Dec. 18, 2008

THIBODAUX, La. - A day after being named an Associated Press All-American, senior Lardarius Webb was named to the AFCA All-American team, announced the organization on Thursday morning.

"This is just a great honor for Lardarius and our program," said Head Coach Jay Thomas. "He truly deserves the recognition, and we are all so proud of his accomplishments. He will go on to be a great ambassador for the university."

When counting all of Webb's accolades over the two years he has been with Nicholls, the Opelika, Ala. native has accumulated 31 awards. His accomplishments include SLC and national player of the week awards, All-Conference, All-American and twice being named a Buchanan Award finalist.

Webb finished his senior season, which was cut short by two cancelled games due to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, with 55 total tackles, seven pass breakups, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and one forced fumble. He is the only player from the Southland Conference represented on the AFCA list.

The complete release is below.

WESTERN ILLINOIS' DONALDSON AND EASTERN WASHINGTON'S PEACH HEADLINE THE 2008 AFCA FCS COACHES' ALL-AMERICA TEAM

WACO, TEX. -- Football Championship Subdivision's (FCS) leading rusher and the nation's leading sack artist headline the American Football Coaches Association 2008 Football Championship Subdivision Coaches' All-America Team announced today.

THE OFFENSE

The runningbacks on the 2008 FCS Coaches' All-America Team are Herb Donaldson of Western Illinois and Javarris Williams of Tennessee State. Donaldson, the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) Offensive Player of the Year, ranks first nationally in rushing (162.18 ypg) and scoring (12 ppg). He is the all-time leading rusher in both Western Illinois and MVFC history. Williams was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year after he led the league in rushing (103.7 ypg, 1,037 total yards) and touchdowns (15).

The signal caller on this year's squad is Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State. Edwards, a Walter Payton Award finalist, is second nationally in passing efficiency (170.2) and ranks seventh in total offense (295.6 ypg) this season. He scored 11 rushing touchdowns and passed for 30 more.

Colgate's Nick Hennessey, Albany's Raphael Nguti, Southern Illinois' Aaron Lockwood, Gardner-Webb's Demario Deese and Youngstown State's Brad Samsa make up the offensive line for 2008. Hennessey was an anchor on an offensive unit that finished fifth nationally in rushing offense with 267.67 yards per game, and 12th in total offense with 416.5 yards per game. Nguti led the way for an Albany offense ranked 16th nationally in rushing (200.58 ypg) and first in the NEC in total offense (363.17 ypg). Lockwood was a fixture of SIU's offense which ranks among the top-five in the league in both passing (2nd, 186.8 ypg) and scoring (4th, 29.6 ppg). Deese is the first person in Big South Conference history to earn first-team All-Big South Conference honors all four seasons he played. He helped the Bulldogs rank 16th nationally in passing yards at 258 yards per game. Samsa graded at 83 percent or better in four of the final five games this season, and started at center, guard and tackle during his career.

The wide receivers on this year's team are Andre Roberts of The Citadel and Ramses Barden of Cal Poly. Roberts ended the 2008 campaign with 95 catches for 1,334 yards, both single-season school records and good enough for No. 1 in the conference and No. 2 in the nation. One of two returning AFCA All-Americans on this year's team, Barden caught 67 passes for 1,257 yards and 18 touchdowns, which tied his own school record. The tight end is John Nalbone of Monmouth (N.J.). Nalbone paced the Hawks in receptions (42), receiving yardage (491) and touchdowns caught (five) in 2008.

THE DEFENSE

The defensive line is headlined by Eastern Washington's Greg Peach. Peach, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, was the FCS leader in quarterback sacks (1.64 per game) and tackles for loss (2.00). He recorded 72 tackles, including 18 sacks and 23.5 total tackles for loss. Northern Iowa's James Ruffin, the MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, racked up a team-high 15 tackles for loss and eight quarterback sacks to go along with his 57 total tackles. Villanova's Greg Miller had 41 total tackles (30 solo), 13 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Jovan Belcher of Maine was named Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in tackles for loss (17.5). He also added 7.5 sacks.

Western Illinois' Jason Williams, Jackson State's Marcellus Speaks and Yale's Bobby Abare make up the linebackers on the Coaches' All-America Team. Williams recorded 67 total tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and six forced fumbles in 2008. He set the all-time FCS record of 14 career forced fumbles. Speaks, the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year, led the league with 122 tackles, while also recording five sacks, one interception and three forced fumbles. Abare was the Ivy leader with 55 solo tackles. He also had a team-high 86 total tackles with four interceptions and four sacks.

Lardarius Webb of Nicholls State leads a group of four talented defensive backs on the All-America team. He was second on his team this season with 55 tackles, while ranking first in interceptions with two. William Middleton of Furman racked up 95 tackles and a team leading four interceptions and nine pass deflections. Tennessee-Martin's Dontrell Miller had 78 total tackles, four interceptions, four fumble recoveries and five defensive touchdowns. Colt Anderson of Montana was a unanimous All-Big Sky pick for the third straight season. The Buchanan Award candidate is the team leader with 121 total tackles, while also recording 5.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions.

THE SPECIALISTS

James Madison's Scotty McGee is this year's all-purpose player. McGee ranked third nationally in kickoff return average at 30.05 yards per return. He scored four touchdowns on returns and had 15 passes defended as a defensive back. In 2008, punter Doug Spada of Southeast Missouri State ranked third nationally in punting, averaging 44.74 yards per punt. He had a long of 65 yards and downed 12 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Placekicker Robbie Dehaze of Northern Arizona ranked fourth nationally in field goals per game with 1.45 per game. He was 16 of 20 on field goal attempts and 34 of 36 on PATs this season.

2008 AFCA FCS Coaches' All-America Team

Offense Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
WR Andre Roberts 5-11 175 Jr. The Citadel Kevin Higgins Columbia, S.C. (Spring Valley)
WR Ramses Barden* 6-6 227 Sr. Cal Poly Rich Ellerson Altadena, Calif. (Flintridge Prep)
TE John Nalbone 6-4 255 Sr. Monmouth (N.J.) Kevin Callahan Lawrenceville, N.J. (Lawrence)
OL Nick Hennessey 6-6 300 Sr. Colgate Dick Biddle Danvers, Mass. (Phillips Andover)
OL Raphael Nguti 6-7 330 Sr. Albany Bob Ford Rochester, N.Y. (Brighton)
OL Aaron Lockwood 6-2 303 Sr. Southern Illinois Dale Lennon Topeka, Kan. (Seaman)
OL Demario Deese 6-4 305 Sr. Gardner-Webb Steve Patton Charlotte, N.C. (Independence)
OL Brad Samsa 6-3 290 Sr. Youngstown St. Jon Heacock Warren, Ohio (Howland)
QB Armanti Edwards 6-0 184 Jr. Appalachian St. Jerry Moore Greenwood, S.C. (Greenwood)
RB Javarris Williams 5-11 215 Sr. Tennessee St. James Webster Richmond, Texas (Foster)
RB Herb Donaldson 5-11 225 Sr. Western Illinois Don Patterson St. Louis, Mo. (CBC)

Defense

Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
DL James Ruffin 6-4 265 Jr. Northern Iowa Mark Farley Burnsville, Minn. (Burnsville)
DL Jovan Belcher 6-2 228 Sr. Maine Jack Cosgrove West Babylon, N.Y. (West Babylon)
DL Greg Miller 6-3 250 Sr. Villanova Andy Talley Willow Grove, Pa. (Abington)
DL Greg Peach 6-3 255 Sr. Eastern Washington Beau Baldwin Vancouver, Wash. (Evergreen)
LB Jason Williams* 6-3 235 Sr. Western Illinois Don Patterson Chicago, Ill. (DuSable)
LB Marcellus Speaks 6-2 230 Sr. Jackson St. Rick Comegy Jackson, Miss. (Provine)
LB Bobby Abare 6-2 220 Sr. Yale Jack Siedlecki Acton, Mass. (Acton-Boxboro)
DB Lardarius Webb 5-10 205 Sr. Nicholls St. Jay Thomas Opelika, Ala. (Beauregard)
DB William Middleton 5-11 186 Sr. Furman Bobby Lamb Atlanta, Ga. (Marist)
DB Dontrell Miller 5-8 175 Jr. Tennessee-Martin Jason Simpson Demopolis, Ala. (Demopolis)
DB Colt Anderson 5-11 195 Sr. Montana Bobby Hauck Butte, Mont. (Butte)

Specialists

Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
P Doug Spada 6-1 190 Jr. Southeast Missouri St. Tony Samuel Shelby, N.C. (Fork Union Military Academy)
PK Robbie Dehaze 6-3 193 Sr. Northern Arizona Jerome Souers Sherwood, Ore. (Sherwood)
AP Scotty McGee 5-9 180 Jr. James Madison Mickey Matthews Virginia Beach, Va. (Ocean Lakes)

*-2007 AFCA All-American