SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Four nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award have been announced after the fourth week of college football action, and now it's up to the fans to determine the winner. Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, University of Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall, Syracuse wide receiver Taj Smith and Tulane University running back Matt Forte have been selected by ESPN as this week's top candidates based on their outstanding performances. Fans can determine the winner by sending the text message VOTE to 87654 from a wireless phone.
Harrell was 46 of 67 for 646 yards and five touchdowns in Texas Tech's 49-45 loss at Oklahoma State. Fighting Illini running back Mendenhall had 27 rushes for 214 yards and a touchdown in their 27-14 win at Indiana, and also pulled in three receptions for 18 yards and another touchdown. Syracuse wide receiver Taj Smith had four receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the Orangemen's 38-35 win at Louisville. Forte had 40 rushes and accounted for 303 yards and five touchdowns in Tulane's 35-27 win over Southeast Louisiana.
"Each of these athletes had tremendous performances for their team this week," said Dave Garver, executive director of Business Development and Wireless Sponsorships for AT&T's wireless unit. "AT&T is proud to recognize them for their achievements on the field and wishes each of them the best of luck throughout the season. Now it's up to the fans to decide who the best college football player is this week."
Fans have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday to submit their votes. The winner will be announced Sept. 27 at halftime during Thursday's ESPN College Football Primetime Presented by Applebee's college football game between Southern Mississippi and Boise State. There is no limit on fan voting, and each vote counts as one entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2008 BCS National Championship game in New Orleans.
The AT&T All-America Player of the Week program will continue throughout the season, with the nominees being revealed each Sunday on ESPN's "SportsCenter" at 9 a.m. ET and on the Web at http://www.espnallamerica.com/. AT&T customers can visit AT&T's wireless NCAA(R) Football Portal on their handsets to view video highlights of each week's candidates, retrieve photos, check scores, track their favorite teams and download school ringtones.
In December, four finalists for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year award will be announced during a one-hour special on ABC Sports, when the Football Writers Association of America All-America team will also be announced. Fans will then get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year up until the Bowl Championship Series. Voting ends Jan. 4, and the winner will be announced during the BCS National Championship game on FOX Jan. 8.
Last year, University of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn was crowned as the AT&T All-America Player of the Year after beating out Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith -- the Heisman Trophy winner -- Rutgers running back Ray Rice and Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan. Voting for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year was the highest total in the three-year history of the award.
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