Senior offensive lineman Omar Smith and sophomore tight end Derek Smith have been picked first-team All-Southeastern Conference by The Associated Press.
Omar Smith was the leader of the offensive line, starting six games at right guard and five games at left tackle when Matt Brown was injured. Smith played very well, despite the frequent flip-flopping of positions. Smith’s blocking helped UK lead the SEC and rank 11th nationally in total offense with 445 yards per game. His pass blocking helped UK rank second nationally in passing offense. UK allowed only 22 quarterback sacks this season, the fewest of the Hal Mumme era.
The selection of Omar Smith marks the third time under Hal Mumme and offensive line coach Guy Morriss that a UK lineman hasbeen chosen first-team All-SEC by AP. Current UK graduate assistant John Schlarman was a first-team All-SEC offensive guard bythe AP in 1997 and tackle Kris Comstock was first team in 1998. Derek Smith follows in the footsteps of James Whalen, who wasthe AP first-team tight end in 1999.
Derek Smith led the Wildcats in pass receiving this season with 50 receptions for 716 yards and five touchdowns. He alsocaught a pair of two-point conversions. He was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s best tight end. Three of his best games came against nationally ranked teams eight catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns in “The Swamp” atFlorida; five for 108 yards against Georgia; and six for 102 yards vs. Mississippi State.
In addition to The Associated Press, Derek Smith has been named first-team All-SEC by The Sporting News, Football Newsmagazine, Collegiate Sports Southeast cable TV network and by the CollegeFootballNews.com Internet site.
Jared Lorenzen Pass Makes College Football Plays of the Year: Jared Lorenzen’s no-look, over-the-head completedpass to Derek Homer late in the Georgia game has been chosen as one of ESPN’s plays of the year in college football and will befeatured several times on the network throughout the remainder of the bowl season. The first showing of the plays of the year isexpected to be on Thursday night during the college football awards show.
