Illini's O'Donnell receives 'great honor'

Illinois senior left guard Martin O'Donnell earned first-team All-American recognition from the Associated Press on Tuesday.

That made the 2003 Downers Grove South graduate the Illini's first AP first-team pick since linebacker Kevin Hardy in 1995.

Michigan tackle Jake Long, Penn State linebacker Dan Connor and Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis also represented the Big Ten on the first team.

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound O'Donnell had not been so much as honorable mention all-Big Ten prior to this season, which shows how the national media has rushed to credit individual players for Illinois' improvement from 2-10 in 2006 to 9-3 this season.

Interestingly, the 12-man Associated Press panel's voting doesn't jibe with Illinois' own evaluations.

O'Donnell wasn't recognized as Illinois' top lineman at last week's team banquet. That honor went to junior left tackle Xavier Fulton.

"This is a great honor," O'Donnell said. "This more of a tribute to the offensive line as a whole. This year, we really came together as a group and improved each week.

"It all starts with the coaches. The coaches are a huge part of that, especially (offensive line) Coach (Eric) Wolford. This is a really great way to show the offense that we have been recognized for all the hard work we have put in over the season."

Illinois senior middle linebacker J Leman received AP second-team honors, making this the eighth national first- or second-team award for the Champaign product.

Michigan running back Mike Hart reaped second-team honors, even though Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year.

lwillhite@dailyherald.com