Dec. 23, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion's senior defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron (Westbury, N.Y.) and junior punter Jonathan Plisco (Newport News, Va.) earned national honors for the fourth time this season as both were named Second Team All-Americans by Phil Steele.
Cameron has already been named a First Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and The Sports Network and was a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press. Earlier this week he was honored with the 2011 Elite Defensive Tackle Award by the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA). Plisco has earned Second Team All-America status by College Sports Madness, The Sports Network, and the Associated Press and in all has earned seven All-America honors in his three-year career with Old Dominion.
The two Monarchs were among the 11 Monarchs to earn All-CAA honors as they guided the team to a 10-3 overall record, a second-place 6-2 mark in the CAA after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason polls, a second round playoff berth, and not only ODU's first appearance in the national polls, but a top-10 ranking.
The CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Cameron was second on the Monarch squad with 73 tackles (28 solo, 45 assisted) along with a team-leading 17 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He averaged 5.6 tackles per game, which was fourth among defensive lineman in the CAA and finished second in the league in tackles for loss averaging 1.31 per contest. He captured a career-high 11 tackles along with a season-high 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks against CAA Champion Towson and also made 10 stops with three for loss against James Madison in ODU's first top-10 victory. His performance on the defensive line helped the Monarchs rank second in the league at the close of the regular season in rushing defense allowing 122.55 yards per contest.
Plisco, a First Team All-CAA selection, led the CAA and ranks second in the nation in punting averaging 46.2 yards per punt. Of his 51 punts on the year, 20 went the distance of 50 yards or more and 12 were placed inside the opponent 20. In addition to his four All-America honors this season, he earned three national accolades as a freshman - First Team All-American by the Associated Press, a Second Team All-American by The Sports Network, and earned Honorable Mention status by The College Sporting News.
Click here to view the entire Phil Steele All-American teams.