The First of Many Awards

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis was named a first team All-America by Rivals.com on Wednesday afternoon. The Bruceton, Tenn., native, led the Southeastern Conference for the second-straight season with 137 tackles and is a finalist for both the Bronko Nagurski Award for the top defensive player and the Butkus Award for the best linebacker.

Willis was one of six players from the SEC to make the first team, joining offensive players Darren McFadden (RB, Arkansas), Robert Meachem (WR, Tennessee), Ben Grubbs (OL, Auburn), Glenn Dorsey (DL, LSU) and Reggie Nelson (S, Florida). Eleven more players from the SEC were selected for the second and third teams.