Tide Paces SEC Squad; Bear Honored
Boca Raton News
December 3, 1979
ATLANTA (AP) - The first teammates in Southeastern Conference history to rush for 1,000 yards each, Auburn's James Brooks and Joe Cribbs, and a record eight players from top-ranked Alabama were named today to The Associated Press All-SEC team for 1979.
Bear Bryant, who is only 20 victories away from becoming college football's winningest coach in history, was named Coach of the Year after steering his No.1 Crimson Tide to the SEC title for the eighth time in nine years.
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| Paul "Bear" Bryant |
Brooks and Cribbs who combined for the third largest rushing total by teammates in NCAA history with 2,328 yards, were runaway choices for the running back spots on the team. Brooks won the SEC rushing title with 1,208 yards and Cribbs was second with 1,120.
Alabama which won a incredible 102 games in the 1970's, claimed four offensive and four defensive positions, erasing the previous record of seven members on the AP team shared by Georgia in 1976, Georgia Tech in 1952 and three straight Alabama teams starting in 1971.
The Crimson Tide honorees consisted of quarterback Steadman Shealy, center Dwight Stephenson, guard Mike Brock, and tackle Jim Bunch on the offensive unit and end E.J. Junior, tackle David Hannah, linebacker Thomas Boyd and cornerback Don McNeal on defense.
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| Joe Cribbs Auburn University |
The wide receiver spots went to the top two pass catchers in the league, Preston Brown of Vanderbilt and Chris Collingsworth of Florida, with Reggie Harper of Tennessee claiming the tight end berth.
Rounding out the offense were three players from runnerup Georgia - tackle Matt Braswell, placekicker Rex Robinson and Ray Donaldson, a center who was placed on the team at guard since he and Alabama's Stephenson generally were considered the top two offensive lineman in the conference.
Joining the Alabama quintet on defense were end Lyman White of Louisiana State, tackle Frank Warren of Auburn, middle guard Richard Jaffe of Kentucky, linebacker Freddie Smith of Auburn, defensive Roland James of Tennessee, Scott Woerner of Georgia, and Willie Teal of LSU and punter Jim Miller of Mississippi.
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| Cris Collingworth University of Florida |
Stephenson was named to the team for the third straight year. Other repeaters were Collingsworth, Brock, Cribbs, Junior, Warren, James and Miller.
Harper, Braswell and Robinson moved up from last year's second team, and two others were All-SEC first team picks in 1977 - Alabama's Bunch and Auburn's Smith.
Hannah joined his brothers Charles and John as all conference performers during the 1970's. John made it at offensive guard for Alabama in 1971 and 1972 and Charles was a all league defensive tackle for the Crimson Tide in 1976.
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| Don McNeal University of Alabama |
Cribbs, a senior, led the SEC in scoring with 15 touchdowns and 98 points and became the No.3 rusher in conference history with a career total of 3,368 yards, trailing only Charles Alexander of LSU with 4,035 yards and Sonny Collins of Kentucky with 3,835.
Brown led the league in receiving with 52 catches for 786 yards, and Collingsworth second with 41 for 593.
Harper hauled in 24 passes for 323 yards for the Vols.
Shealy led the Crimson Tide in rushing with 791 yards and also completed 45 of 81 passes for another 717 yards.
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| Steadman Shealy University of Alabama |
Miller, a barefoot kicker, finished third in the nation with a 44.6 average, but led the nation in net punting with a 42.4 average after deducting a 115 yards in punt returns.
Robinson, a junior, already holds two SEC records-40 career field goals and 65 consecutive extra points.
Alabama placed six other players on the second team-tackle Buddy Adeylette and running backs Major Ogilvie and Steve Whitman on offense, and end Wayne Hamilton (Leesburg High School, Okahumpka Florida), tackle Byron Braggs, and freshmen safety Tommy Wilcox on defense.
Others on the No.2 offensive unit were wide receiver Mardye McDole of Mississippi State, end Felix Wilson of Kentucky, tackles George Stephenson and Tim Irvin of Tennessee, guards Tom Kearns of Kentucky and Alan Hartlein of Mississippi State, center Joe Ed Bradley of LSU, quarterback John Fourcade of Ole Miss, running Frank Mordica of Vandy, and placekicker Jorge Portela of Auburn.
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