McCoy, a 6-foot, 3-inch junior from Tuscola, Texas, leads the nation with a 179.20 quarterback rating and has passed for 3,445 yards and 32 touchdowns for the Fiesta Bowl-bound Longhorns. McCoy, who has also rushed for a team-high 576 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season, was named the 2008 Walter Camp Player of the Year earlier this evening - the second Texas player (RB Ricky Williams, 1998) to receive the honor.
Joining McCoy in the offensive backfield are two running backs from the Big Ten Conference - senior Javon Ringer (Michigan State) and junior Shonn Greene (Iowa). Ringer, who ranks fourth in the nation in rushing with 1,590 yards, is tied for the national lead in scoring with 126 points. A 100-yard rusher in all 12 games, Greene has rushed for 1,729 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Three Big 12 Conference standouts - sophomore wide receivers Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech) and Dez Bryant (Oklahoma State) along with tight end Chase Coffman (Missouri) - are first team selections. Crabtree is a repeat First Team All-American after hauling in 93 passes for 1,135 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Seniors Mike Oher (Mississippi), Rylan Reed (Texas Tech) and Duke Robinson (Oklahoma) join junior Andre Smith (Alabama) on the offensive line. Robinson was a Second Team selection a year ago. Senior A.Q. Shipley (Penn State) is the offensive center. Senior Louie Sakoda (Utah), who has connected on 21-of-23 field goals for the Sugar Bowl-bound Utes, is the placekicker.
Leading the defensive unit is a three-time Walter Camp All-America selection, Ohio State senior linebacker James Laurinaitis. Laurinaitis is the fifth player to earn Walter Camp All-America honors three times, joining Dre' Bly (DB, North Carolina - 1996-98), Herschel Walker (RB, Georgia - 1980-82), Hugh Green (DE, Pittsburgh - 1978-80), and Ken Easley (DB, UCLA - 1978-80). Laurinaitis leads the Buckeyes' defensive unit with 121 tackles and has four quarterback sacks and two interceptions. Joining Laurinaitis in the middle are USC linebacker Rey Maualuga (73 tackles), the leader of the nation's top scoring defense (7.8 points per game allowed), and Florida's Brandon Spikes (87 tackles, 4 interceptions).
Two seniors - Brian Orakpo (Texas) and Nick Reed (Oregon) join juniors Jerry Hughes (TCU) and Aaron Maybin (Penn State) on the first team defensive interior. Hughes leads the nation with 14 sacks, while Reed has 19.5 tackles for loss.
Senior defensive backs Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio State) and Alphonso Smith (Wake Forest) earn First Team honors after each made the Walter Camp All-America Second Team last year. Jenkins and Smith are joined by USC junior Taylor Mays and Tennessee sophomore Eric Berry, the nation's interception (8) leader, in the defensive secondary.
The punter is senior T.J. Conley (Idaho), who leads the nation with a 47.4 yard-per-punt average, and the kick returner is sophomore Jeremy Maclin (Missouri), the nation's all-purpose yardage (2,646) leader.
The Walter Camp All-America team is selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm. Walter Camp Football Foundation President John Barbarotta was pleased with the voting participation.
"We had 80 percent of the Bowl Subdivision schools participate in this year's voting," Barbarotta said. "We are very appreciative of the cooperation of the coaches and SIDs in our effort to honor the most outstanding college players each and every season."
Members of the 2008 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization's national awards banquet on January 17, 2009 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. In addition, the Foundation will honor former collegiate and NFL stars - Tim Brown (Notre Dame), Len Dawson (Purdue) and Morten Andersen (Michigan State) - with major awards. Please call (203) 288-CAMP for tickets ($275.00).
Walter Camp, "The Father of American Football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp - a former Yale University athlete and football coach - is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation - a New Haven based all-volunteer group - was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
2008 Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America Teams
@ - 2006 and 2007 Walter Camp First Team All-American * - 2007 Walter Camp First Team All-American # - 2007 Walter Camp Second Team All-American % - 2006 Walter Camp Second Team All-American