The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Four UAB Players Named First-Team All-Conference USA
11/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 29, 2005
IRVING, Texas -
The UAB football team had four players, including record-setting quarterback Darrell Hackney, named Tuesday to the 2005 All-Conference USA first team. By having four players tabbed to the first unit, the Blazers equaled their best previous total for first-team selections, set last season.
Southern Miss and Memphis led all schools with five first-team picks. UAB did not have a second-team selection but had three players listed on the third unit. The Blazers also had one player tabbed to the C-USA All-Freshman Team in linebacker Kris Guyton.
The all-conference teams were voted on by the league's 12 head coaches and two media members in each conference city.
C-USA concluded its 10th regular season this past weekend and first under the new alignment that will feature the league's inaugural championship game on Dec. 3 between UCF and Tulsa at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
Despite finishing with a disappointing 5-6 record, UAB placed three players on the first-team offense and one on defense. After earning third-team honors in 2004, UAB's Hackney collected the first-team quarterback spot this season after passing for 3,180 yards and 22 touchdowns. Both totals were second in the league as the four-year starter for the Blazers finished his career fourth on the C-USA charts with 9,886 yards and sixth with 71 touchdown passes.
Hackney's favorite target WR Reggie Lindsey joined him on the first team. Lindsey led C-USA with 11 touchdown receptions, including a C-USA best 89-yard touchdown vs. SMU on Oct. 8. Lindsey finished the 2005 season with 53 receptions for 978 yards.
Helping protect Hackney on the offensive front for the Blazers was fellow first-team member Matt Batusic. Batusic, a senior, started the final 34 games he suited up for UAB at the center position.
For the Blazers defensively, junior Larry McSwain collected first-team defensive line honors for the second season in a row. Though his sack numbers were down this season, in large part to more attention from the opposition, McSwain finished with some impressive statistics, recording 53 tackles to rank No. 4 on the team with four sacks and 5.0 tackles for loss.
UAB was well-represented on the third-team all-conference team as well as junior tackle Julius Wilson was named to the offensive unit. Defensively, senior nose tackle Ernest Respress and safety Dominique Cosper were tabbed to the all-league third team.
Respress finished the season with 42 tackles and a team-high 12 tackles for loss. He also contributed three sacks. Cosper, named to the third-team squad for the second year in a row, was second on the team in tackles with 70. He also had a pair of interceptions with 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Cosper ranked among the nation's top five in caused fumbles with five.
Below is a complete listing of the 2005 All-Conference USA teams:
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback - Darrell Hackney, Sr., UAB
Running Back- Ryan Gilbert, Sr., Houston
Running Back- DeAngelo Williams, Sr., Memphis
Offensive Lineman- Andrew Handy, Sr., Memphis
Offensive Lineman- George Batiste, Jr., Southern Miss
Offensive Lineman- Jesse Stoneham, Sr., Tulsa
Offensive Lineman- Matt Batusic, Sr., UAB
Offensive Lineman- Cedric Gagne-Marcoux, Jr., UCF
Tight End- Garrett Mills, Sr., Tulsa
Wide Receiver- Aundrae Allison, Jr., East Carolina
Wide Receiver- Vincent Marshall, Sr., Houston
Wide Receiver- Reggie Lindsey, Sr., UAB
DEFENSE
Defensive Lineman- Marcus West, Sr., Memphis
Defensive Lineman- John Syptak, Sr., Rice
Defensive Lineman- Larry McSwain, Jr., UAB
Defensive Lineman- Paul Carrington, Sr., UCF
Linebacker- Chris Moore, Sr., East Carolina
Linebacker- Kevis Coley, Sr., Southern Miss
Linebacker- Anthony Cannon, Sr., Tulane
Defensive Back- Wesley Smith, Jr., Memphis
Defensive Back- Trevis Coley, Sr., Southern Miss
Defensive Back- Bobby Blackshire, Jr., Tulsa
Defensive Back- Joe Burnett, Fr., UCF
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker- Stephen Gostkowski, Sr., Memphis
Punter- Luke Johnson, Sr., Southern Miss
Kick Returner- Ashlan Davis, Sr., Tulsa; John Eubanks, Sr., Southern Miss
Punt Returner- Joe Burnett, Fr., UCF
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback - Jordan Palmer, Jr., UTEP
Running Back- Ahmad Bradshaw, So., Marshall
Running Back- Kevin Smith, Fr., UCF
Running Back- Quinton Smith, Jr., Rice
Offensive Lineman- Doug Legursky, So., Marshall
Offensive Lineman- Travis Cooley, Jr., Southern Miss
Offensive Lineman- Chris McGee, Sr., Tulane
Offensive Lineman- Josh House, Sr., UTEP
Offensive Lineman- Jose Garcia, Sr., UTEP
Tight End- Darcy Johnson, Sr., UCF
Wide Receiver- Brandon Marshall, Sr., UCF
Wide Receiver- Mike Walker, Jr., UCF
Wide Receiver- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., UTEP
DEFENSE
Defensive Lineman- Kade Lane, Sr, Houston
Defensive Lineman- Justin Rogers, Jr., SMU
Defensive Lineman- Tom Johnson, Sr., Southern Miss
Defensive Lineman- Alex Obemese, Jr., UTEP
Linebacker- Nelson Coleman, So., Tulsa
Linebacker- Thomas Howard, Sr., UTEP
Linebacker- Jeremy Jones, Sr., UTEP
Defensive Back- Chris Hawkins, Sr., Marshall
Defensive Back- Joe Sturdivant, Jr., SMU
Defensive Back- Brandon Sumrall, So., Southern Miss
Defensive Back- Nick Graham, Jr., Tulsa
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker- Darren McCaleb, Jr., Southern Miss
Punter- Michael Gibson, Jr., Memphis
Punt Returner - Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., UTEP
THIRD TEAM OFFENSE
Quarterback - Kevin Kolb, Jr., Houston
Running Back- Uril Parrish, Sr., Tulsa
Running Back- Tyler Ebell, Sr., UTEP
Offensive Lineman- SirVincent Rogers, So., Houston
Offensive Lineman- David Douglas, Sr., Houston
Offensive Lineman- Matt Traina, Sr., Tulane
Offensive Lineman- Jeff Perrett, Jr., Tulsa
Offensive Lineman- Julius Wilson, Jr., UAB
Tight End- Shawn Nelson, Fr., Southern Miss
Wide Receiver- Bobby Chase, Jr., SMU
Wide Receiver- Preston Brown, Jr., Tulane
Wide Receiver- Chris Francies, Sr., UTEP
DEFENSE
Defensive Lineman- Marcus Hands, So., East Carolina
Defensive Lineman- Adrian Haywood, Fr., SMU
Defensive Lineman- Brandon Lohr, Sr., Tulsa
Defensive Lineman- Ernest Respress, Sr., UAB
Linebacker- Wade Koehl, Sr., Houston
Linebacker- Nick Bunting, Sr., Tulsa
Linebacker- Troy Collavo, Jr., UTEP
Defensive Back- Rocky Schwartz, So., Houston
Defensive Back- Jamey Harper, Sr., SMU
Defensive Back- Dominique Cosper, Sr., UAB
Defensive Back- Rolando Humphrey, Sr., SMU
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kick Returner- Jessie Henderson, Fr., SMU
Punt Returner- Vincent Marshall, Jr., Houston
