ATLANTA - AT&T today announced Ole Miss' Dexter McCluster as this week's All-America Player of the Week award recipient, as voted by college football fans across the nation.
A senior from Largo, Fla., McCluster posted school records of 282 rushing yards and 324 all-purpose yards in Saturday's 42-17 win over Tennessee. McCluster rushed for four TDs, which ties the second-most in school history. He was also named Walter Camp Football Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
Boise State wide receiver Austin Pettis placed second, with Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett and North Carolina cornerback Kendric Burney placing third and fourth, respectively. Each of the players was nominated by ESPN based on their outstanding performances last week.
"AT&T congratulates Dexter for his tremendous performance for Ole Miss last week, and we wish him the best of luck throughout the season," said Tim McGhee, executive director, AT&T corporate sponsorships. "College football draws the most passionate fans, and this award gives them the chance to select the AT&T All-America Player of the Week all season long."
Fans can register to vote for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week by text messaging** VOTE to 345345 on their wireless phones any time during the season. They have until 11:59 p.m. ET each Wednesday to participate in that week's voting. The winner then will be announced every Thursday during halftime of ESPN's College Football Primetime Game Presented by Applebee's. Standard text messaging rates apply.
There is no limit on fan voting and each vote counts as one entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2010 Bowl Championship Series National Championship game in Pasadena, Calif. Full sweepstakes rules can be found at www.espnallamerica.com/rules.aspx.
In December, four finalists for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year Award will be announced during a one-hour special on ESPN in conjunction with the announcement of the AT&T ESPN All-America Team as selected by the Football Writers Association of America. Fans will then get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year through the BCS games. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 5, and the winner will be announced during the BCS National Championship game on ABC on Jan. 7.
Last year, Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell was crowned as the AT&T All-America Player of the Year, beating out an impressive field of nominees including Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. Voting for the 2008 AT&T All-America Player of the Year was the highest total in the five year history of the award.
