Dec. 7, 2007

Three individuals from the Great West Football Conference were among the 27 players named to 2007 Walter Camp Foundation Football Championship Subdivision All-America team, announced today.

Earning the honor were linebacker Joe Mays and offensive lineman Nate Sate and Cal Poly wide receiver Ramses Barden. All three were first-team all-Great West performers in 2007.

The team was selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the Football Championship Subdivision schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm.

University of New Hampshire senior quarterback Ricky Santos, a three-time selection, headlines the team. Santos, the 2007 Colonial Athletic Association Co-Offensive Player of the Year, passed for 2,972 yards and 24 touchdowns to help lead UNH (7-5) to its fourth consecutive FCS playoff berth. For his career, Santos passed for 13,182 yards and 123 touchdowns - both totals are good for third all-time in FCS history.

Joining Santos in the offensive backfield are two CAA running backs - Omar Cuff (Delaware) and Tim Hightower (Richmond). Entering the Blue Hens' FCS semifinal contest at Southern Illinois, Cuff has rushed for 1,759 yards and a nation-leading 34 touchdowns. Entering the Spiders' FCS semifinal game at Appalachian State, Hightower has rushed for 1,829 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The 2007 Walter Camp All-America defensive squad includes the Great West Defensive Player of the Year Mays and 10 other players who are candidates for the Buck Buchanan Award, presently annually to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Among with Mays, the defensive standouts include repeat Walter Camp All-Americans Bryan Smith (McNeese State) and Kroy Biermann (Montana). Biermann has recorded 18.5 tackles for loss, including 16 quarterback sacks.

Also on the defensive interior is Eric Bakhtiari (University of San Diego), who was named the Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year after leading the nation with 20 quarterback sacks. Bakhtiari is also one of six finalists - and the lone FCS player - for the Ted Hendricks award which is given to college football's best defensive end.

In the secondary, Tony LaZotte (James Madison), the 2007 CAA Defensive Player of the Year, is being honored for the second time. LaZotte made the 2005 Walter Camp All-America squad. Joining LaZotte in the secondary is Derrick Huff (Eastern Kentucky), who has nine interceptions and was named the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

In all, players from 10 different conferences and 22 total institutions were represented on the 2007 Walter Camp 1-AA All-America team. The Colonial Athletic Association had the most players (7), followed by the Big Sky Conference (4). Five schools - North Dakota State, Appalachian State, Delaware, Massachusetts and Montana - each placed two players on the 2007 Walter Camp All-America team.

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 All-America teams for the Football Bowl and Championship subdivisions.