Drummond & Calhoun Selected FWAA All-Americans
12/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State fifth-year senior defensive back Kurtis Drummond has been named first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, while junior defensive lineman Shilique Calhoun has earned second-team honors. For the third straight season, the official announcement of the FWAA All-America Team, the second-longest continuously-published team in major college football, came Wednesday, Dec. 17 exclusively on SiriusXM Radio's "College Football Nation."
Since 2007, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio has helped develop nine first-team All-Americans (eight different players): running back Javon Ringer, 2008; linebacker Greg Jones, 2009-10; defensive tackle Jerel Worthy, 2011; running back Le'Veon Bell, 2012; cornerback Darqueze Dennard, 2013; punter Mike Sadler, 2013; offensive lineman Jack Allen, 2014; and Drummond, 2014.
A two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, Drummond becomes just the fifth safety in program history to earn first-team All-America honors, joining Jim Ellis, 1951-52; Allen Brenner, 1968; Brad Van Pelt, 1971-72; and Bill Simpson, 1973. The 2014 Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year was previously named All-American by USA TODAY (second team), Associated Press (third team), Athlon Sports (third team) and SI.com (honorable mention).
He became the first two-time All-Big Ten First Team safety at MSU since John Miller (1988-89) and just the fifth in school history (Drummond, Miller, Phil Parker: 1983-84-85, Thomas Hannon: 1975-76, and Van Pelt). Drummond shared the MSU Downtown Coaches Club Award as the outstanding senior on defense with defensive end Marcus Rush.
The 6-foot-1, 202-pound Drummond leads the Spartans in tackles (65), interceptions (4) and pass break-ups (career-high 11). He leads the Big Ten in passes defended (career-high 15: 4 interceptions and 11 pass break-ups) and ranks second in pass break-ups and tied for sixth in interceptions. Drummond also ranks among the NCAA FBS leaders in passes defended (19th at 1.3 per game) and interceptions (31st at 0.3 per game). In addition, he has been credited with three tackles for losses (10 yards).
Drummond anchors a Spartan secondary that ranks among the NCAA FBS leaders in passing efficiency defense (fourth at 102.9 rating), interceptions (tied for 11th with 17) and passing yards allowed (25th at 196.0 yards per game).
"Kurtis Drummond is an extremely hard worker, who has been a three-year starter and two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection," Dantonio said. "Kurtis has great ball skills and awareness. He's the quarterback of our secondary.
"With what we expect from our free safety, Kurtis is really isolated a lot and almost plays like another cover corner, especially with the way the game is now stretched horizontally. He's an extremely confident player, who performs his best in the big games."
"Kurtis Drummond is one of the smartest players that I've ever coached," Spartan secondary coach Harlon Barnett said. "He's like a coach on the field. Kurtis is a solid all-around safety. He's a solid tackler in the open field, an outstanding cover guy, and he has great ball skills."
A native of Masury, Ohio, Drummond closed the regular season by tying his career high with two pass break-ups while also leading the Spartans with six tackles in the 34-10 win at Penn State, MSU's largest margin of victory ever at Beaver Stadium.
On Senior Day against Rutgers, Drummond led the Spartan secondary with 15 production points, as he recorded his fourth interception of the season and compiled six tackles. He had 14 production points in the road win over Maryland with three tackles, a 15-yard interception return and two pass break-ups.
Drummond tallied a career-high 11 stops and broke up a pass against No. 14 Ohio State.
In the 35-11 victory over Michigan, Drummond collected two pass break-ups and six tackles, including a 4-yard loss, to lead the secondary with 21 production points.
In the first two conference games, Drummond opened Big Ten play with nine stops, including a 5-yard loss, and broke up a pass against No. 19 Nebraska, then followed with a team-high seven tackles and a pass break-up at Purdue.
In non-conference play, Drummond had interceptions against Wyoming and Jacksonville State and recovered a fumble vs. Eastern Michigan.
Drummond, who was elected a co-captain at the beginning of the season, has started a team-high 33 consecutive games at free safety. He has 226 tackles in 51 career games and ranks tied for seventh in school history in interceptions (12), 11th in passes defended (33) and 12th in interception return yards (148). Drummond ranks tied for ninth among all active NCAA FBS leaders with 12 career interceptions. His career totals also include 12 tackles for losses (55 yards), three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Drummond has accepted an invitation to play in the 2015 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
The 6-foot-5, 256-pound Calhoun was previously named All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation (second team), Athlon Sports (fourth team) and SI.com (honorable mention).
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 eighth 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 is a guy up font that faced a bunch of double teams as well as offenses sliding protections to his side," Narduzzi said. "He's a guy that if an offense is going to attempt to block him one-on-one, we had great confidence that he could beat a blocker and put pressure on the quarterback. I happened to recruit him as well, and he's a super person and a leader on our defense."
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 (seventh with 174), sack yardage (eighth 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.
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.
