Our countdown of the Pac-12's top 25 players in 2012 continues.
You can see our preseason top 25 here.
No. 19: David Yankey, OL, Stanford
2012 numbers: Yankey was part of an offensive line that helped running back Stepfan Taylor rush for 1,530 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Cardinal also finished ranked fourth in the conference in sacks allowed, yielding 20 in 14 games.
Preseason ranking: Unranked
Making the case for Yankey: Finding statistical justification for offensive linemen is always difficult -- as the position itself doesn't easily lend itself to statistical analysis. And it was a down year across the board for the Pac-12 in terms of offensive linemen. Still, that takes nothing away from the accomplishments of Yankey, who stepped up and led the line following the departures of David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin to the NFL. Shuffling between guard and tackle the entire season, Yankey earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors, was a consensus All-American and he was honored by the conference with the Morris Trophy -- given to the league's most outstanding lineman. In total, he played four different positions on Stanford's line this year and allowed just one sack in 14 games. Watch the highlight video from the 6-5, 301-pounder and you'll notice on almost every Taylor touchdown, it's Yankey leading the way. He was clearly the most dominating offensive lineman in the league.
No. 20: Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon
No. 21: Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State
No. 22: Ed Reyonlds, S, Stanford
No. 23: Michael Clay, LB, Oregon
No. 24: Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State
No. 25: Reggie Dunn, KR, Utah
