ATLANTA -- Alabama, the nation's No. 2 college football team, dominated the All-Southeastern Conference football squad announced Tuesday by United Press International.
The Crimson Tide, one of only two unbeaten 1-A teams entering Saturday's game at No. 10 Auburn, placed seven men on the 24-member lineup, including running back Siran Stacy, a junior college transfer, who didn't become Alabama's starting tailback until midseason -- and then only because of an injury.
Stacy, who has rushed for 1,025 yards and scored 18 touchdowns, two shy of the SEC single-season record, was joined in the backfield by record-setting LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson and junior running backs Emmitt Smith of Florida and Rodney Hampton of Georgia.
Others from Alabama are linebacker Keith McCants, receiver Lamonde Russell, 300-pound offensive lineman Terrill Chatman, center Roger Shultz, defensive lineman Willie Wyatt, and defensive back John Mangum.
Rounding out the offensive unit are receiver Tony Moss of LSU and linemen Ed King ofAuburn, Mike Pfeifer of Kentucky and Eric Still of Tennessee. David Browndyke of LSU is the kicker for the third straight year.
Others on the defensive unit are linemen Oliver Barnett of Kentucky, Marion Hobby of Tenneessee, David Rocker of Auburn, and Tony Bennett of Mississippi; linebackers Huey Richardson of Florida and DeMond Winston of Vanderbilt; and backs Ben Smith of Georgia, and John Wiley of Auburn.
The punter is Kent Elmore of Tennessee.
In individual honors, in balloting by writers and sportscasters in the seven-state region, Smith was named the SEC's top offensive player, McCants the top defensive player and Alabama's Bill Curry the SEC Coach of the Year.
Smith has rushed for a league-leading 1,446 yards with another game to go. With a career total of 3,775 yards, he could surpass Herschel Walker, who had 5,259 yards while playing only three seasons for Georgia, if he returns in 1990 and equals this year's performance.
'Emmitt Smith is a total team football player who happens to be a superstar,' Florida Coach Gary Darnell said. 'His accomplishments, game after game, sometimes tend to be taken for granted.'
McCants, a 6-foot-5, 256-pound junior, is one of five finalists for the Butkus Trophy.
'He looks like an elephant and he runs like a deer,' Kentucky Coach Jerry Claiborne said.
With Alabama having a shot at its first national championship in a decade -- if the Crimson Tide can win at Auburn Saturday and beat No. 3 Miami in the Sugar Bowl -- Curry's selection was a foregone conclusion.
Smith, Stacy and Hampton, who has rushed for 963 yards, were all overwhelming choices, with Smith unanimous. The only other running back with any support of consequence was Tennessee freshman Chuck Webb, who took over at tailback for the No. 8 Volunteers after Reggie Cobb was suspended. Webb is the SEC's No. 2 rusher, with 1,236 yards, going into Saturday's finale against Vanderbilt.
Hodson, a senior, was the All-SEC quarterback as a sophomore in 1987 but was beaten for that honor last year by Reggie Slack of Auburn. This year he won by a slender margin over Gary Hollingsworth of Alabama, with Slack a distant third.
Although LSU, one of the preseason conference favorites, was only 4-7 in 1989, Hodson threw for 2,655 yards and 22 touchdowns and wound up with SEC career passing records for yardage (9,115), touchdowns (69), completions (674) and attempts (1,164). Hodson, who topped the 2,000-yard mark in all four of his seasons, wound up with 1,530 more yards and 13 more TDs than previous record holder Kerwin Bell of Florida.
Hollingsworth and Slack, who go head-to-head Saturday, have thrown for 2,039 and 1,722 yards respectively with both having 11 TD passes -- half as many as Hodson.
'A lot of people who booed Tommy this year because of our won-lost record should be ashamed,' said LSU Coach Mike Archer. 'He is the greatest quarterback in Southeastern Conference history.'
In addition to Slack, other 1988 All-SEC performers who played in 1989 but failed to repeat were running back Stacy Danley of Auburn, defensive lineman Bill Goldberg of Georgia and defensive back Lee Ozmint of Alabama.
