Paea earns first team All American honors

Oregon State University senior defensive tackle Stephen Paea has been named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, it was announced Tuesday. He is the first defensive lineman from OSU to earn All-America First Team honors since Jess Lewis in 1967.

Paea, a native of Tonga, received the 2010 Pac-10 Conference Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year honor last week via a vote by the league's head coaches. He finished the recently completed season with 45 tackles, including 10 tackles-for-loss and six quarterback sacks. Paea also caused four fumbles during the season and is the new OSU record holder for career forced fumbles with nine. He was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, presented to the nation's top defensive player, and was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week after OSU's 36-7 victory over No. 20 USC last month.