Dec. 9, 2008
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — One day after earning All-Southeastern Conference honors from sportswriters, Vanderbilt cornerback D.J. Moore and linebacker Patrick Benoist added similar recognition from the league’s head coaches, the SEC office announced Tuesday.
The coaches named Moore, from Spartanburg, S.C., to the first team All-SEC defense, and selected Benoist, from Southlake, Texas, to the second team unit.
SEC Western Division Champion Alabama had a league-high 10 representatives on the 2008 All-Southeastern Conference Coaches’ Football Team, while SEC Champion Florida had nine, the league office announced on Tuesday. Both Alabama and Florida had five members each on the first team.
The SEC office is expected to release the coaches’ individual award winners Wednesday and the coaches’ All-Freshman Team on Thursday.
A second-team selection by the SEC coaches last year, Moore became the first Commodore defensive back since Corey Chavous to receive first team recognition by the coaches. Chavous was named in 1997.
Moore put together one of the most versatile seasons ever by a Commodore player, effectively contributing as a cornerback, wide receiver, running back and return specialist. As a defensive back, he established a new single-season high with six interceptions, ranking second in the conference to Tennessee’s Eric Berry. He also added 54 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a team-high six defensed passes.
A three-year starter, Moore is the SEC’s active career leader with 13 interceptions.
Benoist was twice named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for outstanding individual performances. He set single-season highs in virtually every statistic category, including tackles (100), solo tackles (46), tackles for loss (6.5), quarterback hurries (3) and defensed passes (4).
There were only two unanimous selections to this year’s All-SEC squad – Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno and Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players, thus a unanimous selection earns 11 of 12 first-team votes.
The squad also had nine first-team seniors (only two on defense) and 18 underclassmen, including 14 juniors and four sophomores and one freshman. There were no freshmen on the first team. Wide receivers Julio Jones of Alabama and A.J. Green of Georgia were both recognized on the second team and were the only freshmen listed. Alabama junior Javier Arenas made the team twice – once as a second-team return specialist and once as a second-team defensive back.
2008 ALL-SEC FOOTBALL TEAM(*-Ties / #-Unanimous Selection) (Coaches could not vote for their own players)
| Pos. | Name | School | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC — OFFENSE | ||||||
| TE | Jared Cook | South Carolina | 6-5 | 240 | Jr. | Suwanee, Ga. |
| OL | Andre Smith | Alabama (T) | 6-5 | 330 | Jr. | Birmingham, Ala. |
| OL | Michael Oher | Ole Miss (T) | 6-5 | 318 | Sr. | Memphis, Tenn. |
| OL | Phil Trautwein | Florida (T) | 6-6 | 310 | Sr. | Voorhees, N.J. |
| OL | Herman Johnson | LSU (G) | 6-7 | 375 | Sr. | Olla, La. |
| C | Antoine Caldwell | Alabama (C) | 6-3 | 305 | Sr. | Montgomery, Ala. |
| WR | Percy Harvin | Florida | 5-11 | 195 | Jr. | Virginia Beach, Va. |
| WR | Mohamed Massaquoi | Georgia | 6-2 | 204 | Sr. | Charlotte, N.C. |
| QB | Tim Tebow | Florida | 6-3 | 240 | Jr. | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| RB | #Knowshon Moreno | Georgia | 5-11 | 208 | So. | Belford, N.J. |
| RB | Charles Scott | LSU | 5-11 | 233 | Jr. | Saline, La. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC — OFFENSE | ||||||
| TE | *Richard Dickson | LSU | 6-3 | 246 | Jr. | Ocean Springs, Miss. |
| TE | *D.J. Williams | Arkansas | 6-2 | 250 | So. | Little Rock, Ark. |
| OL | Garry Williams | Kentucky (T) | 6-3 | 300 | Sr. | Louisville, Ky. |
| OL | Anthony Parker | Tennessee (G) | 6-3 | 300 | Sr. | Jonesboro, Ga. |
| OL | *Ciron Black | LSU (T) | 6-5 | 325 | Jr. | Tyler, Texas |
| OL | *Mike Pouncey | Florida (G) | 6-5 | 312 | So. | Lakeland, Fla. |
| OL | *John Jerry | Ole Miss (T) | 6-5 | 350 | Jr. | Batesville, Miss. |
| OL | *Mike Johnson | Alabama (G) | 6-6 | 299 | Jr. | Pensacola, Fla. |
| C | Jonathan Luigs | Arkansas (C) | 6-4 | 314 | Sr. | Little Rock, Ark. |
| WR | Julio Jones | Alabama | 6-4 | 210 | Fr. | Foley, Ala. |
| WR | A.J. Green | Georgia | 6-4 | 200 | Fr. | Summerville, S.C. |
| QB | Matthew Stafford | Georgia | 6-3 | 228 | Jr. | Dallas, Texas |
| RB | Glen Coffee | Alabama | 6-1 | 198 | Jr. | Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. |
| RB | Michael Smith | Arkansas | 5-7 | 173 | Jr. | Tallahassee, Fla. |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC — DEFENSE | ||||||
| DL | Peria Jerry | Ole Miss | 6-2 | 290 | Sr. | Batesville, Miss. |
| DL | Terrence Cody | Alabama | 6-5 | 365 | Jr. | Ft. Myers, Fla. |
| DL | *Robert Ayers | Tennessee | 6-3 | 270 | Jr. | Clio, S.C. |
| DL | *Antonio Coleman | Auburn | 6-3 | 250 | Jr. | Mobile, Ala. |
| LB | Brandon Spikes | Florida | 6-3 | 245 | Jr. | Shelby, N.C. |
| LB | Rennie Curran | Georgia | 5-11 | 228 | So. | Snellville, Ga. |
| LB | *Eric Norwood | South Carolina | 6-1 | 253 | Jr. | Acworth, Ga. |
| LB | *Rolando McClain | Alabama | 6-4 | 249 | So. | Decatur, Ala. |
| LB | *Micah Johnson | Kentucky | 6-2 | 250 | Jr. | Ft. Campbell, Ky. |
| DB | #Eric Berry | Tennessee (S) | 5-11 | 195 | So. | Fairburn, Ga. |
| DB | D.J. Moore | Vanderbilt (CB) | 5-10 | 182 | Jr. | Spartanburg, S.C. |
| DB | Trevard Lindley | Kentucky (CB) | 6-0 | 175 | Jr. | Hiram, Ga. |
| DB | Rashad Johnson | Alabama (S) | 6-0 | 186 | Sr. | Sulligent, Ala. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC — DEFENSE | ||||||
| DL | Greg Hardy | Ole Miss | 6-4 | 265 | Jr. | Millington, Tenn. |
| DL | *Myron Pryor | Kentucky | 6-1 | 310 | Sr. | Louisville, Ky. |
| DL | *Malcolm Sheppard | Arkansas | 6-3 | 277 | Jr. | Bainbridge, Ga. |
| DL | *Sen’Derrick Marks | Auburn | 6-2 | 296 | Jr. | Mobile, Ala. |
| LB | Dominic Douglas | Miss. State | 6-2 | 235 | Sr. | Clinton, Miss. |
| LB | Patrick Benoist | Vanderbilt | 6-0 | 222 | Jr. | Southlake, Texas |
| LB | Jasper Brinkley | South Carolina | 6-2 | 269 | Sr. | Thomson, Ga. |
| LB | Rico McCoy | Tennessee | 6-1 | 220 | Jr. | Washington, D.C. |
| DB | Emanuel Cook | South Carolina (S) | 5-10 | 203 | Jr. | Riviera Beach, Fla. |
| DB | *Javier Arenas | Alabama (CB) | 5-9 | 198 | Jr. | Tampa, Fla. |
| DB | *Ahmad Black | Florida (SS) | 5-9 | 190 | So. | Lakeland, Fla. |
| DB | *Joe Haden | Florida (CB) | 5-11 | 185 | So. | Ft. Washington, Md. |
| DB | *Derek Pegues | Miss. State (S) | 5-10 | 196 | Sr. | Batesville, Miss. |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC — SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||||
| PK | Colt David | LSU | 5-9 | 172 | Sr. | Grapevine, Texas |
| P | Tim Masthay | Kentucky | 6-2 | 203 | Sr. | Murray, Ky. |
| RS | Brandon James | Florida | 5-7 | 186 | Jr. | St. Augustine, Fla. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC — SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||||
| PK | Joshua Shene | Ole Miss | 5-8 | 170 | Jr. | Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| P | *Brian Mimbs | Georgia | 5-11 | 209 | Sr. | Dublin, Ga. |
| P | *Chas Henry | Florida | 6-4 | 215 | So. | Dallas, Ga. |
| RS | Javier Arenas | Alabama | 5-9 | 198 | Jr. | Tampa, Fla. |