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All-Americans, all around

CNNSI.com's experts name first All-American team

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Posted: Monday December 06, 1999 09:40 PM

Ron Dayne's 1,834 yards rushing and 19 TDs earned him a spot on CNN/SI.com's 1999 All-America team. Matthew Stockman/Allsport

By Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI

Three running backs. Two spots. What is a poor web site to do?

Such was the biggest dilemma as a panel of CNNSI.com staffers sat down to decide the members of their first official college football All-American team.

Many spots came easy. Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton, who did more for his team than any player in college football, was a shoe-in at quarterback despite big years from Marshall's Chad Pennington and Texas' Major Applewhite.

CNNSI.com 1999 College Football All-American Team Offense  QB JOE HAMILTON, Georgia Tech   RB SHAUN ALEXANDER, Alabama  RB RON DAYNE, Wisconsin   WR TROY WALTERS, Stanford   WR PETER WARRICK, Florida State   OL STEVE HUTCHINSON, Michigan   OL CHRIS McINTOSH, Wisconsin   OL DOMINIC RAIOLA, Nebraska   OL CHRIS SAMUELS, Alabama   OL JOHN ST. CLAIR, Virginia   TE JAMES WHALEN, Kentucky  Defense  DL COURTNEY BROWN, Penn State   DL CHRIS HOVAN, Boston College   DL COREY MOORE, Virginia Tech   DL COREY SIMON, Florida State   LB LAVAR ARRINGTON, Penn State   LB MARK SIMONEAU, Kansas State   LB RAYNOCH THOMPSON, Tennessee   DB TYRONE CARTER, Minnesota   DB JAMAR FLETCHER, Wisconsin   DB DEON GRANT, Tennessee   DB DELTHA O'NEAL, Cal  Specialists  K SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI, FSU   P ANDREW BEYES, E. Carolina   KR BEN KELLY, Colorado   PR DAVID ALLEN, Kansas State   ATHLETE DENNIS NORTHCUTT, Arizona   Honorable Mention  QB: Chad Pennington, Marshall; Major Applewhite, Texas; Tim Rattay, La. Tech; RB: Thomas Jones, Virginia; LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU. WR: Plaxico Burress, Michigan State; Trevor Insley, Nevada. OL: Joaquin Gonzalez, Miami; Ben Hamilton, Minnesota, Jason Whitaker, Florida State. TE: Daniel Franks, Miami. DL: Alex Brown, Florida. LB: Dhani Jones, Michigan; Jashon Sykes, Colorado; Jamie Winborn, Vanderbilt. DB: Cory Bird, Virginia Tech; Mike Brown, Nebraska. K: Shayne Graham, Virginia Tech. P: Shane Lechler, Texas A&M.  PLAYER OF THE YEAR  RON DAYNE, WISCONSIN  (Joe Hamilton, Corey Moore runners-up)  COACH OF THE YEAR  JUNE JONES, HAWAII  (Frank Beamer, Glen Mason runners-up)

Penn State's Courtney Brown, Virginia Tech's Corey Moore and Florida State's Corey Simon were obvious members of our D-line (or in this case, "C-line").

But then there was that running back thing.

The first name that comes to peoples' minds is expected Heisman winner Ron Dayne. The Badgers senior ran for over 1,800 yards, an impressive feat regardless of prior career accomplishments. Virginia's Thomas Jones was right up there with Dayne statistically, and saved his biggest games for the Cavs' toughest opponents. And Shaun Alexander was clearly the MVP of Alabama's SEC-title season, rushing for nearly 1,400 yards despite missing all or parts of three games with an ankle injury.

But lest you think we resorted to straw polls, rock-paper-scissors or the like, our final choice of Dayne and Alexander is easily defended. For one, they led their teams to the championships of the two toughest conferences in the country. After locking in Dayne, Alexander also edged Jones for his multiple talents as a runner, receiver and, sometimes, returner.

There were plenty of other tough choices all around. Man are there a lot of good linebackers in this country.

But rather than bore you with the war-room decisions, we ask only that you peruse our ballot, express your reaction of choice and enjoy watching most of these guys in their bowl games.

 

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