Oct. 5, 2006
ATLANTA–Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson sparked a convincing win for the Yellow Jackets at Virginia Tech last weekend, and the fans have rewarded him for his outstanding play. Johnson has been selected as this week’s Cingular All-America Player of the Week, the only major college football award chosen exclusively by college football fans.
Johnson earned the award after leading the Yellow Jackets to a 38-27 win at No. 10 Virginia Tech on Saturday. The wide receiver had six receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns to help Georgia Tech (4-1, 2-0 ACC) jump to the top of the standings in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division.
Johnson received 53% of the votes to beat out Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe (28%), Navy quarterback Brian Hampton (10%) and Purdue wide receiver Selwyn Lymon (9%). Each player was nominated for this week’s award by a panel of ESPN college football analysts based on their outstanding performances last weekend.
A first-time winner of the Cingular All America Player of the Week, Johnson was nominated for the award for the second consecutive week. In those two games, he has 11 receptions for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
Johnson joins Rutgers running back Ray Rice, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, and Michigan wide receiver Mario Manningham on this year’s winner’s list.
Fans can register to vote for the Cingular All-America Player of the Week throughout the season by text messaging “VOTE” to “87654” on their wireless phone, with the nominees being revealed each Sunday on the 9 a.m. ESPN SportsCenter and on the Web at www.espnallamerica.com. Fans have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the following Wednesday to submit their votes. The winner will then be announced during ESPN’s Thursday night college football game. Fans can vote as many times as they like, with each vote counting as one entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2007 BCS National Championship game.
Cingular customers can visit Cingular’s NCAA® Football Portal on their wireless handset to view video highlights of each week’s candidates, retrieve photos, check scoreboards, track their favorite teams, and download school ringtones.
In December, four finalists for the Cingular All-America Player of the Year award will be announced during a one-hour special on ABC Sports. Fans will then get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the Cingular All-America Player of the Year up until the Bowl Championship Series. The selection process will culminate during the BCS National Championship game on FOX when the Cingular All-America Player of the Year will be presented.
Last year, Texas quarterback Vince Young was crowned as the Cingular All-America Player of the Year, beating out Southern California teammates Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart and Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. Young was the second Longhorn to claim the award, after running back Cedric Benson won the inaugural honor in 2004.
