Fresno State Athletics
Popovich Earns Another Freshman All-America Honor
1/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 4, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. - Cole Popovich's trophy case will need to be expanded if the talented freshman Bulldog offensive lineman continues to earn hardware at his current pace. Already selected to three freshman All-America teams, Popovich was selected Wednesday to the Football Writers of America Freshman All-America team.
The Football Writers Association of America and Scripps announced their fifth annual Freshman All-America Team on Wednesday morning during the association's annual awards breakfast. In addition, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was named the top first-year coach at his school.
Popovich was previously selected to the first-team Freshman All-America teams for The Sporting News, College Football News and ESPN.com.
Popovich was the first true freshman of the Pat Hill Era to start on the offensive line in 2004 but suffered an injury and had to redshirt after two games in 2004.
"Cole has really been a big part of our offense this season," said head coach Pat Hill. "He's as tough a guy as you will find and he plays the game with great passion. He is the epitome of the what Bulldog football represents."
In 2005, he started 12 of 13 games at left guard and was instrumental in Fresno State's offensive prowess all season, which produced a 1,000-yard rusher, a 3,000-yard passer and a team scoring average that ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA.
Three other Bulldog linemen had been so honored, including NFL first-round pick Logan Mankins in 2001 and Kyle Young and Ryan Wendell in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Wendell was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2004, just the second lineman in conference history to be honored.
2005 FWAA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Drew Weatherford, Florida State 6-3 210 Land O' Lakes, Fla.
RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas 6-2 210 North Little Rock, Ark.
RB Steve Slaton, West Virginia 5-10 185 Levittown, Pa.
RB Tyrell Sutton, Northwestern 5-9 190 Akron, Ohio
WR Davone Bess, Hawaii 5-10 187 Oakland, Calif.
WR Sidney Rice, South Carolina 6-4 191 Gaffney, S.C.
OL Andrew Gardner, Georgia Tech 6-6 285 Tyrone, Ga.
OL Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas 6-4 301 Little Rock, Ark.
OL Jeremy Perry, Oregon State 6-2 315 Kahuku, Hawaii
OL Cole Popovich, Fresno State 6-2 275 Oakhurst, Calif.
OL Max Unger, Oregon 6-5 305 Honaunau, Hawaii
C Robby Felix, UTEP 6-3 275 Corona, Calif.
DEFENSE
DL Steve Davis, Minnesota 6-2 230 St. Louis, Mo.
DL Mitch King, Iowa 6-3 250 Burlington, Iowa
DL Brian Orakpo, Texas 6-4 238 Houston, Texas
DL Barry Turner, Nebraska 6-3 245 Antioch, Tenn.
LB Michael Brown, Duke 5-11 225 Houston, Texas
LB Daniel Holtzclaw, Eastern Michigan 6-2 220 Enid, Okla.
LB Rey Maualuga, USC 6-5 250 Eureka, Calif.
LB Tim McCarthy, Northern Illinois 6-0 235 Neenah, Wis.
DB Joe Burnett, Central Florida 5-11 180 Eustis, Fla.
DB Tony Carter, Florida State 5-9 160 Jacksonville, Fla.
DB Courtney Greene, Rutgers 6-1 180 New Rochelle, N.Y.
DB Kenny Phillips, Miami 6-2 200 Miami, Fla.
SPECIALISTS
K Jordan Congdon, Nebraska 5-11 180 San Diego, Calif.
P Chris Miller, Ball State 6-2 208 Libertyville, Ill.
KR Felix Jones, Arkansas 6-0 195 Tulsa, Okla.
First-year Coach of the Year: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
The team and coach are selected by a group of writers led by FWAA vice-president Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Se ntinel, a member of the Scripps chain. Both true freshmen and redshirt freshmen were considered for the team and so noted.
Fresno State Freshman All-Americans Under Pat Hill
1998: Charles Smith, Wide Receiver
1999: Derrick Ward, Running Back
2001: Logan Mankins, Offensive Tackle
2002: Paul Pinegar, Quarterback; Jermaine Jamison, Wide Receiver
2003: Kyle Young, Center
2004: Ryan Wendell, Offensive Guard
2005: Cole Popovich, Offensive Guard
