Indiana University Athletics
Randle El Named Second Team All-Big Ten
11/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
November 7, 2000
Bloomington, Ind. -- The Big Ten Conference today announced its All-Conference football team for the 2000 season. Six Indiana University players were honored with junior quarterback Antwaan Randle El (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton) and junior linebacker Justin Smith (Indianapolis/Warren Central) earning second-team accolades. Senior safety Johnny Anderson (Ft. Pierce, Fla./C.C. of San Francisco), sophomore tackle Enoch DeMar (Indianapolis/Arsenal Tech), senior defensive tackle Paul Mandina (Rochester, N.Y./Webster), and senior kicker Andy Payne (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) all received honorable mention. Three of the aforementioned players are from the Indianapolis area.
For the second consecutive season, Randle El was recognized the Big Ten coaches and media as the Conference's second-team quarterback. He joins an impressive array of second-team skill players that includes Wisconsin running back Michael Bennett, Michigan State running back T.J. Duckett, Wisconsin wide receiver Chris Chambers, and Minnesota wide receiver all-big ten Ron Johnson. A leading candidate for the 2001 Heisman Trophy, Randle El is widely recognized as one of the nation's most exciting and explosive players. He finished the 2000 campaign with 3,053 total yards, including 1,270 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing and 1,783 yards and 10 touchdowns passing.
With a touchdown pass at Purdue, Randle El became only the second player in Division I-A history to score 200 points and pass for 200 points in a career. Earlier in the season, he became the only quarterback in the history of the Big Ten conference to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season and led all Division I-A quarterbacks in rushing with an average of 115.5 yards per contest. With 1,783 yards and 10 touchdowns passing, he came within 217 yards of becoming the first player in I-A history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. Randle El currently ranks seventh on the career rushing list for I-A quarterbacks with 2,931 yards (1st, Dee Dowis, Air Force 3,612 yards). He is also in fifth place on the Big Ten's career total offense list with 8,736 yards.
Smith earned second-team honors from the Big Ten coaches and honorable mention from the media. He finished the 2000 season second on the team in tackles (74), including a team leading 14 tackles for loss and 6 sacks. He also tallied four pass deflections and two forced fumbles.
A Butkus Award nominee, Smith forced a fumble at the goal line vs. Penn State that was recovered by Sharrod Wallace. Versus Minnesota, Smith forced a fourth quarter fumble by QB Travis Cole that helped seal an IU victory. Earlier in the season, he was named Big Ten Defensive Player-of-the-Week for his performance in a win vs. Iowa as he recorded 13 tackles, including 6 tackles for loss (-35 yards) and 4 sacks (-31 yards). He also broke up a pass.
Mandina and Payne earned honorable mention from the Big Ten's coaches. A defensive tackle, Mandina finished the 2000 campaign with 40 tackles, including three for loss, four pass deflections, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Payne finished his career ranked second on the school's extra point list with 111 and fourth on its scoring list with 238 points. He connected on 43-of-58 career field goals, including 29-of-33 from inside 40 yards. His 53-yard field goal in a win over Minnesota on 10/21/00 was a career long. He connected on 9-of-12 field goal attempts in 2000 and missed only one attempt inside of 40 yards.
Along with Mandina, Payne, and Smith, DeMar and Anderson earned honorable mention from the Big Ten Conference's media panel.
Anderson has been selected to play in the Rivals.Com Hula Bowl Maui All-Star Football Classic which will be played in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, January 20, 2001. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. In 2000, Anderson led Indiana in tackles with 92, including 2 for loss. He also recovered two fumbles, forced two fumbles, blocked a kick, and recorded three passes broken up.
DeMar moved from guard to right tackle prior to the 2000 season and helped pace an offense that averaged 30.6 points per contest and 439.5 yards per game. Indiana's 266.7 rushing yards per game ranks seventh nationally.
