SI.com's 2010 All-Americas
QB Cam Newton
Jr., Auburn
Nation's pass efficiency leader is the first SEC player to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000
DE Da'Quan Bowers
Jr., Clemson
Nagurski Award winner led the nation in sacks (15.5) and was second in tackles for loss (25)
RB LaMichael James
So., Oregon
Star of the undefeated Ducks led the country in both rushing yards (1,682) and TDs (23)
DT Nick Fairley
Jr., Auburn
Dominant defensive force for the SEC champions led the league with 21 tackles for loss
RB Jordan Todman
Jr., Connecticut
Nation's No. 2 rusher (143.1 yards per game) led the Huskies to their first BCS berth
DT Stephen Paea
Sr., Oregon State
Pac-10's Defensive Player of the Year notched six sacks and forced four fumbles
WR Justin Blackmon
So., Oklahoma State
Already tied an NCAA record by notching at least 100 yards and a score in 11 straight games
DE Ryan Kerrigan
Sr., Purdue
Kerrigan led the nation in tackles for loss (26) and tied for second in forced fumbles (five)
WR Ryan Broyles
Jr., Oklahoma
Had more receptions (118) than any other player and topped the 100-yard mark nine times
LB Nate Irving
Sr., NC State
Returned with a vengeance after missing 2009 to injury, notching 88 tackles and 20.5 for loss
TE Lance Kendricks
Sr., Wisconsin
His 39 catches and 627 yards made him the top receiver for the Rose Bowl-bound Badgers
LB Greg Jones
Sr., Michigan State
Repeat All-America registered 98 tackles and forced five turnovers to lead the 11-1 Spartans
OL Jordan Holmes
Sr., Oregon
Key figure in Oregon's prolific offense helped open holes for playmakers like James
LB Luke Kuechly
So., Boston College
No other player came close to matching his 171 tackles, including 102 solo stops
OL Gabe Carimi
Sr., Wisconsin
6-foot-7, 327-pound four-year starter allowed just one sack and won the Outland Trophy
CB Prince Amukamara
Sr., Nebraska
Lockdown cornerback helped the Huskers limit opposing passers to a 98.0 pass efficiency rating
OL Rodney Hudson
Sr., Florida State
Dominant guard became the seventh player ever to garner All-ACC honors four times
S Quinton Carter
Sr., Oklahoma
The Big 12 champions leaned on Carter, who notched 92 tackles and four interceptions
OL Nate Solder
Sr., Colorado
Outland Trophy finalist played all 847 snaps and graded out at a remarkable 94.3 percent
S Tejay Johnson
Sr., TCU
Thorpe Award finalist forced six turnovers and anchored the nation's top-ranked defense
OL Lee Ziemba
Sr., Auburn
A starter in 51 straight games, he helped Auburn gain 300-plus rush yards against six SEC foes
CB Patrick Peterson
Jr., LSU
Decorated cover man picked off four passes and earned the Bednarik and Thorpe awards
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Alex Henery
Sr., Nebraska
Huskers' all-time scoring leader made 10 of 11 field goal tries from 40 yards or longer
R Cliff Harris
So., Oregon
Ducks' speedster returned four punts for touchdowns, including a crucial score at Cal
P Chas Henry
Sr., Florida
Led the nation with a 46.4-yard average, pinning 16 of his 44 kicks inside the 20-yard line
AP Randall Cobb
Jr., Kentucky
Averaged 182.7 all-purpose yards; scored rushing, receiving, passing and punt-return TDs
Second Team
QB Andrew Luck, So., Stanford
DE J.J. Watt, Jr., Wisconsin
RB Kendall Hunter, Jr., Oklahoma State
DT Jared Crick, Jr., Nebraska
RB Vai Taua, Sr., Nevada
DT Drake Nevis, Sr., LSU
WR Alshon Jeffery, So., South Carolina
DE Dontay Moch, Sr., Nevada
WR Juron Criner, Jr., Arizona
LB Lavonte David, Jr., Nebraska
TE D.J. Williams, Sr., Arkansas
LB Von Miller, Sr., Texas A&M
OL Jake Kirkpatrick, Sr., TCU
LB Manti Te'o, So., Notre Dame
OL Derek Sherrod, Sr., Mississippi State
CB Jayron Hosley, So., Virginia Tech
OL John Moffitt, Sr., Wisconsin
S Mark Barron, Jr., Alabama
OL Caleb Schlauderaff, Sr., Utah
S John Boyett, So., Oregon
OL Anthony Castonzo, Sr., Boston College
CB Keith Tandy, Jr., West Virginia
SPECIAL TEAMS
K David Ruffer, Sr., Notre Dame
R Eric Page, So., Toledo
P Aaron Bates, Sr., Michigan State
AP Damaris Johnson, Jr., Tulsa
Honorable Mention
QB Andy Dalton, TCU; Landry Jones, Oklahoma; Colin Kaepernick, Nevada; Ryan Mallett, Arkansas; Kellen Moore, Boise State; Greg McElroy, Alabama; Dan Persa, Northwestern; Denard Robinson, Michigan; Ricky Stanzi, Iowa; Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech; Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
RB Knile Davis, Arkansas; Lance Dunbar, North Texas; Jay Finley, Baylor; Montel Harris, Boston College; Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina; Mikel Leshoure, Illinois; Owen Marecic, Stanford; Bilal Powell, Louisville; Bobby Rainey, Western Kentucky; Rodney Stewart, Colorado; Daniel Thomas, Kansas State
WR Patrick Edwards, Houston; A.J. Green, Georgia; Leonard Hankerson, Miami; Jeff Maehl, Sr., Oregon; Austin Pettis, Boise State; Aldrick Robinson, SMU; Greg Salas, Hawaii; DeMarco Sampson, San Diego State; Titus Young, Boise State; Jordan White, Western Michigan; Cody Wilson, Central Michigan
TE Michael Egnew, Missouri; Coby Fleener, Stanford; Charlie Gantt, Michigan State; David Paulson, Oregon
OL Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State; Tim Barnes, Missouri; Chase Beeler, Stanford; Michael Brewster, Ohio State; Marcus Cannon, TCU; David DeCasto, Stanford; Zach Hurd, Connecticut; Eric Mensik, Oklahoma; David Molk, Michigan; Ryan Pugh, Auburn; Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State
DL Sam Acho, Texas; Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma; Jurrell Casey, USC; Adrian Clayborn, Iowa; Tyrone Crawford, Boise State; Vinny Curry, Marshall; Wayne Daniels, TCU; Ricky Elmore, Arizona; Bruce Irvin, West Virginia; Brandon Jenkins, Florida State; Karl Klug, Iowa; Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh
LB Akeem Ayers, UCLA; Tanner Brock, TCU; Tank Carder, TCU; Mason Foster, Washington; Mario Harvey, Marshall; Ross Homan, Ohio State; Justin Houston, Georgia; Jamon Hughes, Memphis; Brian Rolle, Ohio State; Sean Spence, Miami; Danny Trevathan, Kentucky; Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut
DB Ahmad Black, Florida; Chimdi Chekwa, Ohio State; Eric Hagg, Nebraska; Cliff Harris, Oregon; Jermale Hines, Ohio State; Jeron Johnson, Boise State; Chase Minnifield, Virginia; DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson; Johnny Patrick, Louisville; Mana Sliva, Hawaii
K Dan Bailey, Oklahoma State; Chris Hazley, Virginia Tech; Danny Hrapmann, Southern Miss; Josh Jasper, LSU; Grant Ressel, Missouri; Will Snyderwine, Duke; Justin Tucker, Texas; Blair Walsh, Georgia; Nate Whitaker, Stanford
P Drew Butler, Georgia; Tyler Campbell, Ole Miss; Reid Forrest, Washington State; Jeff Locke, UCLA; Rob Long, Syracuse; Kyle Martens, Rice; Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State; Tress Way, Oklahoma
RETURNS Eugene Cooper, Bowling Green; Andre Debose, Florida; Jeremy Kerley, TCU; Tony Logan, Maryland; Quincy McDuffie, UCF; Marlon McClure, UTEP; Patrick Peterson, LSU; William Powell, Kansas State; Shaky Smithson, Utah
ALL-PURPOSE Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M; Alex Green, Hawaii; Jerrel Jernigan, Troy; DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma; Pat Shed, UAB
AP All-America First Team
QB Cam Newton Auburn
RB LaMichael James Oregon
RB Kendall Hunter Okla. St.
OT Gabe Carimi Wisconsin
OT Nate Solder Colorado
Guard Rodney Hudson Fla. St.
Guard John Moffitt Wisconsin
Center Chase Beeler Stanford
Tight End Michael Egnew Missouri
WR Justin Blackmon Okla. St.
WR Ryan Broyles Oklahoma
All-purpose Randall Cobb Kentucky
Kicker Alex Henery Nebraska
DE Da'Quan Bowers Clemson
DE Ryan Kerrigan Purdue
DT Nick Fairley Auburn
DT Stephen Paea Oregon St.
LB Luke Kuechly Boston College
LB Greg Jones Mich. St.
LB Von Miller Texas A&M
CB Patrick Peterson LSU
CB Prince Amukamara Nebraska
Safety Tejay Johnson TCU
Safety Quinton Carter Oklahoma
Punter Chas Henry Florida
Prince James Says He Will be Doing More Talking
MIAMI - No extra security this time. No concerns about unrest in the stands. Probably not much in the way of organized "Akron Hates You" chants, either.
LeBron vs. Cleveland, Round 2 awaits in Miami on Wednesday.
And it won't have anywhere near the cache of the first meeting.
James took notice of that truth on Tuesday when the Heat finished practice and only a dozen or so reporters were in the gym, as opposed to the "300," by his own estimate, who were around the team for the buildup to Miami's trip to Cleveland back on Dec. 2 — the two-time MVP's return to the city he jilted by signing with the Heat.
Led by James, Miami won by 28 that night, even with fans chanting that his hometown hates him and other rather colorful things for much of the evening.
The Heat haven't lost since. Cleveland hasn't won since.
"It doesn't feel like just another opponent," James said.
That's because, well, Cleveland isn't just another opponent. Not to James, anyway.
He was criticized for talking to some Cavs' players, longtime friend Daniel Gibson in particular, and Cleveland's bench during the game two weeks ago.
More heat might be coming, because James apparently has more to say to his old team.
"I'll probably be talking to them ... again," said James, who insisted that there was no joking around going on during the exchanges he had in the Dec. 2 matchup.
Not much is funny to Cleveland these days.
Losers of eight straight — four of those by at least 20 — whatever good feeling there was over a 5-5 start without James is long gone now. Cavaliers guard Mo Williams downplayed the rematch between teams heading in opposite directions.
"Our concern is not them right now, it's us," Williams said following practice Tuesday. "We're going through a tough time right now and we need to get a win. We need to stay positive and stay focused and this thing will turn around. Nobody likes to lose. We definitely know we can play better. We can't let anything else cloud our goal and our goal is getting better."
As if the James-Cavs stuff wasn't saucy enough for a story line, there's also the matter of Miami looking for NBA history.
According to STATS LLC, only three teams have won 10 consecutive games by at least 10points apiece. Miami has won nine straight, all of them by double figures, and could join the 2007-08 Houston Rockets, 2003-04 New Jersey Nets and 1946-47 Washington Capitols in that exclusive club if they beat the Cavs by 10 or more on Wednesday.
"We're starting to figure out how this team is going to play all year, how we're going to be effective," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "The spurts and the runs that we go on is going to be probably the most effective thing that other teams can't do that we have the ability to do."
The Heat went through a relatively light practice Tuesday, which in no way suggests Miami is taking things easy right now.
Much in the same way that the struggles in their 9-8 start were part of the "process" that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke of often in the season's opening weeks, continuing to refine things remains part of that same process.
"It's no different than when we lost four out of five," Spoelstra said. "We still had to work and stay together to try to improve and that's where we are right now. If you just try to relax and think of the wins that we've had, you're not getting any better. And we have a long ways to go, still."
Relaxing against a team that's struggling isn't an uncommon occurrence.
James said he won't let Miami fall into that trap — not against Cleveland.
"It's a tough situation going on in Cleveland," James said. "I wish those guys the best. It just so happened they haven't won since we played them and now they come in here when we're still rolling. As much as I would love for them to get back on track, I don't want them to get back on track against us."
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