TCU Sets Pace On All-America Teams
7/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 4, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU football led the nation with four selections on the Rivals.com/Yahoo! Sports Preseason All-America teams.
Center Jake Kirkpatrick and punt returner Jeremy Kerley were first-team picks, while offensive tackle Marcus Cannon and safety Tejay Johnson were chosen for the second team.
Kirkpatrick, who appears on watch lists for the Rotary Lombardi Award, Outland Trophy and Rimington Trophy, sets the Horned Frogs' blocking scheme on each play.
Kirkpatrick was a first-team All-American last season and one of six finalists for the Rimington Trophy, recognizing the nation's top center. He is the only one of those six finalists to return this season.
Kerley was named to three All-America teams in 2009 and was the Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. He was one of only two players (Javier Arenas, Alabama) in the nation to rank in the top seven in punt returns (14.4 yards) and the top 22 in kickoff returns (26.6 yards). He led the MWC in both categories.
The Hutto, Texas, native returned two punts for touchdowns. His 563 punt return yards broke Davey O'Brien's single-season TCU record from 1937.
Kerley also led TCU with 44 receptions, more than doubling the 20 he had from his first two seasons combined.
The 6-foot-5, 350-pound Cannon had a dominant 2009 campaign in being a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection. The senior from Odessa, Texas, did not allow a sack. He's been ranked by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. as the third-best offensive tackle available in the 2011 National Football League draft.
Cannon also appears on watch lists for the Rotary Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy.
Johnson, who will be in his third year as a starter, was an All-Mountain West Conference selection last season. He tied for TCU's team lead with three interceptions while placing fourth with 59 tackles, including a career best and TCU season-high 14 stops in a 38-7 win at BYU.
A native of Garland, Texas, Johnson is on watch lists for the Lott Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
