Knowshon Moreno may have missed out on the Doak Campbell Award, but the AP was still kind enough to recognize him with something. Knowshon Moreno was named second-team AP All-American on Tuesday, becoming the first Georgia football player in three seasons to make the prestigious team. Moreno, a sophomore, rushed for 1,395 yards and 16 touchdowns, with another 329 yards receiving.

He was one of 25 players from the ACC or SEC to be named to one of the three teams.

Knowshon Moreno was all over the news when he burst on to the scene as a freshman in 2007. By all accounts, Knowshon had an even better sophomore season… so why isn’t there as much love for him this season? Most likely because Georgia fell off the map with their 3 losses. Georgia was the preseason No. 1 team in the country. Knowshon Moreno had a chance to be the star of that team to everyone in the country. You can put up the best stats in the country, but if only a select few media types in the south are watching, it’s hard to get recognized for your achievements.

Well, congratulations Knowshon for making the second-team AP All-American.

From AccessNorthGA.com:

Georgia sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno has been selected to the AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team, the American Football Coaches Association announced Thursday.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and is the only one chosen exclusively by the coaches themselves.

Moreno, a 5-foot-11, 208 pound native of Belford, N.J, has averaged nearly six yards per carry en route to a 1,338-yard rushing season through 12 games making him just the second player in Georgia history to record more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (Herschel Walker, 1980-83). Moreno, who also has 27 receptions for 329 yards, has scored 17 touchdowns his season, the most by a Bulldog since Garrison Hearst’s 21 in 1992.

Moreno leads the SEC in scoring with 102 points and rushing with an average of 111.5 yards per game. He is currently seventh in UGA history with 2,672 yards rushing in only two seasons.

The AFCA All-America team features 11 players on offense, 11 on defense and three specialists. The AFCA’s Football Bowl Subdivision All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine FBS districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts, that information, along with ballots submitted by FBS head coaches, are used to select the AFCA FBS Coaches All-America Team.

ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia redshirt sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno has been named one of three finalists for the 2008 Doak Walker Award, according to an announcement by the award’s selection committee.

Moreno is the only finalist from the Southeastern Conference for the Doak Walker Award, which is given annually to the nation¹s top collegiate running back.

Moreno, a 5-11, 208-pound native of Belford, N.J., has rushed for 1,244 yards this season making him only the second player in Georgia history to record more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (Herschel Walker, 1980-83). Moreno, who also has 23 catches for 255 yards and a score in 2008, has scored 16 touchdowns this season, which is the most touchdowns by a Bulldog since a record-breaking 21 by Garrison Hearst in 1992.

Through 11 games, Moreno has scored more points than anyone in the SEC (96) and leads the league in rushing (113.1 yards/game). He currently stands at the No. 7 spot in school history with 2,578 yards rushing in only two seasons.

Hearst won Georgia its only Doak Walker Award in 1992. Moreno joins Michigan State’s Javon Ringer and Iowa’s Shonn Greene as finalists for this year’s award.

Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs are on bye this weekend. They’re getting some much needed rest before the close the regular season with Georgia Tech next week. Tech looked very good last night against Miami. They must have rushed for 500 yards. There’s no doubt in a rivalry game like this, the Dawgs will have their work cut out for them.

It’s important that even though the SEC Title is out of reach, that Bulldog fans don’t start talking about next year. In fact, even Coach Richt talked about it: “I’ve been hearing a lot of talk lately, even on my call-in show, about next year, next year, next year,” Richt said. “I’m like, ‘Hold on, folks. We’ve got the most important game of the year right now. Let’s not forget.’”

Knowshon Moreno is still having a great year. I don’t think anyone can say they aren’t happy with his performance. he’s gone over 1,000 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns on the ground. He is draft eligible so next week’s game vs. Georgia Tech may be your last chance to see him play in Sanford Stadium.

With the Bulldogs now having two SEC losses, their National Championship hopes are gone. So where does the team, and specifically Knowshon Moreno, go from here? Will they be motivated to finish the season strong? Will Coach Richt still run Knowshon like has has the past 4-6 weeks? Will Knowshon play with heart?

In their two losses, Knowshon only has 99 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. It’s not that Alabama and Florida were keying in on Knowshon, because all teams do that. It’s that Coach Richt abandoned the run too early, especially in the Florida game. The game was still close into the 3rd quarter.

I think these final few weeks will be a big test for Knowshon Moreno and the Georgia Bulldogs. They need to respond with anger and emotion this week against Kentucky. I want to see that the players still have heart and won’t give up.

Last year in Jacksonville, Knowshon Moreno torched the Gators for 188 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 33 carries. It was this game that made Knowshon Moreno a household name. “He was tougher and more willful than we were that day,” UF safeties coach Chuck Heater said.

The Gator defense will be keying in on stopping Knowshon this time around. There won’t be any surprises. But does that mean they can stop him? Tennessee couldn’t. Vanderbilt couldn’t. LSU couldn’t.

“He’s a phenomenal football player. He’s just got it all,” UF defensive line coach Dan McCarney said. “When you’re in (coaching) as long as I’ve been, you see great running backs, super running backs. He’s as good as any I’ve ever coached against or had on my team.

“He’s as good as I’ve seen. … His consistency, his production, and he’s so physical, so tough. He’s great for the game of college football when you don’t have to try and tackle him like we do.”

I LOVE the respect he’s getting from the Gator defense. It will make it that much sweeter when he rolls over them.

Before I jump into this rumor, I want to apologize for my lack of updates over the past week. Because Georgia was on bye, I took a few days off to enjoy some free time. Well now it’s a game week, so back to work!

I just read the following on College Football Fantasy Insider:

Running back Knowshon Moreno (chipped elbow) has been practicing during the bye week and head coach Mark Richt indicated that Moreno may wear an elbow brace against Tennessee on Saturday.

There are never guarantees when it comes to starting players with injures, but all indications so far are that Moreno will play. Obviously the risk is yours to take.

A running back wearing a brace is never a good thing. It restricts range of motion, ball control, and stiff arm ability. Plus, Knowsho Moreno may be hesitant carrying the ball with one. It will constantly remind him on his elbow and he may lose grip on the ball.

I’m all for keeping Knowshon safe, but I’m not sure an elbow brace will help. What do you think?

As if the Bulldogs haven’t lost enough starters already. Word coming out on Monday was that Knowshon Moreno may miss the Tennessee game even with an extra week of rest. He injured his elbow pretty badly. Coach seems optimistic though.

“Knowshon has a chance to play in this next game,” Richt said. “He’s got a pretty good contusion on the elbow but he’s already beginning to get some good movement back.” Richt said trainer Ron Courson said there was a strong possibility Moreno could return, but injuries of this type can take time to heal.

I haven’t heard anything else yet this week on how he’s doing. If Knowshon can’t go, Caleb King will step in.

Knowshon Moreno is now the #1 running back in the country, according to rivals.com. Check out their rankings here. Moreno rushed for 149 yards and two TDs against Arizona State, and there’s no doubt that’s what propelled him to the top.Arizona State safety Troy Nolan said of Knowshon, “He’s an acrobat.” Probably referring to his Heisman leap in the 2nd quarter.

The Georgia Bulldogs were able to hold off the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday in a 14-7 victory. The average Bulldog showing caused them to drop in the AP rankings to #3. Remember, they started the season #1. South Carolina has a good defense, but there’s no excuse for the Bulldogs to not put up at least 30 points on them.

Knowshon Moreno had an OK day at best. He rushed the ball 20 times for 79 yards and 1 touchdown. He also added 2 receptions for 13 yards. Richt tried to get the running game going… they ran the ball 35 times as a team, but it just wasn’t working. Knowshon was able to slip in on a 4 yard run for his touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

Knowshon Moreno, who was the SEC Player of the Week last week, played like an Average Joe this week. Things won’t get any easier as the Dawgs have to travel across the country to play ASU for game 4.