NCAA Football Preview: All-Pac-10 Team

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 23, 2010

NCAA Football Preview: All-Pac-10 Team

Andrew Luck

He set a Cardinal freshman record with 2,575 yards as a redshirt in 2009 and led Stanford to its most productive scoring year in school history (434 points). Luck could be the school's best quarterback since John Elway.

LaMichael James

He'll miss the first game of the season because of a suspension, but that shouldn't slow James, who averaged 6.7 yards per carry as a freshman.

Jacquizz Rodgers

A superb inside runner despite his size (5-foot-7, 188 pounds), Rodgers is fourth among active NCAA players in career rushing TDs (32). He was All-Pac-10 as a sophomore and will enter the season with only one fumble in 656 touches.

Anthony Miller

From nearby San Jose, Miller started nine games in 2009 but only found the end zone once. With 26 grabs last year he's the best of a thin returning group.

Jonathan Martin

In 11 starts at left tackle as a redshirt freshman, Martin proved himself adept at protecting Andrew Luck's blind side and helped pave the way for Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart to rush for 1,871 yards and 28 touchdowns.

David DeCastro

The 6-foot-5, 310-pound DeCastro was part of a line that allowed seven sacks in 2009, lowest in the Pac-10. He'll leave the Farm as a four-year starter.

Kristofer O'Dowd

Slowed by knee and shoulder injuries last season (he started seven games), O'Dowd should be healthy and could be the first center taken in the NFL draft.

Butch Lewis

In 2009 the steady, versatile lineman started six games at left guard, two games on the right and also saw time at right tackle, where he started in '08.

Bo Thran

Thran is the fastest O-lineman in Eugene (he runs a 5.43 40-yard dash), and he's also made the preseason Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy watch lists.

James Rodgers

Quizz's older brother caught a school single-season-record 91 passes in 2009, tops in the Pac-10. Rodgers, a Beavers co-captain, has 5,077 career all-purpose yards and needs 530 to become the school's alltime leader.

Ronald Johnson

After recovering from a broken collarbone, RoJo started five games at wideout in 2009 and returned 13 kickoffs for 264 yards. He'll be Matt Barkley's go-to guy.

Kenny Rowe

Tied for ninth in the NCAA in sacks last season (11 1â„2), Rowe is on preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award and the Lott and Nagurski trophies. His three sacks against Ohio State on New Year's Day set a Rose Bowl record.

Stephen Paea

The disruptive nose tackle holds all of the program's weight room records for defensive tackles, including bench press (500 pounds), and is tied for third alltime at OSU with 19 1â„2 career sacks.

Jurrell Casey

The emerging star will attack opposing quarterbacks more under new defensive coordinator Ed Orgeron after finishing with 4 1â„2 sacks last season. He started every game in 2009 (twice at nose tackle, where he was a backup in '08).

Ricky Elmore

Entering his third season as a starter, Elmore is a cyclone off the edge: He finished second in the Pac-10 in sacks last season (10 1â„2).

Akeem Ayers

An instinctive playmaker, Ayers started every game on the strong side as a redshirt sophomore and quickly became one of the most highly regarded linebackers in the conference. He scored three defensive touchdowns in 2009.

Vontaze Burfict

He was second on the Sun Devils in tackles (69) and was named Pac-10 Defensive Freshman of the Year. Burfict is a future first-round pick.

Mason Foster

The takeaway machine had three picks and six forced fumbles last season. In his third year as a starter he will be key to the Huskies' continued improvement.

Trevin Wade

A ballhawking corner from Texas, Wade had five interceptions, 14 pass breakups and 71 tackles during an explosive year in 2009.

Rahim Moore

Named the conference's defensive MVP by the Sporting News after last season, Moore had 10 picks, more than any Division I-A player since 2003.

John Boyett

After filling in for an injured T.J. Ward at free safety, the Napa native made the position his own and wound up leading the Ducks in tackles (90). Boyett's two fourth-quarter interceptions finalized wins against Utah and UCLA.

Desmond Trufant

As a true freshman he played a key role in the Huskies' resurgence, starting nine games and ending the season with 44 solo tackles and two picks.

Kai Forbath

A consensus All-America as a junior, Forbath was second in the NCAA in field goals made last season (28 of 31), and his percentage (90.3) set a UCLA single-season mark. He has made a school-record nine field goals of 50 yards or more, hitting his longest, a 54-yarder, in 2007.

Trevor Hankins

The former walk-on earned the starting job in 2009 and averaged 44.2 yards per punt, best in the conference and 10th in the NCAA. Hankins had 21 of his 69 punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and 18 went for more than 50 yards.

William Wright

Nicknamed Bug, the elusive Oklahoma native averaged 17.5 yards per touch last season after taking over punt-return duties against Washington State in early November. He scored on an 86-yard return against the Cougars.

Chris Owusu

Not only did Owusu lead the Pac-10 in kickoff-return average (31.5 yards), but he also set the Cardinal single-season record for kickoff-return touchdowns (3) and total return yardage (1,167). As a receiver, he led the team in touchdown catches (5) and finished second in receptions (37).

NCAA Football Preview: All-Pac-10 Team