MaxPreps.com Staff Report
2007 MaxPreps Special Mention All-Americans
QB Matt Barkley
6-4/225/Junior
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Next Stop: Undecided/Junior
All-American Credentials: Although we had our own ideas about who the top player in the land was this season, Barkley was the first junior ever selected Gatorade National Player of the Year. He passed for 3,576 yards, completed 63 percent of his attempts and tossed 35 touchdowns against just nine interceptions. Midway through the season, the Southern California signal caller appeared to be on the verge of running away with POY honors.
QB/DB/KR/PR/P John Boyett
6-0/190/Senior
Napa (Calif.)
Next Stop: Oregon
All-American Credentials: Perhaps the nation's most versatile player, Boyett rushed for 1,527 yards and 20 touchdowns and completed 108 of 171 passes for 1,827 yards and 19 scores as Napa (13-1), ranked 15th in the state, won its first Sac-Joaquin Section D-I title. He also had 81 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions, punted for a 38.9 yard average, kicked 20 extra points and returned kicks 89 and 93 yards for TDs.
PK Ben Buchanan
5-10/190/Senior
Westerville Central (Westerville, Ohio)
Next Stop: Ohio State
All-American Credentials: Buchanan connected on 14 of 19 field goal attempts, including a state-record five in one game. His long was 57 yards and all of his misses were between 50 and 63 yards. He also made 31-of-32 extra points. In his four-year career he was 32-of-45 on field goals and 68-of-70 on extra points.
QB/RB Jermie Calhoun
6-0/210/Senior
Van (Van, Texas)
Next Stop: Oklahoma
All-American Credentials: A superb running back, Calhoun was shifted to quarterback early in the year when the Vandals' starter went down with an injury. He finished the season with 242 carries for 1,910 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also completed 57-of-104 passes for 803 yards and four touchdowns and caught a pair of scoring passes. During a three-game stretch in late September and early October, the future Sooner racked up 754 yards 10 touchdowns on the ground. In four years he rushed for 6,214 yards and scored 96 touchdowns.
QB Riley Dodge
6-0/185/Senior
Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
Next Stop: North Texas
All-American Credentials: Dodge, the MaxPreps National Player of the Year in 2006, threw for 3,322 yards and 39 touchdowns while picking up another 730 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. His two-year record as starting quarterback for the Dragons was 27-2.
RB Washaun Ealey
5-10/205/Junior
Emanuel County Institute (Twin City, Ga.)
Next Stop: Junior
All-American Credentials: Georgia's Player of the Year will be hard-pressed to match his spectacular junior year next fall. Ealey led ECI to a 15-0 record and the state's Class A title - the school's first since 1923 - while running for 2,971 yards and a state record 58 touchdowns.
WR/K Danny Milligan
5-9/165/Senior
St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Next Stop: Cincinnati
All-American Credentials: Milligan was the Swiss Army Knife for head coach Steve Specht's unbeaten Division I champions. He played wide receiver (49 receptions, 726 yards, nine touchdowns), kicked field goals and extra points (scoring 92 points on 13 field goals and 53 extra points), served as a return man and even punted.
QB/DB/KR Jordan Roberts
5-11/210/Senior
Scott (Madison, W.Va.)
Next Stop: Undecided
All-American Credentials: Roberts broke a West Virginia state record by racking up 3,826 rushing yards this season - playing quarterback. The small school star was simply unstoppable, combining for 4,510 yards of total offense and accounting for 57 touchdowns, leading the Skyhawks to a 9-4 record.
QB Corey Robinson
6-3/195/Senior
Lone Oak (Paducah, Ky.)
Next Stop: Undecided
All-American Credentials: Robinson obliterated the national record with 91 touchdown passes. He completed 383-of-520 passes for a state-record 5,872 yards with just four interceptions during a 14-1 campaign. In his three-year career, he completed 613-of-962 passes for 9,271 yards and 132 touchdowns.
RB Jacquizz Rodgers
5-6/175/Senior
Lamar Consolidated (Rosenberg, Texas)
Next Stop: Oregon State
All-American Credentials: Texas' 4A Offensive Player of the Year ran for 2,391 yards and 29 touchdowns while also grabbing 22 passes for 438 yards and three more trips to the end zone. "Mr. Touchdown" led the Mustangs to a state title and finished his career with over 8,000 yards on the ground and a state record 136 touchdowns.
RB/DB Cameron Saddler
5-6/157/Senior
Gateway (Monroeville, Pa.)
Next Stop: Pittsburgh
All-American Credentials: Saddler churned out 2,310 all-purpose yards and 28 touchdowns for the 11-2 Gators. The future Panther's primary role was at running back, where he ran for 1,706 yards and 22 scores.
RB/WR D.J. Shoemate
6-0/221/Senior
Servite, (Anaheim, Calif.)
Next stop: USC
All-American Credentials: Dominant offensive force rushed 241 times for 1,291 yards and 20 touchdowns while catching 40 passes for 570 yards and four more scores for 9-3 Friars. Could end up at safety for Pete Carroll's Trojans.
RB Alex Thomas
5-9/180/Senior
Ansonia (Ansonia, Conn.)
Next Stop: Yale
All-American Credentials: MaxPreps' lone Ivy League-bound honoree, Thomas dominated Connecticut and wound up setting four state records. Thomas ran for season records of 3,578 yards and 47 touchdowns, and brought his career record totals to 8,261 yards and 114 touchdowns. Ansonia won the final 27 games of Thomas' career and captured the state's Class S title Dec. 1.
PK Blair Walsh
5-8/185/Senior
Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Next Stop: Georgia
All-American Credentials: Walsh converted 14 of 22 field goals - two at 59 yards - and all but one of 34 extra points. He averaged 70.4 yards on kickoffs and 90 percent were touchbacks. Cardinal Gibbons head coach Mike Morrill had the confidence to allow the future Georgia Bulldog to attempt a 67-yard kick that had the distance but sailed right. He kicked 36 field goals in his career.
RB Marcus Wright
5-7/180/Senior
Reagan (San Antonio, Texas)
Next Stop: Tulsa
All-American Credentials: Wright helped turn a young a school that opened its doors in 1999 into a playoff force in tradition-rich Texas. Named the state's 5A Offensive Player of the Year, Wright carried the Rattlers to an 11-3 record with 3,374 yards on the ground and 45 touchdowns in 2007, finishing with 7,036 yards and 86 touchdowns for his career.
* MaxPreps' Kevin Askeland, Dave Krider, Steve Spiewak and Mitch Stephens contributed to this report.