Tide’s Smith wins SEC’s Jacobs Trophy

BIRMINGHAM | University of Alabama sophomore left tackle Andre Smith was named the co-recipient of the 2007 Southeastern Conference Jacobs Trophy, presented annually to the league’s most outstanding blocker, the SEC office announced Wednesday.

Smith is the only UA offensive lineman to start all 12 games at the same position this season. On Tuesday, he was named First-Team All-SEC by the league’s head coaches. Smith has started at left tackle in all 25 games in his UA career and scored on a 2-yard lateral in last year’s Independence Bowl against Oklahoma State.

Smith becomes the 19th player in school history to win the Jacobs Trophy and the first since Wesley Britt was honored in 2004. Other Crimson Tide winners include Riley Smith (1935), Leroy Monsky (1937), Hal Self (1946), Butch Avinger (1949 & 1950), Billy Neighbors (1961), Butch Wilson (1962), Cecil Dowdy (1966), John Hannah (1972), Buddy Brown (1973), Sylvester Croom (1974), Bob Cryder (1977), Dwight Stephenson (1979), Wes Neighbors (1986), Howard Cross (1988), Tobie Shiels (1993), Chris Samuels (1999) and Britt (2004).

Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, LSU defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey and Arkansas’ return specialist Felix Jones were voted as the SEC’s top offensive player, top defensive player and top special-teams player, respectively.

The league’s coaches also selected Kentucky tight end Jacob Tamme and Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno as the league’s scholar-athlete of the year and top freshman performer.

Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom was voted by his peers as the SEC Coach of the Year.

Croom, in his fourth year at the helm of the MSU football program, led the Bulldogs to a 7-5 record in 2007. Under his direction, State earned a berth in the Liberty Bowl, its first postseason appearance since 2000, and the team’s four-win improvement was the best in the league this season.