For those who haven’t been paying attention, on December 11 the Associated Press announced its All-Americans for 2007.
To quote the AP article,
When it comes to being an All-American, Darren McFadden doesn’t have to settle for second. The Arkansas running back and two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up was one of four players voted to The Associated Press All-America team for the second consecutive season.
Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis were the other two-time first-team AP All-Americans on the team released Tuesday.
Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow joins McFadden in the backfield along with Central Florida’s Kevin Smith, who leads the nation with 2,448 yards and 30 touchdowns. Smith is the first All-American from UCF, which began playing major college football in 1996.
Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who finished fourth in the Heisman voting, was voted to the second team. Hawaii’s Colt Brennan, third in the Heisman voting, was the third-team quarterback.
A curious omission from the AP’s All-American list this year is Notre Dame’s own Trevor Laws.
Now, before all you ND haters get your panties in a bunch, this is not about Notre Dame. This is about Trevor Laws. The Irish stunk up the field this season, and there’s no way to sugarcoat that sobering reality. But by the same token, there’s no way the Associated Press can justify its blatant disregard of Trevor Laws’ on-the-field accomplishments.
How blatant? Well, you tell me. Of the 100 leading tacklers in Division I-A, 99 are either linebackers or defensive backs. Trevor Laws, at the #43 spot no less, is the only defensive lineman to make the list. To put that achievement in even more perspective, Laws’ 112 tackles are nearly twice as many as the 64 tackles accounted for by two-time consensus All-American Glen Dorsey. What’s that? Dorsey played the last five games of 2007 with a sore knee so the comparison isn’t fair? Okay then, how about this comparison: Laws’ 112 tackles in 2007 is two more tackles than Dorsey compiled in his first three years at LSU combined.
Look, no one’s disputing Dorsey’s abilities. He’s a beast with All-Pro potential, while Laws’ NFL fortunes are far less certain. (Although I think his quickness and perceived lack of size makes for a perfect Tampa-Two DL, but that could be just the wishful thinking of this Colts season ticket holder.) All I’m asking for is a little impartiality. Not only was Trevor Laws omitted from the AP’s All-American lists, he didn’t make second team, third team or even honorable mention. In 2007 the guy put up untouchable, once-in-a-generation stats for a defensive lineman, and the AP thought at least 15 other defensive linemen had better seasons.
There’s more to this than just a handful of hacks being editorially lazy. The Laws snub is a conscious effort by agenda-driven , so-called journalists to misrepresent the facts.
McSweeney:
Notre Dame football has so many layers that topics of conversation are bound to be intertwined. If www. uhnd.com did not want discourse, they should not allow people to post an opinion. That said-AGAIN- so many things are bound to come up especially where the program is and where WE HOPE it will go soon!
I wish the best to Laws and Quinn and Clausen and all the Irish faithful-including you.
Go IRISH!
McSweeney:
One part of a post leads to another because they are intertwined so very much.
If it is not an “official” message board, perhaps those in charge-be it you or anyone else should not leave the door open for people to post in the first place. AGAIN, one aspect of things leads to another( i.e. Laws getting the shaft, Quinn, the state of Irish football today in General) Laws is a great guy on and off the field. All the issuues are related for those of us -including you- who are passionate about Irish football!
Ooops didnt really know there was a forum. Sorry lol. It is noted and will hop on there if I have unrelated material from now on. I’ll keep my posts rooted towards the headline topic. Sorry again.
Go Irish
Uh, guys, you do realize the blog is NOT a message board, right? Appreciate the discourse and all, but what does it have to do with Trevor Laws. If you want to talk up ND football, go to the UHND football forum at https://www.uhnd.com/bb/forum/index.php?action=main&forumid=6.
ND82 and Irish62,
You guys are right on. ND does get too much hate. I think some of it goes to the NBC contract. fans think we have some sort of sweetheart deal. Truth is NBC does a poor job of non-game coverage, and the pimps at ESPN hate us because they can’t sell us. No one realizes that ND being that last major independent forced the NBC relationship. It’s a jinx.
ND will go undefeated soon. Corwin’s defense is going to be tough maybe even next year. Bruton leads the backs, while the linebackers and line should be tough enough. They will swarm and hit.
With Cutlcliffe taking over Duke, Latinga might leave on his own to go back with his old boss. That would leave the perfect opening for Aaron Taylor. Taylor would make sure his line protected the quarterback and blew holes for the running backs.
On the Heisman issue. Quinn did get dissed, but the hype is now outweighing the real magnitude of the award. Plus I think football needs to emphasize the team aspect of the game these days. Back before the late 80’s individuals were honored more as part of a team effort. Quinn will get his and will have a couple of Super Bowl rings and a statue in both Canton and South Bend. For the guys on the field, the true champs, playing the game is the important thing. Awards are for couch potatoes.
nd82:
I agree with you again. I believe Clausen will be awesome in the year to come and the following years as well. Unlike what a personal trainer says, No pain no gain IS the motto for this Irish team including Clausen. The hits he takes today will be the success of tomorrow-God willing. The offensive line MUST protect him and we must have speed on receivers! Mix that with the good old fashioned option and we can compete and WIN!
Again, will ND play a 12th game in 08?
Thanks! Go Irish!
LoL I agree with you 100%. ND usually plays a very tough schedule every year. It just so happend that last year and the previous year, some of ND opponents were not as good as advertised in the end. It also sickens me when you see akron, youngstown st, appy st (oooops Michigan fans)etc… on osu and on many other major programs schedule. The Big 11 is down. Penn st is coming around very slowly. Michigan is just not what it was. I dont know if Rich Rodriguez is a good hire or not. I dont think he is in respects to his soph qb Ryan Mallet. No potential for spread there at all. Rich seems like a good man and coach so who knows. OSU is usually by far the best team in that conf. Yes, the Illini had a good year and seem to be on the rise but the Big 11 seems not so mighty anymore. Maybe its Big 11 network karma? Ha anyways I think LSU is going to run all over them in BCS champ game. Ive watched LSU many times this year and its the same story with fl vs. osu last yr. LSU has “faster” team speed and will wrap up Chris Wells. I dont like LSU but I’m rooting for them against OSU. Maybe then those great OSU fans will be humbled to think just about where there school ranks against the SEC schools across and down the board. I dont like the SEC conf persay but I like them more than Big 11. I think next year we will see a differnt Jimmy C. I think he will be 1. Healthy 2. More accurate 3. More strength with velocity on the rise 4. experienced. I will make a bold prediction here. ND will be 8-4 or 7-5 range next year (I pray) but Jimmy will have a far better season than BQ did his soph year. 21 tds 12 int’s ish im thinking for Jimmy. In the beginning of yr I did not have the faith in him with seeing how he was throwing the ball. Now, after being benched and brought back seems to have helped him heal more and just seemed stronger to me with his passes. More zip, loft, and accurate. I see also him trying more because Dayne Christ is coming in and that kid is going to wow us with his size, strength, and accuracy. Heres to next year. Go ND.
bleednd82:
You also have some good points. ND MUST get its act together and I have faith “we” will. ( ND alum masters degree 92)
Notre Dame does NOT have the luxury of pumping up its win column by playing in state mac teams like the buckeyes do. This year the REAL cream puffs included the ‘powerhouse’ Akron Zeps, kent state flashes and Youngstown State. Oh-add a Washington team that DID give OSU trouble in the first half but blew it all in the final 30 minutes. Furthermore, the Big 11 ( the real numeral for this conference) was not that great this year being filled with mediocre stats throughout. Illinois proved to be good and may well be on it sway to great things with Zook. Don’t get me wrong Bleedn82 and Irish faithful, I don’t hate OSU per se-it is the media and the fans which are as obnoxious as the schedule is easy. Truthfully folks, look at OSU and examine the schedules throughout the years. For the most part only 25% AT MOST is
tough! My hope is that those who select all AMERICANS will be just, unbiased and look at the individual-not JUST the team record.i wonder if OSU alumni are filling the selection staff! * BTW, you should have heard the disdain in Columbus when Quinn was featured in the Columbus Dispatch Sports Section on the third Friday of September 2006. You would have thought it was heresy, civil war or WW III. The editorials just 2 days after that called Quinn a mommy’s boy, said that this article was disrespectful to buckeye fans, the dispatch could look at other athletes instead of Quinn and that he was just a pretty boy slightly less than masculine!
I guess you all can understand my disdain for Ohio State with the media and fans. It is ok to love your team. It is SICK to hate everything else-which is what Columbus, Ohio is made of.
Laws will be fine and Quinn-when given the chance will be fine too. I bet that Miami wishes they would have gotten the Irish MAN instead of the Buckeye boy given their LOUSY record. Poetic justice? Maybe!
Unlike OSU fans, I will not stake my life on it; nor will I burn a couch on campus.
GO LSU IN THE BCS!!!!!!!!
LOL
Nice point Irisheye62. Timmy Tebow did win it. He is a sophmore and was on a 3 loss team. Not going to a BCS bowl. BQ was a sr and on BCS bound ND team. Troy Smith had a great year and Im not going to take that away from him. I think that ND’s losses last year to Michigan and USC just killed BQ in voters eyes. ND blows out everyone else but loses to “good” teams that year. Not saying Penn St or UCLA were cream puffs but people just see it that way. I ranted last year on ESPN and on here about how Quinn had a better year than Smith statistically but had 2 loses on his resume compared to either 1 or 0 losses for Smith(cant remember). OSU which I hate also was going to be playing in BCS championship game. ND gets hated on and the only way we can shut them up is by winning some football games. GO IRISH
The media loves to hate the Irish. ND WAS horrible this year. Still, Laws was ignored and shame on the political media machine for doing so. Quinn should have been either second or first for the Heisman last year ( after all, Tebow won it with a team that had three losses-so why not Quinn? Just a thought)
The fine print reads ( must be from a team which has won more games) even though the individual is just part of the componet. Personally, I think folks HATE Weiss and that is why BOTH Quinn and Laws got the shaft. They will both be fine in the world. I just wonder if these people who vote can sleep at night.
bleednd82,
1. we are extremely happy to read your comment about the recent verbal commitment of the no 3 og in the us,per rivals.com, trevor robinson, to notre dame’s no 1 2008 recruiting class. he is no 22 and there will be more with the same combination of athletic ability, academic excellence-a 3.92 gpa, and fine character.
2. how have charlie and corwin and their staffs recruited this well in the face of an ugly 2007 season on the field and why have every one of the commitments stuck with notre dame?
3. they reinvented recruiting for the 21st century. they identified the players they wanted from film and personal visits to high schools all over the us, long before any of the recruiting services came out with any of their star rankings.
4. then, they collected the academic data. those who passed those 2 tests then got many personal visits from charlie and corwin and their staffs at their homes to make certain that every recruit offerred a scholarship also met notre dame’s high character standards.
5. they were brutally honest with each recruit, their families, and their high school coaching staffs about jusy how ugly things might look on the playing field in 2007 because of that recruiting seam in 2004 and 2005.
6. by never throwing in the towel, every single member of notre dame’s 2007 team played a key role in making the 2008 and future recruiting clasess possible.
we are immensely proud of each person involved in the notre dame football program,
bob gilleran
Trevor Robinson just made verbal commit. Thats 22 for the nations #1 rated recruting class.
mac,
1. our congratulations on another excellent story.
2. as long as these all anerican teams and other awards are controlled by nameless voters with no accountability to the public, such honors and awards will be meaningless propaganda for the football programs that arrange for the voters to be chosen behind closed doors.
3. we would not be at all surprised to find aaron taylor on the nd coaching staff very soon, if he is not already, and without anyone else being fired.
4. at’s speech was awesome and right from the heart. he is just getting married and now would be the perfect time for at and his new wife to move to south bend and start a family.
5. in fact, there are a number of former nd stars who should be added to the coaching staff since, per ncaa rules, they cannot help in the way they should without being on the coaching staff and they are resources which cannot be wasted.
6. at certainly played a key role, just with his speech at the banquet in nd picking up a huge commmit, no 22, so far, from ol trevor robinson from nebraska.
thanks for the article,
bob gilleran
You always hear that people either love Notre Dame, or hate her. You always hear about how “it’s so unfair that they always get things they don’t deserve.” Well this just goes to show you exactly how crazy this stuff works. Trevor Laws is a great person on, and off the field. And the proof is right in front of everyone. So, for the first time in my life I feel so disgusted about all of this, I’m tired of hearing about how we are given everything and we deserve nothing. And because there are alot of people who hate Notre Dame, someone like TL should not have to suffer for it.
MaC: like how you stated it wasnt about ND’s season but rather Trevor Laws play on the field. I dont think people saw that at all. All people could see was 3-9…next. Laws was the bright spot on this team and led the sr class out with leadership and great character. Its a shame he didnt get some recognition for the MONSTER year he had. He will get drafted and make a roster next year. Good luck TL and you got my vote.
Right on Mac! Trevor Laws was definitely snubbed there is no question in my mind. We should have a congressional hearing to investigate! Really though Trevor Laws represents the what is right with College Football, he represents ND and Burnsville MN quite well and will carry the torch that Bryant Young and Chris Zorich have carried before him as Irish DL in the NFL.
One more thing:
Aaron Taylor for assistant Coach!!!
Did anyone see his speech on und.com?
He is exactly what Weis needs to round out his staff. Whether Weis retains Latina or not, Taylor should be a great fit. His link to the Joe Moore days and understanding of character building through excellence and toughness is inspiring. He’d also be an excellent understudy to Weis should Charlie last the ten or so years we’d all like.
ND needs Taylor on that staff.
Laws will succeed in the NFL and afterward. His life skills and character that were honed at Notre Dame will make him. Some political award isn’t going to stop him. Amid all that badness of this season, one thing is shining through. These guys have character and guts.
Very Well said!!!