Dec. 5, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State junior defensive end Antwan Applewhite (Torrance, Calif.) and senior linebacker Joe Martin (Palmdale, Calif.) earned all-Mountain West Conference honors for their performances this season, the league office announced Tuesday. Applewhite was named to the first team, while Martin was a second-team honoree. Both were MWC honorable mention selections in 2005.
A 2006 preseason all-conference choice, Applewhite ended the year with a league-leading seven sacks for a loss of 52 yards. He had at least one sack in each of the final six games, posted a team-best nine tackles for loss and logged 53 stops overall in his second full season as a starter.
Applewhite is the first Aztec defensive lineman to garner first-team all-league honors since Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila did so three straight years from 1997-99. Applewhite is currently tied for eighth in school history with 17.0 career sacks.
Martin led San Diego State in tackles in 2006 with a career-best 109, ranking third in the Mountain West Conference and 26th nationally. The co-captain was named league defensive player-of-the-week twice in 2006, including this past Monday, after recording 14 tackles in the team's victory over Colorado State. Martin ended his career with 214 tackles and logged seven games with 10 or more stops, with four of those coming this season.
A former walk-on, Martin's selection marks the fifth straight year that the Aztecs' starting middle linebacker has been named either a first or second team all-league pick. Kirk Morrison was a three-time first-team honoree from 2002-04, while Freddy Keiaho was tabbed to the first team in 2005.
Three Aztecs also garnered honorable mention all-league honors, including freshman running back Atiyyah Henderson (Rockledge, Fla.), senior center Patrick Justman (Palo Alto, Calif.) and junior defensive end Nick Osborn (Kensington, Calif.). Henderson was fifth in the league in rushing yards per game (63.7) and logged back-to-back 100-yard performances against Air Force (142 yards) and Cal Poly (140 yards). Justman started all 12 games in his first season at center, while Osborn had a career-high 58 tackles.
The Aztecs ended the 2006 campaign with a 3-9 overall record, including a 3-5 mark in conference play to tie for sixth place.
2006 Mountain West All-Conference Football Awards (SDSU only)
First Team: Defense
DL - Antwan Applewhite, Junior
Second Team: Defense
LB - Joe Martin, Senior
Honorable Mention
Atiyyah Henderson, Fr., RB; Patrick Justman, Sr., C; Nick Osborn, Jr., DL