Four Frogs receive preseason All-America selections from NationalChamps.net
4/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 26, 2007
BALTIMORE -- Four TCU football players have received preseason All-America honors from NationalChamps.net, while the Horned Frogs are ranked 23rd in the Web site's 2007 Top 25 poll.Defensive end Tommy Blake was tabbed a third-team preseason All-American with defensive end Chase Ortiz and linebacker Jason Phillips honorable-mention picks. Safety Brian Bonner is an honorable-mention selection at both defensive back and punt returns.
Blake, named earlier this month to the 2007 Playboy Preseason All-America team, led the Mountain West Conference last season with 16.5 tackles for a loss while tying for the league lead with seven sacks. A unanimous first-team All-MWC selection, Blake was the Defensive Most Valuable Player in TCU's 37-7 Poinsettia Bowl victory over Northern Illinois.
Blake totaled 54 stops for the Frogs last year, including a tackle for a loss in all but two games. The former high school tailback forced two fumbles and recovered two. He returned a fumble 12 yards for a touchdown in a win at New Mexico.
A senior and native of Aransas Pass, Texas, Blake has already been named to 2007 watch lists for the Lombardi Award and Lott Trophy.
Ortiz has been a first-team All-MWC selection in each of the last two seasons. His 11.0 tackles for a loss in 2006 ranked second in the league behind only Blake. Ortiz led the MWC in sacks (9.0) and TFLs (14.0) in 2005. He is a senior from League City, Texas.
Phillips was a first-team All-MWC performer in 2006. His 73 tackles placed second on the Frogs. In 2005, Phillips became the first freshman defensive player in league history to be named All-MWC. The junior from Waller, Texas, has started all 25 games in his TCU career.
A senior from Beeville, Texas, Bonner was first-team All-MWC as a return specialist and a second-team pick on defense last season. The former prep quarterback had a 12.7 punt return average to top the MWC and rank 16th nationally. He set a TCU bowl record with 89 punt return yards in the Poinsettia Bowl. Bonner placed second on TCU in sacks (4.5), third in tackles for a loss (9.5) and fifth in total stops (49). He also added two interceptions and four pass break-ups.
The Frogs, who open the 2007 season with a Sept. 1 home game versus Baylor, have won eight in a row for the fourth-longest current streak in the country. TCU returns nine starters on defense from a unit that ranked second nationally in run defense and total defense while placing third in scoring defense.
