Temple University Athletics
LB RIAN WALLACE NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG EAST; QB WALTER WASHINGTON, DE MIKE MENDENHALL EARN SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
12.1.04 | Football
PHILADELPHIA - Temple junior LB Rian "Goo" Wallace was today named to the All-Big East Conference First Team in a voting conducted among the league's head coaches. He is joined by junior QB Walter Washington and junior DE Mike Mendenhall, who were cited on the conference's second team.
Wallace, a repeat selection after earning second team honors in 2003, becomes the fourth Temple player since 1991 to earn multiple citations on the All-Big East squad, joining former DT Dan Klecko, LB Lance Johnstone and OT Tre Johnson. Wallace made 101 total tackles (10.1 avg.) this season to rank second in the Big East and 21st nationally in stops. He made double-digit tackles in six games and seven or more in all 10 contests he played.
On the 2004 Watch Lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Dick Butkus Award and Rotary Lombardi Award, Wallace was a CollegeFootballNews.com First Team Preseason All-American, as well as a Third Team Preseason All-American according to both Athlon Sports and Street & Smith's. He ranks eighth on Temple's career tackle chart with 325 total stops in 34 games.
Washington, the second Temple signal-caller to earn All-Big East honors after Henry Burris' selection in 1994, joins a fraternity of quarterbacks to earn second team all-league accolades that includes current NFL starters Michael Vick and Marc Bulger. Washington, the top scorer among Division I-A quarterbacks with 92 points (8.36 avg.), leads the nation in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (15), which is a Big East record for a signal-caller and tied the Temple mark for total TDs in a season (Paul Palmer; 1986).
Washington led the Big East with 3,096 total yards (281.5 avg.), to become Temple's first 3,000-yard player and best the school's previous mark for total offense (2,577) set by Burris in 1994 by 519 yards. He set a Big East and Temple record for yards rushing by a quarterback in a season with 889 net yards (1,104 total) and was responsible for the Owls' final 16 touchdowns, while accounting 25 of 29 (86%) overall.
Washington led the Big East and ranks 11th nationally in total offense (281.5), 19th in point responsibility (13.82) and 21st in scoring. He set the Big East and Temple record for total plays with 554, which ranks second nationally this season. His 2,207 passing yards ranks second and 889 rushing yards is 10th in Temple's single season annals.
Mendenhall is the fifth Temple defensive lineman to earn All-Big East honors, joining Klecko (2001-02), Russell Newman (2000), Larry Chester (1997) and Swift Burch (1991). He started all 11 games at rush defensive end, making 41 tackles (18 solo), including nine tackles for 32 yards in losses and 3.5 sacks for 22 yards. A preseason All-Big East selection by Athlon Sports, Mendenhall was cited as the Temple defensive player of the game three times by the coaching staff. In three seasons in Owl Country, he has played in 32 games and made 22 starts, including 18 consecutive.
