Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns had seven players earn a spot on the 2009 All-Sun Belt football team, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
For the second consecutive year, senior offensive linemen Brad Bustle and Chris Fisher were each named to the first team. Also named to the first team was junior punter Spencer Ortego, who makes his first appearance on the All-SBC team.
Senior linebacker Antwyne Zanders made the squad with second team honors this season after receiving the same accolade in 2007 and honorable mention recognition in 2008. Sophomore tight end Ladarius Green was also named to the second team in 2009.
Junior linebacker Grant Fleming and sophomore cornerback Dwight Bentley were honorable mention selections. Fleming was named honorable mention All-SBC as a true freshman in 2007.
Sophomores Green and Bentley represent two of just 13 underclassmen on the All-SBC team.
Fisher (Three-time All-Sun Belt selection, 2008-09 Rimington Trophy Watch List, 2009 Lombardi Award Watch List, 2009 Outland Trophy Watch List) and Bustle (Two-time All-Sun Belt selection, 2009 Lombardi Award Watch List) helped the Cajuns offense: Rank 16th in the NCAA in fewest sacks allowed, despite attempting 186 more passes than a season ago; Commit the fewest penalties in the Sun Belt; Lead the conference in red zone offense (88.6%) and convert the most third downs in the SBC. They did not allow a sack to Nebraska defensive line tandem of Ndamukong Suh (2009 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner) and Jared Crick, who combined for 21.5 sacks this season – the third highest teammate total in the nation.
Ortego helped the Cajuns lead the Sun Belt in net punting thanks to a 40.6 punting average and just a 1.9-yard per return average. He was tops in the SBC, allowing only 21 punt return yards during conference play – an average of just 0.5 yards per return. Ortego placed third in the conference with 13 punts of 50? yards. He had 15 punts inside the opponent 20-yard line and 15 fair catches, impressive considering the Cajuns started 27 drives at or inside their own 15-yard line.
Zanders (Three-time All-Sun Belt selection) led the Cajuns with 103 tackles and 10 tackles-for-loss. He placed fourth in the Sun Belt in total tackles, sixth in tackles per game and ninth in tackles for loss. The senior linebacker posted the highest tackle total by a Cajuns player since 1996. He made at least five tackles in every game and at least eight tackles in eight games. Zanders had a season-best 15 tackles in the Cajuns upset of Big XII-member Kansas State.
Green (2009 Mackey Award Watch List) was a mid-season addition to the Mackey watch list – one of three underclassmen on the 22-man midseason list. The six-foot-six tight end led the Cajuns in receiving yards, despite missing three games due to injury. He ranked third in the Sun Belt in receiving yards per game and tallied the longest reception in the conference this season (91 yards) – it was the third longest reception in school history and fourth longest in SBC history. Green made 18 receptions in five conference games, boasting 19.3 yards per catch and 69.4 yards per game, ranking third in yards-per-game and third in yards-per-catch among all receivers in the SBC.
Fleming (Two-time All-Sun Belt selection) placed second on team in total tackles and eighth overall in the conference. He ranked fifth in conference only games in total tackles and led the Cajuns with three forced fumbles, which tied for the second most in the SBC. The junior linebacker recovered a ULM fumble with 86 seconds left in the game to seal victory. Fleming entered the season still recovering from ACL surgery, but hit his stride six weeks into the season – making 68 tackles over the final eight games (8.5 tackles-per-game).
Bentley led all Cajuns defensive backs in tackles and ranked fourth on the team with 58 tackles. He tied for the team lead with three interceptions, while breaking-up five passes. The sophomore cornerback had the sixth most interceptions in the conference. Bentley returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown vs. North Texas and produced a defensive extra point vs. Florida Atlantic. He ranked 35th in tackles in the Sun Belt and had a sack, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble vs. Troy.
