Herbie Awards, Jackson

Several Cal players have garnered spots on Kirk Herbstreit‘s Seventh Annual Herbie Awards (ESPN), which he gives to “the best college football players, coaches, teams and fans from across the nation.” It’s good to see Cal players getting some well-deserved national respect. Here is a summary of the awards:

• Best Wide Receivers – Speed To Burn: #1 DeSean Jackson
• Dream Offensive Line – The Hogmollies: #1 Alex Mack, Center
• Best Tight Ends – Block And Catch: #5 Craig Stevens
• Best Quarterbacks – Old School: Classic Dropback Style: #6 Nate Longshore
• Top True Freshmen: Jahvid Best, RB
• What’s My Name – Players who will be household names by Oct. 1: Justin Forsett, RB
• Favorite Playcallers – Keeping defenses off-balance: Jeff Tedford

EDIT by ERIC: There was also a nice mention of Jackson on today’s College Football Live by Todd McShay (Scouts Inc.) regarding the best pass catchers:

“Two of college football’s best pass catchers could be tight ends… now for the rest of the Wide Receivers there is no Calvin Johnson in college football this year but there are a lot of very good receivers. At the top of the list I have DeSean Jackson who beats out other guys like Mario Manningham, Limas Sweed, Earl Bennett and Adarius Bowman simply because of his versatility. I love the fact that he’s one of the premiere open field runners in the nation, catches the ball well, and while he’s small he’s tough and not afraid to go over the middle. That’s why I have Jackson ahead of this list. Throw in his kick return ability and punt return ability and to me he’s a special playmaker right up there with the best of them in college football.” [/JY]