University of Richmond Athletics
Hightower, Rogers Earn All-America Honors From College Sporting News
Jan. 8, 2008
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Senior tailback Tim Hightower and freshman kick returner Justin Rogers were named to the College Sporting News Fabulous 50 All-America Team, which was announced last week by the CSN staff. It marks the third All-America honor for Hightower this season and the first of Rogers' career.
Hightower put the finishing touches on a remarkable career by finishing sixth in the NCAA in rushing (137.4 yards/game) and breaking 12 Richmond records in 2007. Among the records Hightower etched his name by were the single-season and career rushing marks, the single-season and career scoring records and the single-game rushing record.
All of this has vaulted the senior from Waldorf, Md. to this, his third All-America honor (CSN, Associated Press, Walter Camp), a runner-up finish in the Dudley Award voting and the seventh-leading vote-getter for the Walter Payton Award. He is schedule to play in the Texas Vs. The Nation All-Star Game in El Paso on February 2.
Rogers finished as the nation's third-leading kickoff returner, with an average of 30.4 yards on his 33 returns. The freshman returned kickoffs for touchdowns on two occasions (Vanderbilt and New Hampshire) and was one of just seven in the nation with multiple returns for TD.
Both his total return yardage for the season (1,002) and his average (30.4) are school records, while his 93-yard return at Vandy ranks as the fourth-longest in school history. He also had returns of 85 and 84 yards against New Hampshire. The Baton Rouge, La. native owns three of the top four kickoff return performance in school history with a school-record 222 yards versus New Hampshire, 217 yards against Appalachian State (second-most) and 201 yards at Vanderbilt (fourth-most).
In all, 37 teams and 13 conferences were represented on the team. Appalachian State landed four players on the squad, Delaware had three, while nine other teams had multiple selections - Richmond, Eastern Washington, Elon, James Madison, Montana, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Prairie View A&M and San Diego.
Henry Frazier III of Prairie View A&M was named the Coach of the Year, Georgia Southern's Jayson Foster earned Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Appalachian State's Corey Lynch took the Defensive Player of the Year award
Unlike other All-American teams, the CSN squad is designed to be like a real team, capable of taking the field and competing in a game. It includes everything from quarterbacks, who can run or pass and often-overlooked fullbacks, to long snappers and other special team performers.