Safety J.R. Reed was named first-team All-Conference USA on Wednesday, becoming South Florida's first all-conference player in the Bulls' inaugural C-USA season.
Reed accrued school-record totals of seven interceptions this season and 18 in his career, and he was second on the Bulls with 100 tackles this season.
Reed also was named second-team kick returner behind Southern Miss' John Eubanks, though Reed returned more kicks (18 to 16) in fewer games (11 to 12) and had a higher return average (31.7 to 30.0) than Eubanks.
Five other USF players earned all-league distinction: Maurice Jones (second-team linebacker), Lee Roy Selmon Jr. (third-team defensive line), Kevin Verpaele (third-team safety), Derrick Sarosi (third-team offensive line) and Stephen Nicholas (all-freshman linebacker). Jones had 116 tackles this season, one shy of the school record set by Kawika Mitchell last season.
Though USF finished tied for third in the league standings, it was tied for seventh in number of players named to the all-conference teams. C-USA will announce its players and coach of the year today.
NCAA CONFIDENTIAL: A judge ruled the NCAA can keep certain investigative information confidential in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by two former Alabama assistant coaches. Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Steve Wilson ruled any information the NCAA obtained through confidentiality agreements will not be made public.
The ruling came in a defamation suit filed by Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams against the NCAA and six other defendants. The former coaches had requested to see the entire file from the NCAA's investigation, which culminated with Alabama being placed on probation for recruiting violations mostly committed under former coach Mike DuBose.
Under the order, the NCAA and one of its enforcement representatives, Richard A. Johanningmeier, can stamp information confidential. If a party objects to the designation, the judge can review the material and determine if he should order its public release. The NCAA, Johanningmeier and freelance sports recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper had sought confidentiality.
Cottrell and Williams are seeking $15-million in compensatory damages and $45-million in punitive damages, claiming they have been unable to find comparable employment since being implicated in the NCAA investigation.
PEACH FOR VOLS?: Tennessee may be headed back to the Peach Bowl despite its 10-2 record. The No.7 Vols' plans to spend New Year's Day in the Sunshine State were muddied after No.16 Florida (8-4) accepted an invitation to the Outback Bowl, which had been Tennessee's likely destination.
The Vols are being considered as one of two at-large teams for the BCS. If they are not chosen, they could be picked by the Capital One Bowl. It had been expected that if the Capital One chose the loser of Saturday's SEC championship between LSU and Georgia, the Outback would take Tennessee. With the Outback out of the picture, the next bowl in line for SEC teams is the Peach, where Tennessee finished 8-5 a year ago after a 30-3 loss to Maryland.
Though Tennessee has a better record than Florida and beat the Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the Outback was allowed under its contract with the league to pick Florida and not wait for the Capital One to announce its matchup. Florida was not eligible to represent the SEC in the Capital One because it didn't have enough wins, SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said.
Tennessee, Ohio State (10-2) and Texas (10-2) are candidates for the two at-large spots among the eight BCS teams playing in the Sugar, Fiesta, Rose and Orange bowls, BCS spokesman John Paquette said. That means a non-BCS bowl can't lock in Tennessee until the BCS picks its teams Sunday.
MORE BOWLS: Mississippi will play in the Cotton Bowl for the first time in 42 years. The No.17 Rebels are the SEC pick for the Jan.2 game in Dallas.
COACH CHANGES: Nevada athletic director Chris Ault, the winningest coach in school history, will return as head coach for a third time to try to snap a five-year stretch without a winning record. The move came three days after the firing of Chris Tormey, whose best record in four seasons was this year's 6-6. Ault, 56, won seven conference championships and posted a 163-63-1 record during 19 seasons from 1976-92 and 1994-95. ... Lee Owens, fired by Akron, replaced Gary Keller as Division II Ashland's (Ohio) coach. Owens was 7-5 this season at Akron, 40-61 overall. Ashland finished 2-9 in its past two seasons.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Backup quarterback Bennett Swygert is leaving, saying he wants to transfer to a school where he will have a better chance to play. The redshirt freshman said coach Lou Holtz told him the Gamecocks would use an I formation next season that would require the quarterback to run more than in the past. Swygert had two ACL surgeries on his left knee in a two-year span.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
