Although Idaho's defense struggled last season, there were several glimmers of hope for the future, particularly in the performance of a number of our sophomores and freshmen who were forced into action without the benefit of a redshirt year. Brandon Kania's aggressive style of play earned him a starting job on what was believed going into last year to be a veteran group, and ultimately earned him All-Conference honors just 12 months after a stellar high school career. As a true freshman Brandon quickly evolved into a defender which opposing offenses had to work around, as he led the team in quarterback sacks (7) and tackles for loss (10 for 43 yards) with just 8 starts on the season. His performance did not go unnoticed outside the Sun Belt Conference.
Named to TSN's Freshman All-American Team (2nd Team), Brandon is one of just 2 representatives from from the Sun Belt Conference (the other is 4th team DB Jonus Buckles of North Texas) on a list dominated by athletes from the PAC-10, BIG-12, BIG-10, SEC, ACC, and Big East. This is an outstanding honor, and something we are sure that Brandon and the new defensive staff look forward to building upon in the future.
The Sporting News Freshman All-American List.
First Team
OFFENSE
WR Kelley Washington, 6-4, 225, Tennessee
WR Reggie Williams, 6-4, 215, Washington
TE Bobby Hoover, 6-4, 240, Tulane
OL (T) Nat Dorsey, 6-6, 325, Georgia Tech
OL (T) Shawn Andrews, 6-6, 330, Arkansas
OL (G) Doug Buckles, 6-5, 290, Mississippi*
OL (G/T) Wes Sims, 6-5, 300, Oklahoma*
OL (T) Logan Mankins, 6-4, 290, Fresno State*
QB Chris Rix, 6-4, 205, Florida State*
RB Cedric Benson, 6-0, 200, Texas
RB Anthony Davis, 5-8, 185, Wisconsin*
DEFENSE
DL (E) Travis Johnson, 6-5, 282, Florida State*
DL (T) Tommie Harris, 6-3, 275, Oklahoma
DL (T) Shaun Cody, 6-5, 255, Southern Cal
DL (T) Bobby Leffew, 6-4, 270, Louisville*
LB Derrick Johnson, 6-4, 215, Texas
LB Bradley Vance, 6-1, 211, Minnesota
LB Robert Rodriguez, 6-1, 230, UTEP*
DB (CB) Matt Ware, 6-3, 195, UCLA
DB (CB) Marlin Jackson, 6-1, 182, Michigan
DB (SS) Mitch Meeuwsen, 6-3, 208, Oregon State*
DB (FS) Jason Shivers, 6-1, 190, Arizona State
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Justin Ayat, 6-0, 198, Hawaii*
P Tony Yelk, 6-0, 201, Iowa State*
KR Charles Frederick, 6-0, 190, Washington
Second Team
OFFENSE
WR Derrick Hamilton, 6-4, 190, Clemson*
WR Fred Gibson, 6-4, 180, Georgia
TE Tory Humphrey, 6-3, 230, Central Michigan
OL (G) Eyoseph Efseaff, 6-3, 295, UCLA*
OL (T) Rob Petitti, 6-6, 330, Pittsburgh*
OL (G) Patrick Babcock, 6-6, 295, Illinois*
OL (G) William Whitticker, 6-6, 299, Michigan State*
OL (C) Ben Wilkerson, 6-4, 275, LSU
QB David Greene, 6-3, 222, Georgia*
RB Carnell Williams, 5-11, 193, Auburn
RB Kevin Jones, 6-1, 205, Virginia Tech
DEFENSE
DL (E) Brandon Kania, 6-3, 230, Idaho
DL (T) Donnell Washington, 6-6, 320, Clemson*
DL (T) Brandon Dabdoub, 6-1, 295, Colorado*
DL (E) Kenechi Udeze, 6-3, 295, Southern Cal*
LB Mayo Sowell, 6-2, 220, Auburn*
LB Barrett Ruud, 6-2, 220, Nebraska
LB Ronald Stanley, 6-2, 210, Michigan State
DB (CB) Antonio Perkins, 6-0, 175, Oklahoma*
DB (CB) Carlos Rogers, 6-1, 167, Auburn
DB (SS) Marvin Godbolt, 5-11, 195, TCU*
DB (SS) Doug Monaghan, 6-3, 200, Cincinnati
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Nick Novak, 6-0, 186, Maryland*
P Derek McLaughlin, 6-2, 190, Washington
KR Alvin Pearman, 5-10, 192, Virginia
Third Team
OFFENSE
WR Josh Davis, 6-1, 195, Marshall*
WR Michael Clayton, 6-4, 185, LSU
TE Ben Hall, 6-5, 240, Clemson
OL (T) Nick Kaczur, 6-6, 300, Toledo
OL (T) Calvin Armstrong, 6-8, 298, Washington State*
OL (G) Justin Smiley, 6-3, 292, Alabama*
OL (T) C.J. Brooks, 6-5, 304, Maryland*
OL (C) Vince Carter, 6-3, 265, Oklahoma
QB Ben Roethlisberger, 6-5, 209, Miami (Ohio)*
RB Marion Barber, 5-11, 195, Minnesota
RB Chance Kretschmer, 6-2, 220, Nevada*
DEFENSE
DL (E) Alfred Peterson, 6-3, 245, Rutgers
DL (E) Rashad Jeanty, 6-3, 230, Central Florida
DL (T) Skylor Magee, 6-1, 270, Southern Miss*
LB Anthony Schlegel, 6-2, 220, Air Force
LB Justin Beriault, 6-3, 190, Ball State*
LB Matt Grootegoed, 5-11, 205, Southern Cal*
LB Nick Speegle, 6-5, 235, New Mexico*
DB (CB) Marcus McGruder, 5-9, 180, Wake Forest*
DB (CB) Ahmad Carroll, 5-11, 190, Arkansas
DB (SS) Matt Pusateri, 5-11, 195, Miami (Ohio)*
DB (FS) Jermain Woodard, 5-11, 195, Houston*
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Xavier Beitia, 5-10, 180, Florida State
P James Gaither, 6-4, 220, Memphis
KR Jahmal Fenner, 5-9, 175, UTEP
Fourth Team
OFFENSE
WR Terrence Murphy, 6-1, 190, Texas A&M
WR Teyo Johnson, 6-7, 245, Stanford*
TE Chris Holmes, 6-5, 259, Toledo*
OL (T) Uriah Moenoa, 6-4, 331, Hawaii*
OL (T) Wesley Britt, 6-8, 304, Alabama*
OL (G) Dan Buenning, 6-4, 299, Wisconsin*
OL (G) Marcus Johnson, 6-6, 320, Mississippi*
OL (G) Chris Snee, 6-2, 300, Boston College*
QB Gino Guidugli, 6-4, 205, Cincinnati
RB Alex Haynes, 5-11, 220, Central Florida*
RB Frank Gore, 5-10, 190, Miami (Fla.)
DEFENSE
DL (T) David Pollack, 6-2, 260, Georgia
DL (T) Randy Starks, 6-5, 290, Maryland
DL (T) Colby Clark, 6-2, 272, Northwestern*
DL (T) Lorenzo Alexander, 6-3, 280, Cal
LB James King, 6-1, 195, Central Michigan*
LB Jim Scharrer, 6-3, 233, Duke
LB Kirk Morrison, 6-0, 230, San Diego State*
DB (CB) Lornell McPherson, 5-9, 175, Nebraska*
DB (CB) DeAngelo Hall, 6-0, 190, Virginia Tech
DB (S) Jonas Buckles, 5-11, 213, North Texas*
DB (S) Dustin Fox, 6-0, 190, Ohio State
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Johnny Beck, 6-1, 200, Kansas
P Jared Cook, 5-10, 185, Mississippi State*
KR Dominique Dorsey, 5-8, 165, UNLV
* denotes redshirt
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