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2010 Walter Camp All-America Notebook
Interesting facts about the nation's oldest All-America team
A Little History This is the 121st edition of the Walter Camp All-America team – the nation’s oldest All- America team. Twenty-five players are selected to the first team by the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors.
• From 1892 to 1964, eleven players were selected.
• In 1965, both offensive and defensive teams were picked.
• In 1972, the first punter (Ray Guy, Southern Mississippi) was honored.
• In 1975, the first placekicker (Chris Bahr, Penn State) was selected.
• In 2001, the first kick returner (Herb Haygood, Michigan State) was picked.
All Tied Up
There were 26 players selected to the Walter Camp First Team in 2010. Kick returners Eric Page (Toledo) and Shaky Smithson (Utah) were named to the First Team after finishing in a tie. It is the third time since 2002 there had been a tie. Last year, quarterbacks Tim Tebow (Florida) and Case Keenum (Houston) were named to the Second Team; in 2002, quarterbacks Ken Dorsey (Miami) and Brad Banks (Iowa) were first-team selections after having the same amount of votes.
Conference Info
Eight different conferences and 23 schools have representatives on the 2010 Walter Camp All-America First Team. The Big 12 Conference had seven players representing six member schools selected to the first team, the highest total of any league. The SEC was next with five players selected. SEC champion Auburn had the most first-team selections with three, including 2010 Player of the Year QB Cam Newton.
Gators Extend Streak; Two Streaks End
With the selection of punter Chas Henry, Florida extended its’ streak of having a Walter Camp First Team All-America selection to five consecutive seasons (2006-09) – the longest current streak in the country. The Gators own the longest current skein as Texas (10 straight years, 2000-2009) and USC (8 years, 2002-2009) each did not have a player represented on the First Team. The all-time streak record belongs to Notre Dame (18 straight years, 1964 to 1981).
No Repeaters, but Two Move Up
For the first time since 2000, and just the second since 1965, there are no repeat Walter Camp All-Americans. There are two players – linebackers Greg Jones (Michigan State) and Von Miller (Texas A&M) – who earned First Team honors in 2010 after making the Second Team a year ago.
Then and Now
Twenty-three different schools are represented on the 2010 Walter Camp All-America First Team – the 121st honored in the name of the former Yale University football legend. Of those 23 schools, Nebraska has the honor of having the longest history with the Walter Camp All-America team. Former Huskers’ offensive lineman Ed Weir made the 1924 All-America squad.
A Trio of Tigers
Three players from Auburn earned First Team All-America honors – quarterback Cam Newton, offensive lineman Lee Ziemba and defensive lineman Nick Fairley. It is the most First Team selections ever for Auburn – it has previously had two four times (1971, 1986, 1987 and 1990).
Horned Frog(s)
TCU had multiple first-team selections – offensive center Jake Kirkpatrick and defensive back Tejay Johnson – for the first time.
More Cowboys
Oklahoma State had two First Team selections – RB Kendall Hunter and WR Jason Blackmon – for the first time since 1988 when a similar positional-duo, RB Barry Sanders and WR Hart Lee Dykes were recognized.
Cam Newton – Player of the Year
Quarterback Cam Newton is the third Auburn player to earn Walter Camp Player of the Year honors, joining former Tiger greats QB Pat Sullivan (1971) and RB Bo Jackson (1985).
More (Cam) Newton Info Please
Cam Newton is also the sixth player from the Southeastern Conference to earn Walter Camp Player of the Year honors, joining the aforementioned Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson along with former Arkansas running back Darren McFadden (2007), Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel (1996) and Georgia running back Herschel Walker (1982).
Catching Oklahoma
Since 1948, Oklahoma has had 59 players earn Walter Camp First Team All-America honors. Of those 59 players, 2010 honoree Ryan Broyles is just the second Sooner wide receiver to be recognized. The other is Max Boydston, who was honored back in 1954.
Cliff Harris Squared2
Oregon’s Cliff Harris has the distinction of being a two-time Walter Camp Second Team All-American – and doing it in the same year. Harris was selected to the 2010 Second Team as a defensive back and kick returner. Last year, former Clemson and current Buffalo Bills standout C.J. Spiller was also dually honored – Spiller was a First Team kick returner and Second Team running back.
First and Second Team Notables
• Kick returner Eric Page is the first-ever Toledo player to earn Walter Camp All-America honors. In fact, Page is the second player (Akron DB Dwight Smith, 2000) from the Mid-American Conference to be recognized.
• Linebacker Von Miller is the first Texas A&M player since 1998 (linebacker Dat Nguyen) to earn Walter Camp All-America honors.
• Chas Henry is the first Florida punter to earn Walter Camp All-America honors.
• Rodney Hudson is the first Florida State player to earn Walter Camp First Team All-America honors since 2004 (Alex Barren, OL).
• For the fifth time in the last seven years (2004), the First Team wide receivers (Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State and Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma) hail from the same conference. Before 2004, it happened only twice (2001 and 1978) since the organization started selected an offensive team in 1965.
• Connecticut running back Jordan Todman was a Second Team selection. Todman is the second Husky running back in the last three years to earn Second Team honors (current Indianapolis Colt Donald Brown, 2008).
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.
About the Foundation
"Walter Camp was one of the giants of football in the United States. He stands with Stagg, Rockne, Thorpe, Warner, Heffelfinger in the imprint they made upon the game. He stands first among them, for it was he who sired the game as it is played in the United States, the game that evolved from the rugby football of England. He played in the first Yale-Harvard game of rugby in 1876. From then on, his was the fertile, inventive mind and guiding leadership that brought about the evolution of the American style of football."
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