Dec. 6, 2007

   PITTSBURGH--Pitt junior linebacker Scott McKillop, the nation's leading tackler, has been named a first team All-American by Scout.com.

   It is the latest honor for McKillop (Export, Pa./Kiski Area), who yesterday was a unanimous first-team All-Big East selection.

   The 6-foot-2, 245-pound "Mike" linebacker established a national reputation in his first season as a starter, leading the country in tackles (12.58 tackles/game) and ranking second nationally in solo stops (8.17 avg.).

   McKillop finished with 151 total tackles, the third highest single-season total in Pitt history. Perhaps his biggest tackle of the year occurred last Saturday when he made the initial stop of West Virginia's Steve Slaton on a 4^th-and-3 situation late in the fourth quarter of Pitt's 13-9 upset of the Mountaineers.

   During ESPN's national telecast of the Pitt-West Virginia game, play-by-play man Mike Patrick quipped, "McKillop is a tackling machine." McKillop and the Panthers' defense limited the high-powered West Virginia offense to just 183 total yards, including 104 on the ground, and a single touchdown.

   McKillop was a reserve his first two seasons behind All-America H.B. Blades before seizing the starting role this year. He emerged as the centerpiece of a unit that is seventh nationally in total defense, yielding just 297.67 yards per game.

   The Panthers also boast lofty national rankings in pass defense (fourth, 167.25 yards/game), sacks (tied for 19th, 2.92 sacks/game), pass efficiency defense (27th, 113.96 rating) and rush defense (35th, 130.42 yards/game).

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