2009 CFN Midseason All-American Defense

The 2009 CFN Midseason All-America Defensive Teams.

2009 CFN Midseason All-Americans

Defense

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2009 CFN Midseason Reports  
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- 2009 CFN Midseason All-America Offense

First Team Defense>Terrence Cody, Sr. Alabama
Alabama leads the nation in defense and is third against the run, and it all works around its monster anchor. The stats aren't there, but tackles don't measure Mount Cody's worth. He gums up the works in the middle and allows the rest of the great Tide line to operate.

DL - Jerry Hughes, Sr. TCU
Everyone knows all about him after last year, and everyone does everything possible to block the All-America pass rusher, and nothing is working. Hughes has gotten stronger and even quicker since last year, and even though he's occupying more blocks than last season, he's still producing at a high level week after week.

DL - Gerald McCoy, Jr. Oklahoma
He's another Tommie Harris. The junior isn't just one of the quickest tackles in college football, he's also one of the strongest. The rock in the middle the line works around, he's a rock against the run and is fantastic in collapsing the pocket. He all but destroyed BYU by himself with four tackles for loss, and he came up with two against Texas.

DL - Ndamukong Suh, Sr. Nebraska
He was the best player in college football over the first half of the season. The senior does it all for the Husker defense with 36 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in the first six games. He also came up with an interception against Missouri.

LB - Lee Campbell, Sr. Minnesota
Arguably the nation's most underappreciated top playmaker, the senior has done it all for the Minnesota defense with 87 tackles over the first seven games with 13 tackles against Syracuse, Wisconsin, and Penn State. A model of consistency, he has cleaned up everything the mediocre defensive line hasn't been able to get to, and he has been a clutch playmaker on third down stops.

LB - Greg Jones, Jr. Michigan State
While he struggled early in the season, he still made a ton of tackles with 15 against Central Michigan, 14 against Wisconsin, and 13 against Montana State. He had to be more disruptive and he had to start doing more at the point of attack, and he did that as he started to make more plays in the backfield and even came up with two sacks against Illinois.

LB - Eric Norwood, Sr. South Carolina
Part defensive end and part linebacker, he has been a playmaker no matter where he lines up. A sackmaster to start the season, with six in the first four games, he was held in check as a pass rusher over the last few weeks. However, he has still been a playmaker and a force for the defense (and let's just excuse the day by Alabama RB Mark Ingram).

DB - Eric Berry, Jr. Tennessee
Some players don't live up to their hype, but Berry is bringing it every week and has been every bit as good as advertised. He hasn't made the big plays against the pass that he had in his first two years, but he came up with 14 tackles against Auburn, came up with a key fumble return against Georgia, and he has been all over the field making things happen game in and game out.

DB - Perrish Cox, Sr. Oklahoma State
One of the nation's most consistent playmakers, Cox picked off five passes in the first six games and broke up nine tackles. Along with being a tremendous kickoff returner, he has grown into a dangerous shutdown defensive back who has to be avoided.

DB - Joe Haden, Jr. Florida
He only made two interceptions and three broken up passes in the first six games, but that's because no one wanted to throw his way. A strong tackler who has found ways to make plays in a variety of ways, he can get into the backfield, he's great in run support, and he forces quarterbacks to change what they want to do.

DB - Tyler Sash, Soph. Iowa
He got on the map with three interceptions against Iowa State, and he made five picks in the first seven games, but his real worth has been as a run defender, making 52 tackles with five tackles for loss, and he has turned into a hard-hitting intimidator who joins LB Pat Angerer as the stars of a great Hawkeye D.

P - Drew Butler, Soph. Georgia
The son of Bulldog legend, Kevin Butler, was a big question mark going into the season. Could he be consistent? He has answered any concerns with a monster first half of the year averaging 49.38 yards per kick, more than two yards more than anyone else.

PR - Jeremy Kerley, Jr. TCU
Others are averaging more per return, but Kerley has been more of a hammer-dropper. His punt return for a score against Colorado State was one of the most brilliant plays of the first half of the season, and he all but ended the SMU game with a return for a score. He has to be avoided at all costs.

Second Team Defense

DL - Jeremy Beal, Jr. Oklahoma State
DL - Jared Odrick, Sr. Penn State
DL - Brian Price, Jr. UCLA
DL - O'Brien Schofield, Sr. Wisconsin
LB - Pat Angerer, Sr. Iowa
LB - Reggie Carter, Sr. UCLA
LB - Sean Weatherspoon, Sr. Missouri
DB - Kurt Coleman, Sr. Ohio State
DB - Brandon Harris, Soph. Miami
DB - Earl Thomas, Soph. Texas
DB - Trevin Wade, Soph. Arizona
P - Zoltan Mesko, Sr. Michigan
PR - Antonio Brown, Jr. Central Michigan

Third Team Defense

DL - Carlos Dunlap, Jr. Florida
DL - Ryan Kerrigan, Jr. Purdue
DL - Jammie Kirlew, Sr. Indiana
DL - Derrick Morgan, Jr. Georgia Tech
LB - Chris Galippo, Soph. USC
LB - Like Keuchly, Fr. Boston College
LB - Brian Hendricks, Soph. Wyoming
DB - Myron Lewis, Sr. Vanderbilt
DB - Kyle McCarthy, Sr. Notre Dame
DB - DeAndre McDaniel, Jr. Clemson
DB - Darrell Stuckey, Sr. Kansas
P - Derek Epperson, Jr. Baylor
PR - Emmanuel Sanders, Sr. SMU

- 2009 CFN Midseason All-America Offense