As they say, hindsight is always 20/20. Last season, I embarked on a meaningless journey of naming the first ever pre-season All-Mack team. In the early part of the season, I made the Sports Illustrated cover look like a 4-leaf clover as all of my guys it seemed were either getting hurt or having down seasons. Here is the 2009 pre-season All-Mack team in review:
OFFENSE
QB - Tim Tebow, Florida - After winning 2 national titles, and being touted as possibly the best college football player of all time, Tebow's sole mission was to come back for a chance at going undefeated, which he'd never done. He suffered a nasty and scary looking concussion against Kentucky and it pretty much spiraled down from there. The only time after that game that he looked like himself was in the Cincinnati game in the Sugar Bowl. Every other game, he looked very timid and less wreckless. Nobody will convince me that he wasn't rushed back before he was ready. As the season would have it, he threw 9 fewer TDs than 1 more INT and he was sacked more times in 2009 (29) than he was sacked in the previous 2 seasons (28). Seeing as how, win or lose, Tebow's senior season was nothing more than a final victory lap, I'd like to call last season a success. But since he didn't get his ultimate goal, maybe not.
HB - Jahvid Best, Cal - This was supposed to be Jahvid's finest hour. But he wound up missing the final 5 games of his college career due to quite possibly the scariest looking head/neck injury I've ever seen. When this injury occured I felt terrible for even picking him on the team. So if there's no pre-season All-Mack team this year, Jahvid Best is the reason why.
HB - Noel Devine, West Virginia - This is one that I got right. With Steve Slaton and Pat White both gone and not taking carries from him, Devine turned in his best season as a collegiate, racking up 1465 yards on the ground and 13 TDs. Here's a look back at Devine's 2009 campaign.
WR - Julio Jones, Alabama - With his breakout freshman season, no receiver in the country had higher expectations. And while, individually, Julio had a solid year, by his standards, it was a down year. This was mostly due to nagging injuries that kept him relegated to one side of the field as he couldn't cut in certain directions. Where he thrived though, was blocking up the field for his classmate, teammate, and 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. Julio's defining moment of the 2009 season, though, was stepping up big time against hated in-state rival, Auburn. Trailing late in the 4th quarter and with Ingram on the sideline dinged up, Julio Jones became the ultimate possession receiver hauling in a number of short passes and keeping the chains moving. And even though Julio's year was down individually, any time your team wins a national championship, it can't be all that bad.
WR - Arrelious Benn, Illinois - This guy was an absolute enigma all season long. Much of it had to do with inconsistent play from the QB position, but Benn had his worst year as a collegian, hauling in only 38 passes for 490 yards. A bad season all the way around. I would love to show highlights, but there's really nothing to show. Benn had an awful season.
TE - Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma - Gresham's season was non-existent. He had a season ending knee injury in fall camp and never took the field in 2009. But on the strength of his performances in previous seasons, he still wound up being a 1st round draft pick for the Cincinnati Bengals. So it worked out for him.
OT - Ciron Black, LSU -Black was voted first team All-SEC post-season, but many observers, including LSU fans, didn't think he was deserving. I tend to agree with them. He, as many college tackles do, had struggles with the speed rush. And his run blocking was just ok. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and moved to Guard.
OG - Mike Johnson, Alabama - Big Mike had a stellar season. He was the unquestioned leader of an offensive line that wound up winning the national championship and that didn't get called for a holding penalty all season long after the 2nd quarter of the 5th game of the season against Kentucky. He wound up signing with the Atlanta Falcons. Great season for Johnson.
C - Kristofer O'Dowd, USC - O'Dowd was all set to anchor a team that was vying to reclaim dominance in the Pac-10 and catapult back into the National title picture. But a series of crazy situations surrounding the program, coupled with this explanation from USC's official site, killed it all for him.
OG - Brandon Carter, Texas Tech -Speaking of crazy events, nothing could have been worse for Brandon Carter and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Their coach wound up being fired over the way he handled certain situations, and it divided the locker room as well as the fan base & alumni. This was a no win situation for everybody. Terrible season for Carter and Texas Tech.
OT - John Jerry, Ole Miss - Before last season, America had annointed Ole Miss as the next big thing, the same way they're doing Arkansas this year (hilarious!!). As it turned out, Ole Miss's entire season was a complete flop, going 8-4 overall, 4-4 in the conference, and finishing 3rd in the SEC's Western division. Jerry, individually, had a pretty decent season, though. He wound up getting drafted by the Dolphins, getting moved to Right Guard, and he's gotten pretty good reviews thus far.
So I'll say that overall, the 2009 Pre-Season All-Mack Offensive team had a horrendous season with a bright spot here and there.
Defense & Special Teams review coming next week.
OFFENSE
QB - Tim Tebow, Florida - After winning 2 national titles, and being touted as possibly the best college football player of all time, Tebow's sole mission was to come back for a chance at going undefeated, which he'd never done. He suffered a nasty and scary looking concussion against Kentucky and it pretty much spiraled down from there. The only time after that game that he looked like himself was in the Cincinnati game in the Sugar Bowl. Every other game, he looked very timid and less wreckless. Nobody will convince me that he wasn't rushed back before he was ready. As the season would have it, he threw 9 fewer TDs than 1 more INT and he was sacked more times in 2009 (29) than he was sacked in the previous 2 seasons (28). Seeing as how, win or lose, Tebow's senior season was nothing more than a final victory lap, I'd like to call last season a success. But since he didn't get his ultimate goal, maybe not.
HB - Jahvid Best, Cal - This was supposed to be Jahvid's finest hour. But he wound up missing the final 5 games of his college career due to quite possibly the scariest looking head/neck injury I've ever seen. When this injury occured I felt terrible for even picking him on the team. So if there's no pre-season All-Mack team this year, Jahvid Best is the reason why.
HB - Noel Devine, West Virginia - This is one that I got right. With Steve Slaton and Pat White both gone and not taking carries from him, Devine turned in his best season as a collegiate, racking up 1465 yards on the ground and 13 TDs. Here's a look back at Devine's 2009 campaign.
WR - Julio Jones, Alabama - With his breakout freshman season, no receiver in the country had higher expectations. And while, individually, Julio had a solid year, by his standards, it was a down year. This was mostly due to nagging injuries that kept him relegated to one side of the field as he couldn't cut in certain directions. Where he thrived though, was blocking up the field for his classmate, teammate, and 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. Julio's defining moment of the 2009 season, though, was stepping up big time against hated in-state rival, Auburn. Trailing late in the 4th quarter and with Ingram on the sideline dinged up, Julio Jones became the ultimate possession receiver hauling in a number of short passes and keeping the chains moving. And even though Julio's year was down individually, any time your team wins a national championship, it can't be all that bad.
WR - Arrelious Benn, Illinois - This guy was an absolute enigma all season long. Much of it had to do with inconsistent play from the QB position, but Benn had his worst year as a collegian, hauling in only 38 passes for 490 yards. A bad season all the way around. I would love to show highlights, but there's really nothing to show. Benn had an awful season.
TE - Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma - Gresham's season was non-existent. He had a season ending knee injury in fall camp and never took the field in 2009. But on the strength of his performances in previous seasons, he still wound up being a 1st round draft pick for the Cincinnati Bengals. So it worked out for him.
OT - Ciron Black, LSU -Black was voted first team All-SEC post-season, but many observers, including LSU fans, didn't think he was deserving. I tend to agree with them. He, as many college tackles do, had struggles with the speed rush. And his run blocking was just ok. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and moved to Guard.
OG - Mike Johnson, Alabama - Big Mike had a stellar season. He was the unquestioned leader of an offensive line that wound up winning the national championship and that didn't get called for a holding penalty all season long after the 2nd quarter of the 5th game of the season against Kentucky. He wound up signing with the Atlanta Falcons. Great season for Johnson.
C - Kristofer O'Dowd, USC - O'Dowd was all set to anchor a team that was vying to reclaim dominance in the Pac-10 and catapult back into the National title picture. But a series of crazy situations surrounding the program, coupled with this explanation from USC's official site, killed it all for him.
But he was slowed throughout the season by injuries, seeing action in just 8 games (starting 7). He missed the San Jose State opener after dislocating his right kneecap in 2009 fall camp, then started USC's next 5 games (Ohio State, Washington, Washington State, California, Notre Dame) before a sore shoulder and the lingering effects of his pre-season knee injury sidelined him for the next 3 contests (Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona State). He saw brief action against Stanford, didn't play versus UCLA and returned to the starting lineup against Arizona and Boston College. He missed 2009 spring drills while recuperating from shoulder surgery.
OG - Brandon Carter, Texas Tech -Speaking of crazy events, nothing could have been worse for Brandon Carter and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Their coach wound up being fired over the way he handled certain situations, and it divided the locker room as well as the fan base & alumni. This was a no win situation for everybody. Terrible season for Carter and Texas Tech.
OT - John Jerry, Ole Miss - Before last season, America had annointed Ole Miss as the next big thing, the same way they're doing Arkansas this year (hilarious!!). As it turned out, Ole Miss's entire season was a complete flop, going 8-4 overall, 4-4 in the conference, and finishing 3rd in the SEC's Western division. Jerry, individually, had a pretty decent season, though. He wound up getting drafted by the Dolphins, getting moved to Right Guard, and he's gotten pretty good reviews thus far.
So I'll say that overall, the 2009 Pre-Season All-Mack Offensive team had a horrendous season with a bright spot here and there.
Defense & Special Teams review coming next week.
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