Chris Long Becomes Unanimous All-American with Selection to AP Team

Story Links

Senior defensive end Chris Long became the third unanimous All-American in Virginia history today when he was selected to The Associated Press’s first-team All-America squad. Long joins former offensive lineman Jim Dombrowski (1985) and tight end Heath Miller (2004) as the only UVa players to earn that status.

Long was a first-team All-American on all five teams the NCAA recognizes to calculate unanimous All-America standing. He was previously selected the All-America squads by the American Football Coaches Association, The Sporting News, The Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Football Writers of America Association.

Long was not the only Cavalier to pick up All-America honors Tuesday. Junior offensive guard Branden Albert was a third-team pick by The Associated Press.

“All the other honors have been great, but being a unanimous All-American is very special because it means all the hard work I have put in has been recognized by many people,” Long said. “I couldn’t have done this without my teammates or my coaches. This is a total team honor and not just for me.”

The ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Long leads the ACC and is third in the country in sacks (14.0). This sack total equaled or surpassed the total recorded by 10 NCAA teams. Long also leads the conference with 19.0 tackles-for-loss (tied for 10th nationally). One-quarter of Long’s 75 tackles this season were made behind the line of scrimmage.

Long won the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end and was a finalist for the Lombardi, Nagurski and Lott Awards. He finished 10th in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, the fifth UVa player to place in the top-10 voting for that honor. In addition to being a unanimous All-American, he is the 11th player in UVa history to earn consensus All-America standing.

Long was one of eight players to be named to all five major All-America teams this year. The others were: RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas; WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech; OL Jake Long, Michigan; DL Glenn Dorsey, LSU; DL Sedrick Ellis, USC; LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State and DB Aqib Talib, Kansas.

Albert was a first-team All-ACC pick in 2007 and was the top vote-getter among the conference’s guards. He started all 12 games, including twice at left tackle due to an injury to Eugene Monroe. He was second on the team with 42 knockdown blocks.

2007 Associated Press All-America Teams

First Team
Offense
QB: Tim Tebow, sophomore, 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, Florida
RB: Darren McFadden, junior, 6-2, 215, Arkansas; Kevin Smith, junior, 6-1, 211, Central Florida
WR: Michael Crabtree, freshman, 6-3, 208, Texas Tech; Jordy Nelson, senior, 6-2, 213, Kansas State
OT: Jake Long, senior, 6-7, 313, Michigan; Anthony Collins, junior, 6-5, 320, Kansas
G: Duke Robinson, junior, 6-5, 330, Oklahoma; Martin O’Donnell, senior, 6-5, 305, Illinois
C: Steve Justice, senior, 6-4, 284, Wake Forest
TE: Martin Rucker, senior, 6-6, 255, Missouri

Defense

DE: Chris Long, senior, 6-4, 280, Virginia; George Selvie, sophomore, 6-4, 242, South Florida.

DT: Glenn Dorsey, senior, 6-2, 303, LSU; Sedrick Ellis, senior, 6-2, 305, Southern California.

LB: Dan Connor, senior, 6-3, 233, Penn State; James Laurinaitis, junior, 6-3, 240, Ohio State; Jordan Dizon, senior, 6-0, 220, Colorado.

CB: Aqib Talib, junior, 6-2, 195, Kansas; Antoine Cason, senior, 6-0, 185, Arizona
S: Craig Steltz, senior, 6-2, 209, LSU; Jamie Silva, senior, 5-11, 210, Boston College.


Special Teams
AP: Jeremy Maclin, freshman, 6-1, 185, Missouri.
K: Thomas Weber, freshman, 6-1, 202, Arizona State.
P: Kevin Huber, junior, 6-1, 210, Cincinnati.

Second Team
Offense
QB: Chase Daniel, Junior, Missouri
RB: Ray Rice, Junior, Rutgers; Mike Hart, Senior, Michigan
WR: Mario Manningham, Junior, Michigan; Harry Douglas, Senior, Louisville
TE: Fred Davis, Senior, Southern California
OT: Ryan Clady, Junior, Boise State; Sam Baker, Senior, Southern California
OG: Robert Felton, Senior, Arkansas; Anthony Parker, Junior, Tennessee
C: Jonathan Luigs, Junior, Arkansas.

Defense
DE: Vernon Gholston, Junior, Ohio State; Lawrence Jackson, Senior, Southern California
DT: Terrill Byrd, Junior, Cincinnati; James McClinton, Senior, Kansas
LB: J Leman, Senior, Illinois; Curtis Lofton, Junior, Oklahoma; Ali Highsmith, Senior, LSU
CB: Brandon Flowers, Junior, Virginia Tech; Malcolm Jenkins, Junior, Ohio State
S: Patrick Chung, Junior, Oregon; William Moore, Junior, Missouri.

Special Teams
K: Austin Starr, Junior, Indiana
P: Durant Brooks, Senior, Georgia Techl
AP: Felix Jones, Junior, Arkansas.

Third Team
Offense
QB: Colt Brennan, Senior, Hawaii
RB: Matt Forte, Sophomore, Tulane; Jonathan Stewart, Junior, Oregon
WR: James Hardy, Junior, Indiana; Davone Bess, Junior, Hawaii
TE: Travis Beckum, Junior, Wisconsin
OT: Kirk Barton, Senior, Ohio State; Ryan Stanchek, Junior, West Virginia
OG: Andrew Crummey, Senior, Maryland; Branden Albert, Junior, Virginia
C: Adam Spieker, Senior, Missouri.

Defense
DE: Nick Reed, Junior, Oregon; Greg Middleton, Sophomore, Indiana
DT: Vance Walker, Junior, Georgia Tech; Frank Okam, Senior, Texas
LB: Xavier Adibi, Senior, Virginia Tech; Ben Moffitt, Senior, South Florida; Scott McKillop, Junior, Pittsburgh
CB: Alphonso Smith, Junior, Wake Forest; Michael Jenkins, Junior, South Florida
S: Kenny Phillips, Junior, Miami (Fla.); Taylor Mays, Sophomore, Southern California.

Special Teams
K: John Sullivan, Senior, New Mexico
P: Brett Kern, Senior, Toledo
AP: DeSean Jackson, Junior, California.