Alabama Frosh Trio Honored

Alabama freshmen Barrett Jones, Trent Richardson and Nico Johnson were named to the 2009 Sporting News Freshman All-Southeastern Football Team, the long-time sports publication announced Wednesday.

Alabama (13-0, 8-0) captured its 22nd SEC Championship with a 32-13 win over Florida in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta on Dec. 5. The Crimson Tide will now face Texas in the BCS National Championship Game on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Barrett Jones started all 13 games for the Tide at right guard and helped the Crimson Tide offense churn out 215.8 rushing yards and 413.8 total yards per game this season. He also cleared the path for sophomore Mark Ingram’s school record 1,542 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns this season. The Memphis, Tenn., native was twice named Alabama offensive player of the week this season by the Tide coaching staff.

Trent Richardson played in all 13 games at running back this season for the Crimson Tide. The Pensacola, Fla., native was the Crimson Tide’s second-leading rusher with 642 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry this season. He also caught 14 passes for 107 yards. He was twice named SEC Freshman of the Week following wins over Florida International and Arkansas. In the win over the Golden Panthers, Richardson had 15 rushing attempts for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 23 yards. In his SEC debut against Arkansas, Richardson had nine carries for 65 yards, including a highlight-reel 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Nico Johnson played in 11 games and made two starts and had an increased role in the Tide’s defense after the season-ending injury to preseason All-SEC linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Johnson recorded 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss (-18 yards) and one sack (-15 yards). He also added two pass breakups and forced one fumble. Johnson turned in his best game of the season with a career-high eight tackles and one sack (-15 yards) in the Tide’s 12-10 win over Tennessee on Oct. 24 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. He also added four tackles in wins over Florida International and Chattanooga. Johnson recorded two stops and one tackle for loss (-1 yard) in Alabama’s SEC Championship game win over Florida.