Four Huskers Named First-Team All-Big 12

Four Nebraska football players were named to the 2006 AT&T All-Big 12 First Team released Tuesday, including senior quarterback Zac Taylor, who was honored by the league’s coaches as Offensive Player of the Year. The four NU selections marked the most for the program since it placed five on the 2003 All-Big 12 squad.

A native of Norman, Okla., Zac Taylor became the second Husker to be named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, joining two-time winner Eric Crouch (1999, 2001). Taylor enters Saturday’s Big 12 Championship game having set nearly every major Nebraska career and single-season passing record in only his second, and final, year on campus. He ranks ninth nationally, and second among Big 12 quarterbacks, in passing efficiency this season and has recorded school-record totals of 2,789 yards and 24 touchdowns while throwing only four interceptions.

Taylor was joined on the first team offense by senior teammate Dane Todd at fullback, while senior defensive end Adam Carriker and junior linebacker Bo Ruud also were selected. Ruud has put together a tremendous season in his second year as the starting WILL linebacker and leads the Blackshirt defense with three forced fumbles.

Carriker was the Huskers’ lone repeat selection, while he was also honored with the Big 12’s first annual Defensive Lineman of the Year award. He also became the first Nebraska defensive player named first-team All-Big 12 since linebacker Carlos Polk in 1999 and 2000. NU’s four first-team selections trailed only Oklahoma and Texas, which each notched five honorees.

Nebraska added three players to the All-Big 12 second team, headlined by senior defensive end Jay Moore, an honorable mention selection a year ago who has set a career high with four sacks this season. A pair of Husker first-year offensive starters joined Moore on the squad in juniors Brandon Jackson and Maurice Purify. Jackson leads NU this season in both rushing and all-purpose yards, while Purify has become a focal point of the Nebraska passing game by ranking first on the team in touchdown catches and receiving yardage and second in catches. 

Seven additional Huskers were named honorable-mention All-Big 12: senior linebacker Stewart Bradley, senior free safety Andrew Shanle, junior center Brett Byford, junior cornerback Cortney Grixby, junior linebacker Corey McKeon, sophomore I-back Marlon Lucky and sophomore offensive tackle Matt Slauson. Irving, Texas - The AT&T All-Big 12 Conference football teams and individual award winners have been announced.Selections are made by the league's 12 head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.

2006 Coaches' All-Big 12 Teams