Ron Girault is no longer undervalued.....

Well we got the easy easier part out of the way with the offense yesterday, now it's time to turn our attention to the defense and special teams.  This part was much more difficult since the defense gets little fanfare, but plays such a significant part in the final outcome.  Again I'm going on overall performance, longevity, and contribution to the Rutgers football program.  With that said, here's my Rutgers Football All-Decade Defense and Special Teams:

Defense

DL- Eric Foster

DL- Ryan Neill

DL- Jamaal Westerman

DL- Raheem Orr

LB- Gary Brackett

LB- Devraun Thompson

LB- Ryan D'Imperio

CB- The McCourty Twins

CB- Nate Jones

S- Ron Girault

S- Courtney Greene

Special Teams

K- Jeremy Ito

P- Mike Barr

Return Specialist- Willie Foster

Read on after the jump to see why I chose these players on the All-Decade team, and who got snubbed.  Leave your comments, and if you feel gutsy, pick your own team.....

Again, let me just say that this was much more difficult than the offensive side of the ball.  I feel like I've left a ton of great players off, especially at the defensive line position, but there's only so many spots to go around.  Here's why I chose the guys that I did:

DL- Foster, Neill, Westerman, Orr

Orr was a standout in the days when Rutgers was terrible.  He was named All-Big East 1st team in 2003 and ranks 7th on the all-time RU sack list with 18.  Foster was an All-America who came off an injury to spark the Knights in 2006 and was the leader of the infamous "chop" (see below).  There's little doubt that Eric Foster was the heart and soul of that miraculous 2006 run.  Neill ranks 6th all-time on the RU sack list with 19, but I chose him for another reason.  He gave RU the national exposure it needed in it's turnaround with his game changing performance against Michigan State in the first game of the 2004 season where he returned an INT 31 yards for a TD.  Last but not least I selected Jamaal Westerman because of his heart and dedication to the RU program.  Westerman put his future on the line playing through a torn bicep for most of the 2008 season, and finished his career at 3rd on the RU all-time sack list with 26.  Others considered:  Val Barnaby, Ramel Meekins, and many others.

LB- Brackett, Thompson, D'Imperio 

Brackett's been one of the most successful RU players on the professional level, but he was a beast in college as well.  In his 3 seasons at RU, Brackett recorded 262 tackles, 130 of them in his final year.  He also ranks 10th in RU history in unassisted tackles with 180.  I think that Devraun Thompson might be the most overlooked player in recent Rutgers history.  Thompson was a physical freak, and was always in the right place at the right time (see below for a refresher).  Thompson was named to the All-Big East 2nd team in 2006 and is 9th in career tackles in RU history.  Finally, I'm going on expectations.  I think that Ryan D'Imperio is going to have a huge season as the leader of a very good defensive squad in 2009.  He already is in the Top 10 in assisted tackles in one season, and is one of the few Scarlet Knights to ever sack the QB 3 times in a single game.  Others Considered:  Kevin Malast, Quintero Frierson.

CB-  McCourty's, Jones

How can you go wrong with either of the McCourty twins?  You can't, so I've cheated and gone with both of them.   Both have been lockdown corners throughout their careers, leading a much improved pass defense over the last few years.  The second selection may come as a surprise, but Jones was actually a pretty good CB.  He also gets the nod because he was a great kickoff return man as evidenced by his 2 100 yard kick-off returns in his career.  Others considered:  Joe Porter, Derrick Roberson.

S- Girault, Greene

While Greene got most of the attention, Girault was as solid as the come along side him in the secondary.  Greene ranks 4th all-time on the Rutgers tackle list with 386 and owns a slew of awards including All-Big East 1st team in 2008.  Surprisingly Girault ranks in the top 10 in all-time interceptions at RU with 10.  I'm not sure if we'll ever see two safeties playing together at the same time at RU that will ever match the production of Girault and Greene.  Others Considered:  None.

K-  Ito

Who did you expect me to pick.  He owns probably the greatest moment in Rutgers history (see below), and owns tons of Rutgers records including total scoring (400 points), and most career field goals (80).  No one else even comes close.  Others Considered:  None.

P- Barr

This was actually one of the toughest decisions that I had to make.  Joe Radigan was a great punter and ranks 1st in punt average with 40.3 yards per punter, but I went somewhere else with this one.  I know that Barr played part of his career in the 90's, but he also played when Rutgers was awful (hence the 251 career punts).  Most of the time he was bogged down deep in his own end, and gave Rutgers some much needed relief.  Barr's40.2 yards/punt average is 2nd only to Radigan.  It's a miracle his leg didn't fall off.  Others Considered:  Joe Radigan.

Return Specialist- Willie Foster

Willie was the all-around Special Teams force.  He ranks 3rd all-time in RU kickoff return yardage, 5th all-time in punt return yardage, and ranks in the top 10 with TD's of 74 yards on a punt, and 93 yards on a kickoff.  He was named All-Big East 1st team in 2005, and was named the Special Teams player of the year for the conference.  And the guy had some sweet looking dreads.  Others Considered:  Nate Jones.

So there you have it.  My All-Decade team is complete.  Hopefully this upcoming season we'll have some performances that will make me have to rethink my list.  There's many worthy players left off, and again, this is just my subjective opinion.  Leave your comments and let us know who you feel deserves to be on the all-decade team.