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Baylor's leading tackler as a redshirt freshman in 2006 and one of seven returning defensive starters for the Bears, sophomore linebacker Joe Pawelek is a 2007 All-America and All-Big 12 candidate. 2006: Redshirt freshman linebacker enjoyed one of the finest season's ever by a Baylor rookie, earning first-team freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News, collegefootballnews.com and the Football Writers Association of America and second-team recognition from Rivals.com ... The Associated Press and San Antonio Express-News' 2006 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year also garnered conference Defensive Freshman of the Year honors from The Sporting News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, Waco Tribune-Herald as well as second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches ... Honorable mention Associated Press All-Big 12 pick ... First-team Academic All-Big 12 selection led the Bears in tackles with 86 stops (46 solos) while playing in every game with 10 starts ... He tied for 10th in the Big 12 with 7.17 tackles per game, the highest per-game average of any conference freshman, and finished the season with 4.5 tackles for loss (No. 4 on squad), 2.0 sacks (T-No. 2 on team), one interception, four pass breakups (T-No. 2 on squad) and a team-high nine quarterback hurries ... Totaled four or more tackles in 11 of 12 outings ... Tallied three tackles, all assisted, in season-finale vs. No. 16 Oklahoma ... Had four tackles (three solos) at Oklahoma State ... Registered a team-high nine tackles (four solos), one sack and a pass breakup at Texas Tech ... Recorded an eight-tackle (three solos) game vs. No. 22 Texas A&M ... Seven tackles (six solos) with one for loss and a quarterback hurry vs. Kansas ... Had eight tackles (seven solos), a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry at No. 6 Texas ... Tallied a career-best 14 stops (career-high 11 solos) at Colorado and his first career interception which clinched the Bears' 3OT win ... Registered back-to-back seven-tackle efforts vs. Army (three solos) and Kansas State (one solo) ... Also had four quarterback hurries and a pass breakup vs. K-State ... Tallied six tackles (four solos), with one sack, at Washington State .. Had a then-career-high nine stops (two solos) in first career start vs. Northwestern State after a four-tackle (two solos) debut vs. No. 22 TCU ... Saw action on a team-high 855 snaps to earn first Baylor monogram ... Selected Baylor's Best Defensive Front Player by coaches and received team's Academic Award ... Named to the fall and spring Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. 2005: Elected to take a redshirt season ... Named to the fall and spring Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll ... Scout team MVP ... Also a catcher on the Baylor baseball team, but sat out 2006 season as a redshirt. High School: Smithson Valley High School, Spring Branch, Texas ... A member of the 2004 Texas Football Top 300 ... 2004 Waco Tribune-Herald Top 100 selection ... Ranked No. 2 on the San Antonio Express-News Area Top 10 and No. 40 on its State Top 50 lists ... Named 2004-05 Boys High School Athlete of the Year by the San Antonio Express-News ... Tallied 197 tackles and six fumble recoveries as a senior linebacker en route to San Antonio Express-News Defensive Player of the Year honors ... Two-time first-team all-district performer also earned a pair of All-San Antonio awards ... Helped the Rangers to a 2004 Class 5A Division II runner-up finish, a 13-3 record and was rewarded with Associated Press honorable mention Class 5A all-state honors ... Credited with 20 tackles in the Rangers' 18-10 state semifinal victory over Houston Clear Lake ... 2004 Park Place Pontiac Defensive Player of the Year also was the 2003 Comal County Male Athlete of the Year ... Led 2003 team to a 10-2 record, a district title and the Division II playoffs ... Had 131 tackles and seven sacks as a junior en route to second-team all-state honors ... As a sophomore, he lettered and was an honorable mention all-district pick for a Ranger team which went 14-2, won the district title and finished second in the state playoffs ... Also a standout baseball catcher, he earned four first-team all-district awards over his four-year career and all-state honors in his final two seasons ... National Honor Society member ... Selected Baylor over Houston and Washington State ... Coached by Larry Hill at the District 26-5A school. Personal: The son of Mike and Judy Pawelek, Joseph Charles Pawelek was born Dec. 8, 1986, in Corpus Christi, Texas ... Business major ... Dean's List fall 2005 and spring 2006. |
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