Calhoun & Waynes Named Walter Camp All-Americans
12/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State junior defensive end Shilique Calhoun and junior cornerback Trae Waynes have been named second-team All-Americans by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, as selected by NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors. The 125th Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America Team, the nation's oldest all-star lineup, was announced live Thursday, Dec. 11 on The Home Deport College Football Awards show on ESPN.
Michigan State is the only Big Ten team with multiple players named to the Walter Camp All-America Teams. Calhoun also earned Walter Camp All-America second-team honors last season.
With his second-straight selection to the All-Big Ten First Team, Calhoun entered elite company in Michigan State history, joining College Football Hall of Famer Charles "Bubba" Smith (1965-66) and Sam Williams (1957-58) as the only other Spartan defensive ends to earn back-to-back first-team All-Big Ten honors. He also received MSU's Up Front Award as the team's outstanding defensive lineman.
A year after being named the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, Calhoun continued to produce big plays for the Spartans in 2014. Calhoun is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (11.0 for 97 yards) and ranks second in sacks (6.5 for 79 yards). He ranks second in the Big Ten and seventh in the FBS in sack yardage (79 yards) and second in the conference and ninth in the FBS in tackles for loss yardage (97).
Calhoun, a co-captain, also ranks among the Big Ten leaders in sacks (tied for 10th with 0.54 per game) and tackles for loss (tied for 13th with 0.92 per game), and leads the Spartan defensive linemen with 37 tackles overall. In addition, Calhoun blocked a field goal in the Wyoming game and recovered a fumble and returned it 38 yards against No. 19 Nebraska.
A product of Middletown, New Jersey, Calhoun was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award, which is awarded to the Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year. He was also one of 12 semifinalists for the Lombardi Award (college lineman of the year) and one of 20 quarterfinalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.
"A two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, Shilique Calhoun has emerged as an outstanding leader on defense," MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said. "He's an exciting, explosive player, who plays with great technique. Much like our football team, Shilique has become one of the hunted as opposing offenses have to account for No. 89 on every play."
"Shilique Calhoun plays with a passion and zeal for the game which are second to none," MSU defensive line coach Ron Burton said. "But it's his ability to lead as a captain of our team that has given us to chance to compete for championships."
The 6-foot-5, 256-pound Calhoun had a tackle for loss in nine of MSU's 12 regular-season games. He recorded a tackle for loss in his eighth straight game with a 2-yard loss at Maryland, as the Spartans held the Terrapins to just 6 yards rushing.
Calhoun led the Spartan defense with 19 production points against No. 14 Ohio State, recording five tackles, including 1.5 for losses (9 yards) and a half sack (4 yards). He also led the Spartan defensive linemen with 15 production points in the win over Michigan Oct. 25, including three solo tackles with a 5-yard sack.
Calhoun paced the Spartans with 17 production points at Indiana after collecting four tackles, including 2.5 for losses (20 yards) and one sack (11 yards).
In MSU's Big Ten opener, a 27-22 win over No. 19 Nebraska, Calhoun had four tackles, including a 7-yard sack, and scooped up an Ameer Abdullah fumble at the MSU 7-yard line and returned it 38 yards.
Calhoun ranks among MSU's all-time leaders in tackles for loss yardage (sixth with 174), sack yardage (seventh with 125), sacks (tied for 10th with 15), and fumble recoveries (tied for 10th with five). In 39 career games, including 26 consecutive starts, he has 80 tackles with 27.5 resulting in losses (34 percent). His 27.5 tackles for loss rank 17th in school history.
The 6-1, 182-pound Waynes was named first-team All-Big Ten by both the league's head coaches and media, becoming MSU's third first-team all-conference cornerback under Coach Dantonio (Johnny Adams, 2011-12; Darqueze Dennard, 2012-13). He was presented MSU's Jim Adams Award as the team's unsung hero on defense.
Named one of 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top defensive back by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, Waynes ranks second on the team with a career-best seven pass break-ups and tied for second with three interceptions. He ranks sixth on the team with 43 tackles (37 solo, 12 assists), including two for loss (9 yards) with a 4-yard sack.
Waynes is one of the main factors why the Spartans rank fourth in the NCAA FBS in passing efficiency defense (102.9 rating) and 25th in passing defense (196.0 ypg.).
"Trae Waynes is an outstanding cover corner," Dantonio said. "We place Trae on an island because he has the ability to run and play the deep ball. He's also an excellent tackler, especially on the perimeter. Trae has played both field and boundary corner this season."
"Trae Waynes is very similar to (2013 All-American and Jim Thorpe Award winner) Darqueze Dennard," MSU secondary coach Harlon Barnett said. "He's a complete corner. Trae is a solid tackler in the open field; he can cover and he has good ball skills. He's fast, tough and physical.
"This season, his focus on technique helped take his game to a whole new level, which allowed him to play with great confidence."
In the regular-season finale at Penn State, Waynes recorded his third interception of the season and sixth of his career. He also broke up a pass and had four stops against the Nittany Lions.
The Kenosha, Wisconsin, native was selected the Spartan Defensive Player of the Week after limiting Rutgers' Leonte Carroo to one catch for 6 yards while recording three tackles. Carroo entered the game ranked second in the Big Ten, averaging 93.3 receiving yards per game.
Waynes led the secondary with 20 production points, including four tackles and a pass break-up, in Michigan State's 37-15 win at Maryland.
He recorded five tackles and a pass break-up in MSU's 35-11 win over Michigan Oct. 25, the Spartans' biggest win (24 points) over the Wolverines since 1967. Waynes helped the secondary limit Michigan to 125 yards passing.
Waynes recorded a career-best two tackles for loss (9 yards), including a 4-yard sack, in MSU's 56-17 win at Indiana Oct. 18. He led the secondary with 20 production points at Purdue after collecting five tackles and recovering a fumble in the fourth quarter.
In the Big Ten opener against No. 19 Nebraska, Waynes tied his career high with two interceptions and also posted career bests in tackles (7) and pass break-ups (2). His second interception with 30 seconds remaining in the game sealed the 27-22 victory over the Huskers.
Waynes, who has started 26 consecutive games, has 98 tackles, six interceptions and 12 pass break-ups in 35 career contests.
Michigan State (10-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten), which finished No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, will face No. 5 Baylor (11-1 overall, 8-1 Big 12) in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, at 12:30 p.m. ET in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It marks the first-ever appearance for the Spartans in the Cotton Bowl Classic, which dates back to 1937.
