Scott McKillop is everybody’s All-American.
As the numerous preseason college football magazines have hit the newsstands this summer, a constant in virtually every issue has been the listing of Pitt’s senior middle linebacker as a first-team All-American.
To date, McKillop has been named a first team All-American by Athlon, The Sporting News, Lindy’s, Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook and NationalChamps.net.
That list will continue to grow before training camp opens in August.
The preseason hype is justified. Last year, McKillop led the nation with 12.58 stops per game and spearheaded a Pitt defense that ranked fifth nationally, surrendering only 297.67 yards a contest.
An unknown when the 2007 season began, McKillop (Export, Pa./Kiski Area) began building a national reputation week after week, climaxed by the Panthers’ epic defensive performance in their 13-9 upset of West Virginia in Morgantown.
McKillop led Pitt’s swarming defensive effort that misty December night in West Virginia. The Mountaineers, one week removed from a 66-point performance against Connecticut, were limited to just one touchdown and 183 total yards.
It was McKillop who made one of the game’s pivotal plays, tossing aside a WVU offensive lineman and corralling tailback Steve Slaton a yard shy of the sticks on 4th-and-3 late in the fourth quarter.
That ESPN nationally televised game showed the country what Pitt fans knew all season long – McKillop is one of the finest players in all of college football.
The 6-foot-2, 245-pound McKillop is up for some sparkling hardware this year, too. In its recently released annual, The Sporting News called him “a leading contender for the Butkus Award,” given annually to the nation’s top linebacker.
He is also up for the Rotary Lombardi Award, presented to the country's outstanding lineman or defensive player who lines up within five yards of the football, and the Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, both given to the nation's outstanding defensive player.
The Lott Trophy, a national defensive player of the year award that takes into account character and academics, has him as a leading preseason candidate as well.
Unlike a year ago at this time, no one will have to look at their program to see who the guy is wearing No. 40 for the Pitt Panthers.
The secret is out – in a big way.
