2011 College Football All-America with dreads

As far as I can tell, there were 159 players with dreads in Division 1 who received all-conference honors for their play during the recently finished 2011 season. My 4th annual All-America with dreads team is an attempt to list the best of them. I use no scientific formula to make the selections. I go mostly by their statistics for this season. But also factored in are which conferences they played in, what NFL scouts are saying about them, and just my own personal bias. As always, I include this disclaimer: my picks for the offensive line are my "best guess" and might be a bit more questionable than the rest of the team.

As you go through the selections, please note that the all-conference honors listed are from the teams named by a conference's coaches (not the media), and all-America honors are from the team selected by the Associated Press (AP). Also note that stats are for the 2011 season only and that "HM" stands for honorable mention.

1st TEAM OFFENSE

OFF. LINE

-- Jonathan Cooper - North Carolina . JR - 2nd team all-ACC

-- Patrick Lewis - Texas A&M . JR - HM all-Big 12

-- Cyril Richardson - Baylor . SOPH - HM all-Big 12

-- LaAdrian Waddle - Texas Tech . JR - 2nd team all-Big 12

-- Brandon Washington - Miami (Florida) . JR

WR

-- LaVon Brazill - Ohio . SR - 2nd team all-MAC - 72 rec. for 1,150 yards and 11 TD - also had 1 rushing TD

-- Dwight Jones - North Carolina . SR - 2nd team all-ACC - 85 rec. for 1,196 yards and 12 TD

-- Sammy Watkins - Clemson . FR - 1st team all-ACC - 82 rec. for 1,219 yards and 12 TD - also had 231 yards rushing

RB

-- Trent Richardson - Alabama . JR - SEC off. player of the year - 1st team AP all-America - Doak Walker Award winner - 283 carries for 1,679 yards and 21 TD - also had 338 yards and 3 TD receiving

-- Robert Turbin - Utah State . JR - WAC off. player of the year - 249 carries for 1,517 yards and 19 TD - also had 171 yards and 4 TD receiving

QB

-- Robert Griffin III - Baylor . JR - Big 12 off. player of the year - 1st team AP all-America - Heisman Trophy winner - 189.5 passing efficiency rating (2nd in FBS), 291 for 402 (72.4%) for 4,293 yards and 37 TD (6 INT) - also had 699 yards and 10 TD rushing on 179 carries

KR

-- Laron Scott - Georgia Southern . SR - 1st team all-SOCON - 34 KR for 1,040 yards (30.6 average, 3rd in FCS) and 2 TD

.

After performing spectacularly on the field in 2011, RG3 and Trent Richardson brought home some serious hardware. Griffin (photo above) became the 2nd ever player with dreads to win the Heisman Trophy (Ricky Williams in 1998 was the first), while Richardson, 3rd in the voting for the Heisman, won the Doak Walker Award (photo below). To the surprise of nobody, they both will be skipping their senior season to enter the NFL draft, where they both most likely will be selected early in the 1st round. (So that you can see Trent's dreads when they aren't reduced, I'm including a link to an interview he did just following Alabama's 'national championship' celebration on Jan. 21. .... http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/3564/3206448?title=football ... click the refresh button to get video to appear)

.

The other 1st team RB, junior Robert Turbin, came back strong after missing 2010 with a torn ACL and will also be entering this year's NFL draft.

.

True freshman Sammy Watkins' 1,219 yards receiving were the most ever by a Clemson player in one season.

.

1st TEAM DEFENSE

DT

-- Josh Boyd - Mississippi State . JR - 51 tackles (14-37), 8 TFL, 4.5 sacks

-- Dontari Poe - Memphis . JR - 2nd team all-CUSA - 33 tackles (18-15), 8 TFL, 1 sack, 3 PBU, 1 FF

DE

-- Jadeveon Clowney - South Carolina . FR - 2nd team all-SEC - 36 tackles (17-19), 12 TFL, 8 sacks, 1 PBU, 5 FF

-- Bruce Irvin - West Virginia . SR - 1st team all-Big East - 40 tackles (27-13), 15 TFL, 8.5 sacks, 3 FF

LB

-- Dont'a Hightower - Alabama . JR - 1st team all-SEC - 1st team AP all-America - 85 tackles (40-45), 11 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 INT, 3 PBU, 1 FF

-- Jarvis Jones - Georgia . SOPH - 1st team all-SEC - 1st team AP all-America - 70 tackles (39-31), 19.5 TFL, 13.5 sacks, 2 PBU, 2 FF

-- Courtney Upshaw - Alabama . SR - 1st team all-SEC - 2nd team AP all-America - 51 tackles (36-15), 17 TFL, 8.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF, 1 TD

CB

-- Jamell Fleming - Oklahoma . SR - 1st team all-Big 12 - 60 tackles (49-11), 4 TFL, 2 INT, 10 PBU, 2 FF, 2 FR, 1 TD

-- Dre Kirkpatrick - Alabama . JR - 2nd team all-SEC - 2nd team AP all-America - 30 tackles (24-6), 4 TFL, 0 INT, 9 PBU, 2 FF, 1 TD

S

-- Mark Barron - Alabama . SR - 1st team all-SEC - 1st team AP all-America - 68 tackles (43-25), 5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INT, 5 PBU, 1 FR

-- Matt Daniels - Duke . SR - 1st team all-ACC - 126 tackles (65-61), 4 TFL, 2 INT, 14 PBU, 1 FF

PR

-- Joe Adams - Arkansas . SR - 1st team all-SEC - 19 PR for 321 yards (16.9, 2nd in FBS), 4 TD

.

High school superstar Jadeveon Clowney lived up to all of his hype in a solid rookie season for the Gamecocks.

.

In his first season in a Georgia uniform after a transfer from USC, Jarvis Jones tied for 8th in the FBS in TFL and was 5th in sacks.

.

Last year there were two players with dreads from Alabama picked in the 1st round of the NFL draft. This year there might be five (!), including all-America LBs Courtney Upshaw (#41) and Dont'a Hightower (#30) (photo above) and all-America DBs Mark Barron (#4) and Dre Kirkpatrick (#21) (photo below).

.

He had impressively high numbers of both tackles and PBU, so Matt Daniels gets the nod on the 1st team.

.

2nd TEAM OFFENSE

OFF. LINE

-- Adam Gettis - Iowa . SR -2nd team all-Big 10

-- Robert T. Griffin - Baylor . SR - 2nd team all-Big 12

-- Xavier Nixon - Florida . JR

-- Dallas Thomas - Tennessee . JR

-- Jeremiah Warren - South Florida . SR - 2nd team all-Big East

WR

-- DeAndre Hopkins - Clemson . SOPH - 72 rec. for 978 yards and 5 TD

-- Tevin Reese - Baylor . SOPH - HM all-Big 12 - 51 rec. for 877 yards and 7 TD

-- Markus Wheaton - Oregon State . JR - HM all-Pac 12 - 73 rec. for 986 yards and 1 TD - also had 190 yards rushing

RB

-- Shakir Bell - Indiana State . SOPH - Missouri Valley off. player of the year - 1st team AP FCS all-America - led FCS in rushing - 230 carries for 1,670 yards and 14 TD

-- Andre Ellington - Clemson . JR - 2nd team all-ACC - 223 carries for 1,178 yards rushing and 11 TD

QB

-- Denard Robinson - Michigan . JR - HM all-Big 10 - 139.7 passing efficiency rating (39th in FBS) - 142 for 258 (55.0%) for 2,173 yards and 20 TD (15 INT) - also had 1,176 yards and 16 TD rushing on 221 carries

KR

-- John Evans - Western Kentucky . FR - 18 KR for 579 yards (32.2 average, 2nd in FBS) and 1 TD

.

Although his numbers dropped off a bit from last year, Denard Robinson played well enough to repeat as a 1st team selection - and would have if not for RG3.

.

You have to do something special to make the team from an FCS school, and Shakir Bell did, leading the FCS in rushing and finishing 2nd in the voting for the Walter Payton Award.

.

Up until that debacle in the Orange Bowl, it was all smiles in 2011 for WRs DeAndre Hopkins (#6) and Sammy Watkins. The dreaded duo thrilled Clemson fans as they accounted for 3,315 all-purpose yards and 18 TD between them.

Adam Gettis celebrates Iowa's come-from-behind 31-27 victory over Pittsburgh on Sept. 17. Gettis hopes to hear his named called during Day 3 of the NFL draft, but he'll need to excel in the pre-draft workouts to make it happen.

.

2nd TEAM DEFENSE

DT

-- Will Sutton - Arizona State . SOPH - 33 tackles (19-14), 5.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 1 PBU

-- Dorvus Woods - Arkansas State . SR - 2nd team all-Sun Belt - 21 tackles (8-13), 5.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 2 PBU, 2 FF

DE

-- Corey Hart -- Alabama A&M . SR - 1st team all-SWAC - 57 tackles (34-23), 32 TFL, 17 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF, 3 FR, 1 TD

-- Dezman Moses - Tulane . SR - 2nd team all-CUSA - 52 tackles (33-19), 12 TFL, 9.5 sacks, 5 PBU, 3 FF

LB

-- Khaseem Greene - Rutgers . JR - Big East co-defensive player of the year - 141 tackles (74-67), 14 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 1 PBU, 2 FF

-- Terrell Manning - North Carolina State . JR - 2nd team all-ACC - 76 tackles (46-30), 14.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 3 INT, 5 PBU, 4 FF, 3 FR

-- Danny Trevathan - Kentucky . SR - 2nd team all-SEC - 143 tackles (67-76), 11.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 4 INT, 5 PBU, 5 FF, 1 FR

CB

-- Nickell Robey - USC . SOPH - 1st team all-Pac 12 - 63 tackles (39-24), 3.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 INT, 9 PBU, 1 TD

-- Marquese Wheaton - Southern Mississippi . SR - 1st team all-CUSA - 59 tackles (35-24), 2.5 TFL, 3 INT, 10 PBU, 1 FR, 3 TD

S

-- Winston Guy - Kentucky . SR - 2nd team all-SEC - 120 tackles (57-63), 14 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FF, 1FR

-- Aaron Henry - Wisconsin . SR - 1st team all-Big 10 - 67 tackles (44-23), 3 TFL, 1 sack, 4 INT, 4 PBU

PR

-- Jamal Miles - Arizona State . JR - 2nd team all-Pac 12 - 14 PR for 232 yards (16.6) and 1 TD

.

In his only season for Alabama A&M after a transfer from Marshall, Corey Hart led the FCS with an astonishing total of 32 TFL, almost 3 per game!

.

The position change from S to LB paid off in a big way for Khaseem Greene, who was named Big East co-defensive player of the year.

.

Danny Trevathan (left) and Winston Guy get to smile, for a change, after a rare SEC victory for Kentucky, 30-13 over Mississippi on Nov. 5. Their total number of tackles may have been a bit inflated by the woeful Wildcats offense's inability to stay on the field, but no doubt both Trevathan and Guy are legit NFL prospects.

.

Aaron Henry tackles WR Darius Millines during the Badgers' victory at Illinois on Nov. 19. Expect to hear Aaron's name called early on Day 3 of the NFL draft, or just maybe (hopefully) near the end of Day 2.

HONORABLE MENTION

• OL Rupert Bryan - FIU . JR - HM all-Sun Belt
• OL Jason Weaver - Southern Mississippi . SR - 2nd team all-CUSA
• WR Keshawn Martin - Michigan State . SR
• RB Isaiah Crowell - Georgia . FR
• RB Jasmin Hopkins - Northern Illinois . SR - 2nd team all-MAC - 16 TD
• RB John Hubert - Kansas State . SOPH
• QB Mike Brown - Liberty . SR - 1st team all-Big South
• KR Ameer Abdullah - Nebraska . FR
• KR Ranell Hall - UCF . FR - 1st team all-CUSA
• KR Jesse Julmiste - Massachusetts . SR - 1st team all-CUSA - 2 TD
• KR Jamal Miles - Arizona State . JR - 2 TD
• DE Nordly Capi - Colorado State . SOPH - 1st team all-MWC - 2nd in FBS with 7 FF
• LB Jay Dudley - Louisiana Tech . SR - 2nd team all-WAC
• LB Randell Johnson - FAU . SOPH - HM all-Sun Belt
• LB Taylor Reed - SMU . JR - 2nd team all-CUSA
• LB Sean Spence - Miami (Florida) - 1st team all-ACC
• LB Ronnie Thornton - Southern Mississippi . SR - HM all-CUSA
• CB Dwight Bentley - Louisiana-Lafayette . SR - 1st team all-Sun Belt
• CB Terry Carter - Louisiana Tech . SR - 1st team all-WACC
• CB Bobby Felder - Nicholls State . SR - 1st team all-Southland
• CB Antonio Fenelus - Wisconsin . SR - HM all-Big 10
• CB Stephon Gilmore - South Carolina . JR
• CB Terry Hawthorne - Illinois . JR - HM all-Big 10
• CB K.J. Morton - Baylor . SOPH - HM all-Big 12
• CB Josh Norman - Coastal Carolina . SR - 1st team all-Big South, 1st team AP FCS all-America
• CB Dayonne Nunley - Miami (Ohio) . SOPH - 1st team all-MAC
• CB Bryce Robertson - Bucknell . SR - 1st team all-Patriot, 2nd team AP FCS all-America, led FCS with 13 INT
• CB Charles Sawyer - Mississippi . SOPH
• CB Laron Scott - Georgia Southern . SR - 1st team all-SOCON
• CB Marcus Williams - North Dakota State . SOPH - 1st team all-Missouri Valley, 1st team AP FCS all-America
• S Jahleel Addae - Central Michigan . JR - 1st team all-MAC
• S Jonathan Cyprien - FIU . JR - 2nd team all-Sun Belt
• S Serge Kona - Duquesne . JR - NEC defensive player of the year
• S Jerron McMillian - Maine . SR - 1st team all-CAA
• S Darnell Taylor - Sam Houston State . JR - Southland defensive player of the year

SPECIAL MENTION

• LB Vontaze Burfict - Arizona State . JR - Oh man, I just couldn't . No. It is true that Vontaze very likely will be an early-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft; but he played so far below his ability for ASU this season that I had to leave him off the team. Sorry.
• TE Quintin Davis - Jacksonville . JR - 1st team all-Pioneer - As usual, there are no tight ends on the team. Davis is the only one who merited any consideration. He did score 6 TD, but his 19 total receptions just weren't enough to make the team. Sorry.

Stephon Gilmore (4 INT, 7 PBU), here returning a fumble against Georgia on Sept. 10, got the snub from the coaches for all-SEC honors, which wasn't too surprising because he's in the same conference as Dre Kirkpatrick and those two guys from LSU. But don't sweat it, Stephon. The NFL teams know who you are. And come draft day, you will not be ignored.