Kansas State might've been among those teams short changed by the BCS selection process this season, but Wildcats defensive back Nigel Malone has some BCS title company in SB Nation's inaugural All-America team.
The junior college transfer's seven interceptions earned him company among national title participants Marc Barron (Alabama), Morris Claiborne (LSU) and Tyrann Mathieu (LSU). Here's SB Nation's Bill Connelly explaining the pick:
Malone breaks the Bama/LSU monopoly because of some ridiculous ball skills. Only 18 defensive backs managed at least 16 passes defended (interceptions plus passes broken up), and of those, only two did so with more than five interceptions: N.C. State's sophomore ball-hawk David Amerson (11 interceptions, five passes broken up) and Malone (seven and nine). Unlike Amerson, however, Malone took on a series of ridiculously good quarterbacks in the Big 12 and still managed the feat.
Head coach Bill Snyder joins Malone as SB Nation's pick for coach of the year. Bill C's reasoning, among others, is that the Wildcats' ten win campaign is still so surprising:
Kansas State went 10-2 without the love of either stats or recruiting rankings. They won games with nothing but special teams, field position, turnovers, Collin Klein and craftiness. Vanderbilt's James Franklin worked wonders in his first season in Nashville, Art Briles turned Baylor -- BAYLOR! -- into a nine-win team, and hell, Lane Kiffin engineered a ferocious mid-season turnaround at USC. But Kansas State simply had no business winning ten games in a fierce Big 12; to get there, Snyder simply pulled off the best coaching job of his career.
For a complete list of the SB Nation All-America Team, click here. For everything college football, vist SB Nation's college football news page. For more on the Wildcats, visit Bring On The Cats.