Northwestern University Athletics
Zach Strief Named FWAA All-American
12/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 9, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior Zach Strief (Milford, Ohio/Milford), a four-year starting right tackle for Northwestern, has been named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-America team. The entire team was unveiled during a one-hour show at 1 p.m. (CST) Saturday, Dec. 10 on ABC.
The 62nd All-America Team was announced from the ABC Theater at Disney-MGM studios.
The FWAA All-America Team, the second-longest continuously published team in college football, has been a staple of college football since 1944. This is the second straight year that the team has been shown on television, during a program sponsored by Cingular.
Strief becomes Northwestern's first lineman (offensive or defensive) since 1982 to garner first-team All-America honors. Chris Hinton was the last Wildcat player to garner first-team kudos.
Strief, who will make his 40th consecutive career start vs. UCLA on Dec. 30 at the Vitalis Sun Bowl, led all Northwestern players in offensive "championship performances" this year with 10 (out of 11 games). Strief's experienced play and leadership helped a young offensive line with four new starters provide the protection for Brett Basanez, the Big Ten's first-team all-conference quarterback and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. Strief also created plenty of holes for running back Tyrell Sutton, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a popular pick for national offensive freshman of the year honors.
Northwestern's offense set a single-season school record for yardage gained (492.7 ypg) and most games in a season with 500 or more yards of offense (six). The Wildcats also totaled two back-to-back 600-yard games, which included a school-record 674 yards against Wisconsin on Oct. 8, 2005.
2005 FWAA ALL-AMERICA TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
QB Vince Young, Texas 6-5 233 Jr. Houston, Texas
RB Reggie Bush, USC 6-0 200 Jr. Spring Valley, Calif.
RB Jerome Harrison, Washington State 5-10 199 Fr. Kalamazoo, Mich.
WR Dwayne Jarrett, USC 6-5 210 So. New Brunswick, N.J.
WR Jeff Samardzija, Notre Dame 6-5 216 Jr. Valparaiso, Ind.
TE Marcedes Lewis, UCLA 6-6 256 Sr. Lakewood, Calif.
OL Taitusi Lutui, USC 6-6 365 Sr. Mesa, Ariz.
OL Marcus McNeill, Auburn 6-9 338 Sr. Decatur, Ga.
OL Jonathan Scott, Texas 6-7 315 Sr. Dallas, Texas
OL Zach Strief, Northwestern 6-7 335 Sr. Milford, Ohio
C Greg Eslinger, Minnesota 6-3 285 Sr. Bismarck, N.D.
DEFENSE
Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
DL Brodrick Bunkley, Florida State 6-3 284 Sr. Tampa, Fla.
DL Elvis Dumervil, Louisville 6-0 256 Sr. Miami, Fla.
DL Tamba Hali, Penn State 6-3 267 Sr. Teaneck, N.J.
DL Haloti Ngata, Oregon 6-5 338 Jr. Salt Lake City, Utah
LB A.J. Hawk, Ohio State 6-1 240 Sr. Centerville, Ohio
LB Paul Posluszny, Penn State 6-2 220 Jr. Aliquippa, Pa.
LB DeMeco Ryans, Alabama 6-2 232 Sr. Bessemer, Ala.
DB Michael Huff, Texas 6-1 205 Sr. Irving, Texas
DB Brandon Meriweather, Miami 6-0 1 88 Jr. Apopka, Fla.
DB Ko Simpson, South Carolina 6-1 201 So. Rock Hill, S.C.
DB Jimmy Williams, Virginia Tech 6-3 216 Sr. Hampton, Va.
SPECIALISTS
Pos. Player, School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
K Mason Crosby, Colorado 6-2 210 Jr. Georgetown, Texas
P Ryan Plackemeier, Wake Forest 6-3 235 Sr. Bonsall, Calif.
KR Maurice Drew, UCLA 5-8 205 Jr. Antioch, Calif.
FWAA ALL-AMERICA TEAM BACKGROUND
First selected three years after the organization was formed, the FWAA's inaugural team included Army's Heisman Trophy tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and Georgia Tech's Frank Broyles, who later became Arkansas' head football coach and athletic director.
Over the years, the FWAA team has highlighted the college football's great players in several media forums.
From 1946-70, LOOK Magazine published the FWAA team and brought players and selected writers to New York City for a celebration. During that 25-year period, the FWAA team was introduced on national television shows by Bob Hope, Steve Allen, Perry Como and others.
After LOOK folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films (later known as NCAA Productions), which produced a 30-minute television show. The team was part of ABC's 1981 college football series.
From 1983-90, the team was either on ABC or ESPN, and now has returned to the national spotlight on ABC.
The FWAA team has included most of the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Outland Trophy winners over the years. Those are the three oldest awards in major-college football.
This is the fourth year Florida Citrus Sports has held a gala celebration for the team in Orlando. The FCS brings all the members of the team to one spot to honor them with a banquet.
For 62 years, the FWAA has selected an All-America team with the help of its members and an All-America committee, which represents all the regions in the country.
Some of the true greats of the writing profession have helped to select this team over the years -- Grantland Rice, Bert McGrane, Blackie Sherrod, Furman Bisher, Pat Harmon, Fred Russell, Edwin Pope, Murray Olderman, Paul Zimmerman and the list goes on and on.
For more information on the FWAA All-America Team and other FWAA awards, go to www.footballwriters.com.
