Honors for First-Year Orange Gridders
12/16/2009 3:11:11 PM | Football
Syracuse football student-athletes Alec Lemon, Chandler Jones, #E.J. Carter and Nick Speller# were honored by The Sporting News on the magazine's BIG EAST All-Freshmen Team, while Lemon, Carter, #Shamarko Thomas and Phillip Thomas# were selected to the ESPN.com All-BIG EAST Freshman Team. Lemon, Thomas, Carter and Thomas, earn the honors as true freshmen, while Jones and Speller achieve the recognition in their first year of collegiate play. Jones and Speller did not play as true freshmen in 2008. Syracuse is one of four league teams with at least four players honored by the Sporting News and one of five schools with at least four on the ESPN.com team.
The second-leading receiver for the Orange, Lemon had 29 receptions for 295 yards and a touchdown in 11 games. His 29 receptions ranks second on Syracuse's record list for receptions by a freshman. In the last game of the year, Lemon had a career-best nine receptions for a personal-high 140 yards and a touchdown. He is from Crofton, Md.
Jones, a defensive end, had 52 tackles, including 33 solo and 10 for a loss of yards. He also had 1.5 sacks. Against Louisville he led the Orange with 10 tackles en route to earning a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Jones, whose brother, Arthur, was Syracuse's starting All-BIG EAST nose tackle, hails from Endicott, N.Y.
A native of Orlando, Fla., Carter, who started 8-of-the-10 games he played at linebacker, finished with 24 tackles, including two sacks and four for a loss of yards.
Speller, an offensive tackle from Baltimore, Md., started nine games at left tackle for the Orange. He and the offensive line blocked for 1,000-yard rusher Delone Carter.
A native of Virginia Beach, Va., Shamarko Thomas, started at three positions, safety, cornerback and linebacker, in his rookie season. He was with the first unit in seven of the 12 games he played. and had 41 tackles, including 30 solo, 6.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
A cornerback and safety, Phillip Thomas started the final three games of the season and played in 11. The Miami, Fla. native had 29 tackles, including 23 solo, and two interceptions.
