Neill Named SI.com All-American
Dec 08 | Football
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers fifth-year senior defensive end Ryan Neill (Wayne Hills, NJ) has earned All-America (honorable mention) recognition by Sports Illustrated's web-site, www.SI.com.
Neill, who earlier this week was named first team All-BIG EAST for a second-consecutive season, was a defensive force all season for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers finished the 2005 regular season with a 7-4 mark and will play in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 27, facing Arizona State.
Neill ranks second in the BIG EAST and fifth nationally with 20.5 tackles for loss this season, resulting in a combined loss of 89 yards. The 6-3, 265-pound lineman is tied for third in the league and 20th in the nation in sacks with 9.0 through Rutgers' regular season. Neill anchors a defensive unit that is tied with Nebraska as the national leader with 46 sacks. He ranks fifth on the Rutgers all-time sack list with 18, and his nine sacks this season rank ninth on the school's single-season list.
The tri-captain leads all defensive linemen and is fourth on the team in tackles with 65 and has registered 24 quarterback hurries this season. Neill has also forced a pair of fumbles this season, and has one fumble recovery.
Neill was a finalist for the Hendricks, Wuerffel and Awards and Recognition Association (ARA) Sportsmanship awards and a semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy in 2005. The consensus preseason All-BIG EAST defensive end was a Rotary Lombardi Trophy and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete candidate during the regular season. He was named to the ESPN The Magazine District 2 Academic All-America team earlier this season.
