2007 All-Great West Football Team Announced

[99Bison]

http://greatwestfootball.cstv.com/photos/schools/gwfc/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2007all-league.pdf

2007 All-Great West Football Team Announced
South Dakota State won the 2007 Great West title, but North Dakota State’s run through the season garnered the league a great deal
of publicity and the Bison placed three players in five categories of individual awards as winners and all-conference team members
were announced today by the league office. Quarterback Steve Walker guided the Bison on the field to a 10-1 record and shared
Offensive Player of the Year with Cal Poly wide receiver Ramses Barden in the vote of league coaches, while linebacker Joe Mays
was named Defensive Player of the Year and return specialist Shamen Washington Special Teams Player of the Year. Freshman of
the Year went to Cal Poly offensive lineman Jason Cox, while South Dakota State’s John Stiegelmeier was voted Coach of the Year.
Walker was named Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, but he will have to share the award with
Barden, who shattered Mustang records throughout the 2007 season. Walker completed 166 of 248 passes (66.9%) for 2,327
yards and 20 touchdowns to lead the Bison to their first No. 1 ranking at the FCS level. His leadership brought back the Bison from
the brink of defeat in at least two games this season, and his ability to drive the team down for scores right before the half is legendary.
He will go down as one of the most successful QB in school history. Barden broke Cal Poly school records most receiving
yards (1,467), points (108) and 100-yard receiving games (7) in a season as well as receiving touchdowns in a game (4), season
(18) and career (32). He is second nationally in yards per game and he will open the 2008 season as the active FCS leader in
career touchdowns, receiving yards and yards per catch.
Stiegelmeier was voted Great West Coach of the Year for 2007 as he led South Dakota State to the title and the first league title of
any kind for the Jackrabbits since 1963. The Jackrabbits started out the season 0-3, but won seven of their last eight games,
including the season finale over rival North Dakota State, 29-24.
NDSU’s Mays finished third in the league with 90 tackles, including 2.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss of yardage during his senior
campaign to earn the league’s top defensive honor. A finalist for the Buchanan Award, Mays led a defense that finished the season
ranked first in the Great West in rushing defense, passing defense and total defense and was second in scoring defense.
As Great West Freshman of the Year, Cox started as a reserve lineman for Cal Poly, but was inserted into the starting lineup early
in the season after an injury to Stephen Field. He did such a good job, that when Field came back, Cox moved to another position
on the line and helped lead Cal Poly to the No. 1 ranking in total offense in the nation. Cox started the final nine games of the
season, playing all three offensive line positions — center, guard and tackle. He was part of an offensive line that surrendered just
15 sacks in 11 games, 27th in the nation.
Return specialist Washington came back from a knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2006 season and picked up where he
left off. The 5-6 junior led the Great West in kickoff returns in 2005 and was back at the top of the list again in 2007 with a 27.1
average and a touchdown. His big day came vs. Mississippi Valley State when he ran back a kickoff 96 yards for a score and had
206 all-purpose yards in the NDSU victory.
Repeating as first-team selections for the third straight year were Barden (Cal Poly), offensive linemen Nate Safe (NDSU) and
Mitch Erickson (SDSU), center Stephen Field (Cal Poly), kicker Parker Douglass and defensive lineman James Amos (UC
Davis). Making the first team for the second time were Walker (NDSU), offensive lineman Jon Compas (UC Davis), linebacker
Joe Mays (NDSU) and punter Mike Dragosavich (NDSU).
In total, North Dakota State led first-team selections with 11 members while SDSU followed with 8, UC Davis had four, Cal Poly had
three and Southern Utah two. Cal Poly placed eight members on the second team, while South Dakota State had seven and
Southern Utah six.


2007 All-Great West Football Conference Teams
First Team
Offense
Pos. Player Institution Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown
WR Ramses Barden Cal Poly 6-6 240 Jr. Altadena, Calif.
WR Kole Heckendorf North Dakota State 6-1 188 Jr. Mosinee, Wisc.
WR Brandon Rice UC Davis 6-4 203 Jr. Los Angeles, Calif.
TE Jerimiah Wurzbacher North Dakota State 6-5 250 Jr. Fargo, N.D.
OL Nate Safe North Dakota State 6-5 310 Sr. Cannon Falls, Minn.
OL Keith Buckman North Dakota State 6-4 293 So. Belfield, N.D.
OL Mitch Erickson South Dakota State 6-6 285 Sr. Hutchinson, Minn.
OL Jon Compas UC Davis 6-3 290 Jr. Carlsbad, Calif.
C Stephen Field Cal Poly 6-1 200 Jr. Arroyo Grande, Calif.
QB Steve Walker North Dakota State 6-1 210 Sr. Lockport, Ill.
RB Tyler Roehl North Dakota State 5-10 232 Jr. West Fargo, N.D.
RB Cory Koenig South Dakota State 5-10 205 Sr. Underwood, Ia.
RB Johnny Sanchez Southern Utah 5-9 195 Sr. Los Lunas, N.M.
K Parker Douglass South Dakota State 5-8 170 Sr. Columbus, Neb.
Defense
Pos. Player Institution Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown
DL James Amos UC Davis 6-4 255 Sr. Galt, Calif.
DL Danny Batten South Dakota State 6-4 250 So. Gilbert, Ariz.
DL Sean Lawyer Cal Poly 6-1 260 Jr. San Jose, Calif.
DL Joe Lardinois North Dakota State 6-4 255 Jr. New Franken, Wisc.
ILB Justin Kubesh South Dakota State 6-1 240 Sr. Olivia, Minn.
ILB Joe Mays North Dakota State 5-11 245 Sr. Chicago, Ill.
OLB Mike Maresh North Dakota State 6-1 232 Jr. Champlin, Minn.
OLB Ramone Humber North Dakota State 5-11 220 Jr. Brooklyn Park, Minn.
OLB Chris Rogers South Dakota State 5-10 200 So. Chandler, Ariz.
DB Adam Cook UC Davis 5-11 175 Sr. Bakersfield, Calif.
DB Tyler Koch South Dakota State 5-10 190 Sr. White Lake, S.D.
DB Brock Gentile South Dakota State 5-10 190 Sr. Council Bluffs, Ia.
DB Jovan Jackson Southern Utah 6-2 190 Sr. Phoenix, Ariz.
P Mike Dragosavich North Dakota State 6-5 215 Sr. Oak Lawn, Ill.

[aces1180]

Holy crap! You can tell we have some stellar athletes on the Bison.

[NDSUFan_Sav]

:nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: ++++++++

[99Bison]

Funniest part is there are No Bison on the second team :-)

[bisonmike2]

Very fitting to see Walker and Mays to win offensive and defensive players of the year!

[skolbrother]

Love that linebacker crew. Good to have 2 of the 3 back.

[X-Factor]

Buckman made 1st team offense as a sophomore 1st year starter! :cool:

Where is the love for Zack Harrington?

[CaBisonFan]

Holy crap! You can tell we have some stellar athletes on the Bison.

Yeah...and seven of the eleven are coming back. Quite a junior class.

If we can get stability at QB (a 'good' performance), a healthy defensive backfield, and fill the holes on the offensive line...we will challenge for the Gateway title and a playoff spot.

Getting Paschall back, and the two or three redshirt running backs into the offensive backfield will make things very interesting. We will be loaded back there.

Could use one or two of our defensive linemen to become 'dominant' to take the heat off of the linebackers and safety. That's where the big improvement needs to come. They were young and green this year. Missed Justin Frick.

[roadwarrior]

I added a little bolding to the original post.

[SDbison]

I added a little bolding to the original post.
How the hell did SDSU's coach get coach of the year with a 7-4 record?

[X-Factor]

Yeah...and seven of the eleven are coming back. Quite a junior class.

If we can get stability at QB (a 'good' performance), a healthy defensive backfield, and fill the holes on the offensive line...we will challenge for the Gateway title and a playoff spot.

Getting Paschall back, and the two or three redshirt running backs into the offensive backfield will make things very interesting. We will be loaded back there.

Could use one or two of our defensive linemen to become 'dominant' to take the heat off of the linebackers and safety. That's where the big improvement needs to come. They were young and green this year. Missed Justin Frick.

Northern Iowa and NDSU both return a lot from this season and look like they might be the early front runners for the Gateway title next season. SIU needs to make their run in the playoffs this year if there is to be one...

SDSU has 15 first and second teamers on that list. 9 are graduating :eeek: I thought they were a younger team but wow, that is a lot of talent missing for the Jacks next year. I wonder how many more guys the Jacks have graduating that arn't on All-GWFC... Hopefully not many.

[THEsocalledfan]

How the hell did SDSU's coach get coach of the year with a 7-4 record?

Simple, he beat NDSU. Who else did it? I seem to remember a couple of FBS schools that couldn't even do it. I think he deserves it.

[SDbison]

Simple, he beat NDSU. Who else did it? I seem to remember a couple of FBS schools that couldn't even do it. I think he deserves it.
He sucks, always has a mediocre record. So what he beat a down NDSU team. Last year he lost to a DIII team.

[THEsocalledfan]

He sucks, always has a mediocre record. So what he beat a down NDSU team. Last year he lost to a DIII team.

NDSU was the #1 ranked team in the country. That is the "so what."

[99Bison]

Northern Iowa and NDSU both return a lot from this season and look like they might be the early front runners for the Gateway title next season. SIU needs to make their run in the playoffs this year if there is to be one...

SDSU has 15 first and second teamers on that list. 9 are graduating :eeek: I thought they were a younger team but wow, that is a lot of talent missing for the Jacks next year. I wonder how many more guys the Jacks have graduating that arn't on All-GWFC... Hopefully not many.

There were a lot of Jack seniors on this years team. Looks like 15 seniors were starters including specialists. 6 O, 6 D, and 3 specialists.

[TheDoctor]

Glad to see so many guys honored and congratulations to Joe on earning Defensive Player of the Year....NOW lets see a National Defensive Player of the Year award aswell!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

He sucks, always has a mediocre record. So what he beat a down NDSU team. Last year he lost to a DIII team.

What does losing to a DIII team last year have to do with winning Coach of the Year this year?

[aces1180]

What does losing to a DIII team last year have to do with winning Coach of the Year this year?

Agreed....Stig went 4-0 in the conference THIS YEAR, which is why I think he deserves the award.

[jackrabbit1979]

What does losing to a DIII team last year have to do with winning Coach of the Year this year?

He's not a bison. Don't you see the logical connection between that and the loss last year RLIV, jeeesh.

[bisonmike2]

Stig was 4-0 in the conference, the first conference championship in 40 + years, and they finished winning 7-8. That's good enough to win the coach of the year.

[TheDoctor]

To me.....Joe Mays = Buchanan Award. Any thoughts?????????? ;)

[NDSUFan_Sav]

To me.....Joe Mays = Buchanan Award. Any thoughts?????????? ;)

++++++:nod:

[TheDoctor]

I hope Kolpack and McFeely use their votes wisely! ;)

[Bison"FANatic"]

Joe is a great player but there are some players on the list with 40 more tackles then him. My guess is that it will go to someone that the media sees in the playoffs. I would love to see him get it but unfortunately I am guessing 3rd in the voting.

[TheDoctor]

Joe is a great player but there are some players on the list with 40 more tackles then him. My guess is that it will go to someone that the media sees in the playoffs. I would love to see him get it but unfortunately I am guessing 3rd in the voting.

True. Cal Poly won it last year though and they weren't in the playoffs. ;)

[X-Factor]

True. Cal Poly won it last year though and they weren't in the playoffs. ;)

Shotwell had nearly 160 tackles if memory serves me right. True, Cal Poly does some really wierd stuff with their defense that IMO pumps up the stats on certain players.