ORLANDO, Fla. — University of Colorado inside linebacker Jordon Dizon was named to the oldest and most prestigious All-America team Thursday, as he was selected to the Walter Camp Football Foundation team, which was introduced to the nation on the ESPN Home Depot Awards show that aired from here.

Dizon, a 6-0, 225-pound senior, played his prep ball at Waimea High School on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.  He is the sixth Colorado linebacker to earn first-team All-America honors, the first since Matt Russell in 1996.   The others include Bud Magrum in 1972, Alfred Williams and Kanavis McGhee in 1989, and Williams again in 1990.

Williams won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 1990, with Russell claiming the honor in ’96; Dizon will remain in Orlando for this year’s ceremony, as he is one of three finalists for the award presented annually by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando. 

               Dizon was the league coaches’ choice as the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player-of-the Year, CU’s first defensive player to earn the nod since 1992 (CB Deon Figures).  He was also named first-team All-Big 12 by both the Associated Press and the coaches.

In all, this is the 62nd time a Colorado Buffalo has earned first-team All-America honors, the 57th different player to do so as six earned the nod twice.

“This is a tremendous honor for Jordon,” CU head coach Dan Hawkins said.  “As I have said before, it’s nice when the right players are recognized with the right awards.  He so humble and such a great leader and team player, it’s good to see him rewarded this way.  He is the standard, on and off the field.”

               Jordon wrapped up his regular season career with 160 tackles, second in the nation, and was first in solo stops (120).  He is also the nation’s second active leading tackler, finishing fourth all-time at Colorado with 440 career stops. 

               What really stood out about his year were the other numbers he amassed that complemented his tackle count.  And he had plenty: 19 third/fourth down stops (a school record by one); 11 tackles for loss, including four sacks; 14 tackles for zero (meaning he had 25 tackles for zero or minus yardage).  Add to that two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown in a 31-26 win at Texas Tech (the Red Raiders’ lone home loss this season); eight quarterback hurries; three passes broken up (for a total of five passes defended by NCAA count); two near-sacks; one forced fumble, one caused interception and one touchdown save.  He also played on four special teams units over the course of the season.

               In short, wherever the opponent and the ball seemed to go, most often Dizon was there to meet them.  And all this came against the 15th toughest schedule in the nation (as ranked by USA Today/Sagarin).  And he was consistent; in CU’s four games against schools currently ranked (all in the top 13), he had 54 tackles, with eight for losses and seven third down stops; in Colorado’s eight games against schools ranked at some point during the season, he had 107 stops. 

“This has been a great experience, mingling with the best of college football,” Dizon said from Orlando.  “Every which way you turn, there’s someone you easily recognize.  Not only my peers, but legends of the game.  It’s really humbling and reinforces the fact how lucky I am to be here and what an honor it is to be selected as an All-American.  It’s a dream come true.” 

Penn State’s Dan Connor and Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis join Dizon as finalists for the Butkus Award, which will be announced just after 7 p.m. mountain time Friday evening.  CU linebacker coach Brian Cabral will also be in Orlando Friday for the banquet.

Colorado has had seven different players earn a total of nine major postseason awards dating to Williams’ winning CU’s first in 1990; that ranks as the ninth most by any school in this time frame. 

The 2007 Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America teams:

 FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

WR   Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech, Fr. 6-3, 208, Dallas, Texas

WR   Jordy Nelson, Kansas State, Jr. 6-3, 217, Riley, Kan.

TE     Travis Beckum, Wisconsin, Jr. 6-4, 224, Milwaukee, Wisc.

OL    Jake Long, Michigan, Sr., 6-7, 315, Lapeer, Mich.

OL    Sam Baker, USC, Sr., 6-5, 305 Tustin, Calif.

OL    Anthony Collins, Kansas, Jr., 6-5, 310 Beaumont, Texas

OL    Tony Hills, Texas Sr. 6-6, 305, Houston, Texas

C       Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas, Jr., 6-4, 307, Little Rock, Ark.

QB    Tim Tebow, Florida Soph. 6-3, 235, Jacksonville, Fla.

RB    Darren McFadden, Arkansas, Jr., 6-2, 215, Little Rock, Ark.

RB    Kevin Smith, Central Florida, Jr., 6-1, 211, Miami, Fla.

PK     John Sullivan, New Mexico, Sr., 5-10, 152, Tehachapi, Calif.

 FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE

DL     Glenn Dorsey, LSU, Sr., 6-2, 303, Gonzales, La.

DL     Chris Long, Virginia, Sr., 6-4, 284, Ivy, Va.

DL     George Selvie, South Florida, Soph., 6-4, 242, Pensacola, Fla.

DL     Sedrick Ellis, USC, Sr., 6-2, 305, Chino, Calif.

LB     Dan Connor, Penn State, Sr., 6-2, 233, Wallingford, Pa.

LB     James Laurinaitis – Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 240, Hamel, Minn.

LB     Jordon Dizon, Colorado, Sr., 6-0, 220, Kauai, Hawai’i

DB    Aqib Talib, Kansas, Jr., 6-2, 205, Richardson, Texas

DB    Antoine Cason, Arizona, Sr., 6-0, 185, Long Beach, Calif.

DB    Craig Steltz, LSU, Sr., 6-2, 209, New Orleans, La.

DB    Jamie Silva, Boston College, Sr., 5-11, 210, East Providence, R.I.

P       Kevin Huber, Cincinnati, Jr., 6-1, 220, Cincinnati, Ohio

KR    Felix Jones, Arkansas, Jr., 6-0, 207, Tulsa, Okla.

 SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE

WR   Mario Manningham, Michigan, Jr., 6-0, 178, Warren, Ohio

WR   James Hardy, Indiana, Jr., 6-7, 220, Fort Wayne, Ind.

WR   Devone Bess, Hawaii, Jr., 5-10, 190, Oakland, Calif.

TE     Marvin Rucker, Missouri, Sr., 6-6, 255, St. Joseph, Mo.

OL    Ryan Clady, Boise State, Jr., 6-6, 317, Rialto, Calif.

OL    Barry Richardson, Clemson, Sr., 6-7, 330, Mount Pleasant, S.C,

OL    Ryan Stanchek, West Virginia, Jr., 6-4, 300, Cincinnati, Ohio

OL    Duke Robinson, Oklahoma, Jr., 6-5, 352, Atlanta, Ga.

C       Steve Justice, Wake Forest, Sr., 6-4, 284, Port Orange, Fla.

QB    Chase Daniel, Missouri, Jr., 6-0, 225, Southlake, Texas

RB    Michael Hart, Michigan, Sr., 5-9, 202, Syracuse, N.Y.

RB    Ray Rice, Rutgers, Jr., 5-9, 205, New Rochelle, N.Y.

PK     Thomas Weber, Arizona State, Fr., 6-1, 202, Downey, Calif.

 SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE

DL     Vernon Gholston, Ohio State, Jr., 6-4, 264, Detroit, Mich.

DL     Greg Middleton, Indiana, Soph., 6-3, 270, Indianapolis, Ind.

DL     Greg Hardy, Mississippi, Soph. 6-5, 255, Millington, Tenn.

DL     Bruce Davis, UCLA, Sr., 6-3, 234, Houston, Texas

DL     Jonal SaintDic, Michigan State, Sr., 6-1, 255, Elizabeth, N.J.

LB     J Leman, Illinois, Sr., 6-3, 243, Champaign, Ill.

LB     Keith Rivers, USC, Sr., 6-3, 235, Lake Mary, Fla.

LB     Shawn Crable, Michigan, Sr., 6-5, 243, Massilon, Ohio

DB    Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest, Jr., 5-9, 191, Pahokee, Fla.

DB    Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State, Sr., 6-1, 208 Piscataway, N.J.

DB    Trey Brown, UCLA, Sr., 5-9, 189, Overland Park, Kan.

DB    Brandon Flowers, Virginia Tech. Jr.. 5-10, 200, Delray Beach, Fla.

P       Durant Brooks, Georgia Tech, Sr., 6-0, 202, Macon, Ga.

KR    Kevin Robinson, Utah State, Sr., 6-0, 199, Fresno, Calif.