Dec. 5, 2006

IRVING (C-USA/SMU) - Conference USA today announced its 2006 Football Coaches' All-Conference and All-Freshman teams, as selected by the league's 12 coaches. All 12 of the league's schools were represented with at least one selection, with SMU placing a league-high five players (covering six positions) on the All-Freshman squad.

Emmanuel Sanders was a dual-spot selection, earning the nod at wide receiver and kick returner. Sanders is third in the league with 12 returns for 288 yards, an average of 24.0 yards per return, and in conference games, he had seven receiving touchdowns and averaged 14.7 yards per catch. Sanders is joined on the team by teammate and quarterback Justin Willis, running back James Mapps, defensive back Bryan McCann and long snapper Sam Bennett. Willis put up impressive numbers at the helm of the Mustang offense in 2006, ranking 10th in the nation in passing efficiency and setting a new school record with 26 touchdown passes.

C-USA also announced its All-Conference football teams, with six SMU players earning recognition on the teams. Justin Rogers was SMU's lone first-team pick, earning honors on the defensive line. Adrian Haywood, Ryan Kennedy and Joe Sturdivant were second-team honorees, while Reggie Carrington and Bobby Chase were third-team members.

Eleven SMU players earned honorable mention accolades - Kenard Burley, Brandon Bonds, Jessie Henderson, Wilton McCray, Thomas Morstead, Cory Muse, Ben Poynter, Emmanuel Sanders, Jackson Taylor, Blake Warren and Justin Willis.

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.

2006 C-USA FOOTBALL COACHES ALL-FRESHMAN TEAMOFFENSEQuarterback - Justin Willis, SMURunning Back - Damion Fletcher, Southern MissRunning Back - James Mapps, SMUOffensive Lineman - Terrence Campbell, East CarolinaOffensive Lineman - Jeramy DeVane, UCFOffensive Lineman - Cory Dowless, East CarolinaOffensive Lineman - Nick Landry, TulaneOffensive Lineman - Jake Seitz, UABTight End - Cody Slate, MarshallWide Receiver - Emmanuel Sanders, SMUWide Receiver - Duke Calhoun, MemphisWide Receiver - Rashad Slaughter, UAB
DEFENSEDefensive Lineman - Anthony Egbuniwe, TulsaDefensive Lineman - Greg Terrell, MemphisDefensive Lineman - Troy Wilson, TulaneDefensive Lineman - Scotty Robinson, East CarolinaLinebacker - Van Eskridge, East CarolinaLinebacker - Terrance Garmon, RiceLinebacker - Gerald McRath, Southern MissDefensive Back - Zearrick Matthews, MarshallDefensive Back - Bryan McCann, SMUDefensive Back - Eddie Hicks, Southern MissDefensive Back - Braxton Amy, UTEPDefensive Back - Brandon Brinkley, Houston
SPECIAL TEAMSPlacekicker - Clark Fangmeier, RiceKick Returner - Emmanuel Sanders, SMUPunt Returner - Rashad Slaughter, UABLong Snapper - Sam Bennett, SMU
2006 C-USA FOOTBALL COACHES ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMSFIRST 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- Shawn Nelson, So., Southern MissWide Receiver- Jarett Dillard, So., RiceWide Receiver- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEPWide Receiver- Mike Walker, Sr., UCF
DEFENSEDefensive Lineman- Robert Latu, Sr., TulsaDefensive Lineman- Albert McClellan, So., MarshallDefensive Lineman- Larry McSwain, Sr., UABDefensive Lineman- Justin Rogers, Sr., SMULinebacker- Nick Bunting, Sr., TulsaLinebacker- Troy Collavo, Sr., UTEPLinebacker - Wade Koehl, Sr., HoustonDefensive Back- Bobby Blackshire, Sr., TulsaDefensive Back- Quintin Demps, Jr., UTEPDefensive Back- Will Gulley, Sr., HoustonDefensive Back- Curtis Keyes, Sr., Marshall
SPECIAL TEAMSPlacekicker- Reagan Schneider, Sr., UTEPPunter- Michael Gibson, Sr., MemphisKick Returner- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEPPunt Returner- Joe Burnett, So., UCFLong Snapper- Aaron King, Sr., UTEP
SECOND TEAMOFFENSEQuarterback - Paul Smith, Jr., TulsaRunning Back- Anthony Alridge, Jr., HoustonRunning Back- Kevin Smith, So., UCFOffensive Lineman- Jeff Akeroyd, Jr., HoustonOffensive Lineman- Aaron Dannenhauer, Sr., TulsaOffensive Lineman- Eric Graham, Sr., East CarolinaOffensive Lineman- Jon Hameister-Ries, Sr., TulsaOffensive Lineman- Julius Wilson, Sr., UABTight End- Ryan Kennedy, Sr., SMUWide Receiver- Aundrae Allison, Sr., East CarolinaWide Receiver- Vincent Marshall, Sr., HoustonWide Receiver- Idris Moss, Sr., Tulsa
DEFENSEDefensive Lineman- Courtney Gordon, Sr., RiceDefensive Lineman- Adrian Haywood, Sr., SMUDefensive Lineman- Marquay Love, Sr., HoustonDefensive Lineman- Martavius Prince, Jr., Southern MissLinebacker- Nelson Coleman, Jr., TulsaLinebacker - Orlandus King, Sr., UABLinebacker- Brian Raines, So., RiceDefensive Back- Willie Gaston, Sr., HoustonDefensive Back- Nick Graham, Sr., TulsaDefensive Back- Israel Route, Sr., TulaneDefensive Back- Joe Sturdivant, Sr., SMU
SPECIAL TEAMSPlacekicker- Darren McCaleb, Sr., Southern MissPunter- Chris Beckman, Sr., TulaneKick Returner- Chris Johnson, Jr., East CarolinaPunt Returner- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sr., UTEPLong Snapper- Mike Buscemi, Sr., UCF
THIRD TEAMOFFENSEQuarterback - Jordan Palmer, Sr., UTEPRunning Back- Jackie Battle, Sr., HoustonRunning Back- Matt Forte, Jr., TulaneRunning Back- Quinton Smith, Sr., RiceOffensive Lineman- Blake Butler, Sr., MemphisOffensive Lineman- Chris Clark, Jr., Southern MissOffensive Lineman- Josh Coffman, Sr., East CarolinaOffensive Lineman- Brandon Pearce, So., MemphisOffensive Lineman- Robby Heos, Jr., RiceTight End- Davon Drew, So., East CarolinaWide Receiver- Donnie Avery, Sr., HoustonWide Receiver- Bobby Chase, Sr., SMUWide Receiver- Damarcus Davis, Sr., Tulane
DEFENSEDefensive Lineman- Marcus Hands, Jr., East CarolinaDefensive Lineman- Robert Henderson, Jr., Southern MissDefensive Lineman- Phillip Hunt, So., HoustonDefensive Lineman- Alex Obomese, Sr., UTEPLinebacker- Reggie Carrington, Sr., SMULinebacker- Chris Chamberlain, So., TulsaLinebacker- Quentin Cotton, So., East CarolinaLinebacker- Joe Henderson, So., UABDefensive Back- Will Dunbar, Jr., UABDefensive Back- Caleb Hendrix, Sr., Southern MissDefensive Back- Brandon Sumrall, Jr., Southern MissDefensive Back- Brandon McDonald, Sr., Memphis
SPECIAL TEAMSPlacekicker- Robert Lee, Sr., East CarolinaPunter- Ryan Dougherty, Sr., East CarolinaKick Returner- Marculus Elliott, Sr., UABPunt Returner- Emmanuel Spann, So., MarshallLong Snapper- Drew Clardy, Sr., Rice
HONORABLE MENTIONQuarterback-  James Pinkney, Sr., East CarolinaQuarterback- Chase Clement, So., RiceQuarterback- Justin Willis, Fr., SMUQuarterback- Lester Ricard, Sr., TulaneRunning Back- Brandon Fractious, Sr., East CarolinaRunning Back- Joseph Doss, Jr., MemphisRunning Back- Tarrion Adams, So., TulsaRunning Back- Courtney Tennial, Jr., TulsaRunning Back- Dan Burks, Sr., UABRunning Back- Corey White, Sr., UABOffensive Lineman- Dustin Dickinson, Jr., HoustonOffensive Lineman- Lute Barber, Jr., RiceOffensive Lineman- Austin Wilkinson, So., RiceOffensive Lineman- Kenard Burley, Jr., SMUOffensive Lineman- Ben Poynter, Jr., SMUOffensive Lineman- Ryan McKee, So., Southern MissOffensive Lineman- Donald Madlock, Sr., TulaneOffensive Lineman- Michael Parenton, So., TulaneOffensive Lineman- Derek Rogers, Sr., TulaneOffensive Lineman- Patrick Brown, So., UCFOffensive Lineman- Kyle Smith, Jr., UCFOffensive Lineman- Robby Felix, So., UTEPOffensive Lineman- Tyler Ribitski, So., UTEPTight End- Mark Hafner, So., HoustonTight End- Cody Slate, Fr., MarshallTight End- Jerome Landry, Sr., TulaneTight End- LaDarrius Stanley, Sr., UABWide Receiver- Phillip Henry, Jr., East CarolinaWide Receiver- Jeron Harvey, Jr., HoustonWide Receiver- Duke Calhoun, Fr., MemphisWide Receiver- Ryan Scott, Sr., MemphisWide Receiver- Joel Armstrong, Jr., RiceWide Receiver- Tommy Henderson, So., RiceWide Receiver- Emmanuel Sanders, Fr., SMUWide Receiver- Preston Brown, Sr., TulaneWide Receiver- Jeremy Williams, Fr., TulaneWide Receiver- Ryan Bugg, Sr., TulsaWide Receiver- Rocky Ross, So., UCFWide Receiver - Daniel Robinson, Sr., UTEPDefensive Lineman- Mark Robinson, Jr., East CarolinaDefensive Lineman- Zach Slate, So., East CarolinaDefensive Lineman- Greg Terrell, Fr., MemphisDefensive Lineman- George Chukwu, Jr., RiceDefensive Lineman- DeJuan Cooper, Sr., RiceDefensive Lineman- Will Wood, Sr., RiceDefensive Lineman- Brandon Bonds, Sr., SMUDefensive Lineman- Cory Muse, Jr., SMUDefensive Lineman- Matthew Chatelain, Sr., Southern MissDefensive Lineman- Antonio Harris, Jr., TulaneDefensive Lineman- Frank Morton, Jr., TulaneDefensive Lineman- Moton Hopkins, So., TulsaDefensive Lineman- Terrel Nemons, So., TulsaDefensive Lineman- Jermaine McElveen, Sr., UABDefensive Lineman- Leger Douzable, Jr., UCFDefensive Lineman- Chris Welsh, Sr., UCFDefensive Lineman- Justin Hanel, Sr., UTEPDefensive Lineman- Zach West, Sr., UTEPLinebacker- Pierre Bell, So., East CarolinaLinebacker - Van Eskridge, Fr., East CarolinaLinebacker - Fred Wilson, Jr., East CarolinaLinebacker - Trent Allen, Jr., HoustonLinebacker - Matt Couch, Jr., MarshallLinebacker - Josh Johnson, So., MarshallLinebacker - Marcus Rucker, Sr., RiceLinebacker - Wilton McCray, Jr., SMULinebacker - Gerald McRath, Fr., Southern MissLinebacker - Evan Lee, So., TulaneLinebacker - Joe Goosby, Jr., TulaneLinebacker - Alain Karatepeyan, Jr., TulsaLinebacker - Mastaki Smith, Sr., UABDefensive Back - Jamar Flournoy, Sr., East CarolinaDefensive Back - Pierre Parker, Sr., East CarolinaDefensive Back - Kasey Ross, Sr., East CarolinaDefensive Back - Travis Williams, Jr., East CarolinaDefensive Back - Kenneth Fontenette, So., HoustonDefensive Back - Andray Downs, Sr., RiceDefensive Back - Brandon King, So., RiceDefensive Back - Ja'Corey Shepherd, So., RiceDefensive Back - Chad Price, Sr., RiceDefensive Back - Jasper Faulk, Sr., Southern MissDefensive Back - David Skehan, Jr., TulaneDefensive Back - Sha'Reff Rashad, Jr., UCFDefensive Back - Josh Ferguson, Jr., UTEPDefensive Back - Joe Fleskoski, Sr., UTEPDefensive Back - Bryant Tisdale, Sr., UTEPKicker - Ben Bell, So., HoustonKicker- Clark Fangmeier, Fr., RiceKicker-Jarod Tracy, Jr., TulsaPunter-Jared Scruggs, Sr., RicePunter-Thomas Morstead, So., SMUKick Returner- Anthony Alridge, Jr., HoustonKick Returner- Michael Grandberry, So., MemphisKick Returner- Jessie Henderson, So., SMUPunt Returner- Brandon McDonald, Sr., MemphisPunt Returner- Blake Warren, Sr., SMUPunt Returner- Jasper Faulk, Sr., Southern MissLong Snapper- Wilson Raynor, So., East CarolinaLong Snapper- Rusty Clayton, Sr., MemphisLong Snapper- Jackson Taylor, So., SMULong Snapper- Stephen Daigle, Sr., Southern MissLong Snapper- Craig Gelhardt, So., TulaneLong Snapper- John Warren, So., Tulsa