2010 Daktronics All-America Team
SAN ANGELO – Angelo State punter
George Shamblen and return specialist
Garrett Tidwell became the 56th and 57th players in school history to be named all-Americans as both were voted to the Daktronics All-America First Team announced Tuesday afternoon. Shamblen and Tidwell are the first Angelo State players to earn first-team honors since Dane Krager in 2001, and mark the second consecutive season the Rams have had a player mentioned among the nation's elite.
Both players shined as bright spots for the Rams during a frustrating 5-5 campaign. Shamblen was selected as the nation's top punter and Tidwell was named the country's best kick return man as voted on by NCAA Division II sports information directors throughout the nation. The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems. A total of four Lone Star Conference players were named to the first team.
Shamblen, a junior from Miles, became the fourth ASU punter to be named an all-American and first since Jason Tebeaux (1994) by posting the fifth-best punting average in the nation at 43.39 yards per kick during the regular season. He placed 18 punts inside the 20 and logged 10 kicks of 50 yards or more in his first season back to football after a three-year absence. Shamblen earned All-LSC South Division First Team honors and was named the top punter on the Daktronics All-Super Region Four First Team. Shamblen was selected as the LSC South Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 1) after launching a career-best 72-yard punt against Abilene Christian.
“It feels really great to be named an all-American,” Shamblen said. “There are a lot of great punters out there so I didn't expect it. It's really exciting to be a part of ASU's great history. There are a lot of players that have had a chance to put on the Ram uniform and it's truly an honor to be recognized among the best. This is something I want to repeat and defend. I want to improve every part of my game and this award is certainly fuel for the fire.”
Tidwell, a senior from Boyd, was exciting to watch every time he touched the ball and proved he could score quickly with two punt returns for touchdowns. He led the Lone Star Conference during the regular season and was sixth nationally with 17.5 yards per punt return. Tidwell also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and was among the nation's leaders with 28.1 yards per return. Tidwell was selected to the All-LSC South Division First Team and was the top vote getter at return specialist on the Daktronics All-Super Region Four ballot. He was named LSC South Special Teams Player of the Week on Nov. 8. Tidwell closed his ASU career as the leader in single game (182), single season (740) and career (2,049) kick return yardage.
The duo joined Calvin Fance as the most recent all-America selctions. Fance, a member of the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders, was a 2009 Associated Press Little All-America Second Team after leading the nation in sacks per game from the defensive end position.
Unrelated to the award, Tidwell will join fellow seniors
Josh Neiswander and Jonathan Norcott at the All-American Bowl in Minneapolis this weekend. The game was scheduled to be played at the Metrodome before a collapsed roof forced the Sunday NFL game to be moved to Detroit. A new site for the game has not been announced.
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