MarshallRunning Back- Damion Fletcher, Fr., Southern MissOffensive Lineman- George Batiste, Sr., Southern MissOffensive Lineman- Sterling Doty, Sr., HoustonOffensive Lineman- Travis Cooley, Sr., Southern MissOffensive Lineman- Doug Legursky, Jr., MarshallOffensive Lineman- Jeff Perrett, Sr., TulsaTight End- Cody Slate, Fr., MarshallWide Receiver- Jarett Dillard, So., RiceWide Receiver- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEPWide Receiver- Mike Walker, Sr., UCF
DEFENSEDefensive Lineman- Adrian Haywood, Sr., SMU Defensive Lineman- Albert McClellan, So., MarshallDefensive Lineman- Larry McSwain, Sr., UABDefensive Lineman- Justin Rogers, Sr., SMU Linebacker- Nelson Coleman, Jr., TulsaLinebacker- Troy Collavo, Sr., UTEPLinebacker- Marcus Raines, Sr., RiceDefensive Back- Quintin Demps, Jr., UTEPDefensive Back- Will Gulley, Sr., HoustonDefensive Back- Curtis Keyes, Sr., MarshallDefensive Back- Joe Sturdivant, Sr., SMU 
SPECIAL TEAMSPlacekicker- Reagan Schneider, Sr., UTEPPunter- Ryan Dougherty, Sr., East CarolinaKick Returner- Chris Johnson, Jr., East CarolinaPunt Returner- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEPLong Snapper- Rusty Clayton, Sr., Memphis
SECOND TEAMOFFENSEQuarterback - Jordan Palmer, Sr., UTEPRunning Back- Anthony Alridge, Jr., HoustonRunning Back- Quinton Smith, Sr., RiceOffensive Lineman- Jeff Akeroyd, Jr., HoustonOffensive Lineman- Eric Graham, Sr., East CarolinaOffensive Lineman- Robby Heos, Jr., RiceOffensive Lineman- Ben Poynter, Jr., SMUOffensive Lineman- Aaron Dannenhauer, Sr., TulsaTight End- Shawn Nelson, So., Southern MissWide Receiver- Aundrae Allison, Sr., East CarolinaWide Receiver- Vincent Marshall, Sr., HoustonWide Receiver- Idris Moss, Sr., Tulsa
DEFENSEDefensive Lineman- Courtney Gordon, Sr., RiceDefensive Lineman- Robert Henderson, Jr., Southern MissDefensive Lineman- Phillip Hunt, So., HoustonDefensive Lineman- Cory Muse, Jr., SMU Linebacker- Nick Bunting, Sr., TulsaLinebacker- Reggie Carrington, Sr., SMU Linebacker- Matt Couch, Jr., MarshallDefensive Back- Bobby Blackshire, Sr., TulsaDefensive Back- Andray Downs, Sr., RiceDefensive Back- Brandon McDonald, Sr., MemphisDefensive Back- Pierre Parker, Sr., East Carolina
SPECIAL TEAMSPlacekicker- Ben Bell, So., HoustonPunter- Michael Gibson, Sr., MemphisKick Returner- Jessie Henderson, So., SMU Punt Returner- Joe Burnett, So., UCFLong Snapper- Aaron King, Sr., UTEP
THIRD TEAMOFFENSEQuarterback - Paul Smith, Jr., TulsaRunning Back- Jackie Battle, Sr., HoustonRunning Back- Matt Forte, Jr., TulaneRunning Back- Kevin Smith, So., UCFOffensive Lineman- Blake Butler, Sr., MemphisOffensive Lineman- Chris Clark, Jr., Southern MissOffensive Lineman- Josh Coffman, Sr., East CarolinaOffensive Lineman- Dustin Dickinson, Jr., HoustonOffensive Lineman- Robby Felix, So., UTEPTight End- Ryan Kennedy, Sr., SMUWide Receiver- Donnie Avery, Sr., HoustonWide Receiver- Emmanuel Sanders, Fr., SMU Wide Receiver- Ryan Scott, Sr., Memphis
DEFENSEDefensive Lineman- Leger Douzable, Jr., UCFDefensive Lineman- Robert Latu, Sr., TulsaDefensive Lineman- Marquay Love, Sr., HoustonDefensive Lineman- Martavius Prince, Jr., Southern MissLinebacker- Trent Allen, Jr., HoustonLinebacker- Quentin Cotton, So., East CarolinaLinebacker- Gerald McRath, Fr., Southern MissDefensive Back- Jamar Flournoy, Sr., East CarolinaDefensive Back- Caleb Hendrix, Sr., Southern MissDefensive Back- David Skehan, Jr., TulaneDefensive Back- Brandon Sumrall, Jr., Southern Miss
SPECIAL TEAMSPlacekicker- Darren McCaleb, Sr., Southern MissPunter- Thomas Morstead, So., SMUKick Returner- Marculus Elliott, Sr., UABPunt Returner- Emmanuel Spann, So., MarshallLong Snapper- Stephen Daigle, Sr., Southern Miss