Ten TU players earn All-Conference honors
IRVING, Texas - The University of Tulsa landed a total of 10 players on the 2012 All-Conference football teams as selected by the league's 12 head football coaches, it was announced today by the Conference USA office. The C-USA Champion Golden Hurricane produced the most total selections with 10, while East Division champion UCF had the most first team choices with six, followed by Tulsa's five.
Tulsa's 10 selections include five on each side of the ball, as well as five first-team selections and five second-team honorees. The Hurricane also has seven honorable mention performers and four all-freshman team selections.
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Defensively, Tulsa led Conference USA in total defense and rush defense this season and is represented on the first team by three seniors, including linebacker DeAundre Brown, defensive end Cory Dorris and safety Dexter McCoil. The Hurricane offense led the league in rushing with 240.2 yards per game and amassed 460.8 yards in total offense. The two first-team selections are senior offensive tackles Brian DeShane and Jared Grigg.
Tulsa's second-team selections are senior center Trent Dupy, sophomore receiver Keyarris Garrett, senior defensive end Jared St. John, junior safety Demarco Nelson and junior kick returner Trey Watts.
Brown, who played all three linebacker positions for the Golden Hurricane this season, leads the Tulsa defense with 125 tackles and 17 stops for -85 yards, while turning in seven double-figure tackle games. He ranks among the league leaders for tackles (6th), sacks (4th), TFLs (3rd) and passes defended (14th).
A four-year starter for the Hurricane, Dorris started his 50th career game in the C-USA Championship Game last week against UCF. He has been credited with 49 tackles, 10 TFLs for -48 yards, six sacks for -38 yards, three pass break-ups and two blocked kicks. Dorris' two blocks were huge for the Hurricane as he blocked a PAT in a one-point win over Fresno State and blocked UCF's field goal attempt in overtime of the C-USA Championship Game.
Early in the season McCoil became the school's career leader for interceptions and will enter the 2012 AutoZone Liberty Bowl with 17 career pick-offs. He ranks second on the team with 85 tackles and has team-highs with four interceptions and nine pass break-ups.
DeShane and Grigg was a part of a unit that allowed the fewest sacks (nine) in C-USA and ranks sixth nationally for fewest sacks allowed and 14th for fewest TFLs allowed. Grigg started all 13 games in his first year as a full-time starter, while DeShane started the first 12 games before suffering a season-ending injury at SMU.
A second-team selection at center for the Hurricane, Dupy was another integral part of the Hurricane offensive front. He has started 46 consecutive games and anchored a line that helped pave the way for Tulsa's ground game to amass 240 yards per contest and rank 11th in NCAA stats for rushing yards.
Garrett burst onto the scene when senior Bryan Burnham suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the season and completed the year as Tulsa's leading receiver with 64 receptions for 826 yards and nine touchdowns.
A former walk-on athlete, St. John moved into the starting lineup at defensive end this year and leads C-USA for quarterback sacks with 11.5 for -75 yards. He has also totaled 48 stops and forced three fumbles on the year.
Nelson has tallied 78 tackles, four TFLs for -10 yards, three pass break-ups and one interception from his safety position this season.
Leading the conference in all-purpose yardage with 161.8 yards per game, Watts garnered second team accolades as a kick returner. He has totaled 959 rushing yards, 503 kickoff return yards, 326 receiving yards and 154 punt return yards. Watts has scored a total of five TDs this year, three rushing touchdowns and one each on a kick return and punt return. His 54-yard punt return in the conference title game last week against UCF tied the score at 27-27 with 5:06 remaining in the contest.
Honorable mention selections for the Hurricane include quarterback Cody Green, running backs Alex Singleton and Trey Watts, and receiver Jordan James on offense. Defensive honorable mention merits go to defensive tackle Derrick Jackson, linebacker Shawn Jackson and cornerback Lowell Rose.
Conference USA also announced the league's all-freshman team today. Tulsa had two red-shirt freshmen and two true freshmen named to the all-rookie team. Defensive players - end Derrick Alexander and linebacker Trent Martin - were selected to the frosh team, while placekicker Daniel Schwarz and deep snapper Rey Higuera also earned all-freshman team accolades.
Alexander has totaled 18 tackles and 4.5 stops for -25 yards this season, while Martin has 32 tackles and blocked two kicks on the season. Alexander has played in all 13 games, while Martin has seen action in only eight games due to injury, but started five contests.
Schwarz became Tulsa's freshman scoring leader with 81 points, while connecting on 11 field goals and 48 PATs. Higuera, a walk-on athlete, has handled snaps on all placements and punts this season.
Conference USA individual awards will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 5th.
2012 C-USA FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB- Rakeem Cato, So., Marshall
RB- Zach Line, Sr., SMU
RB- Latavius Murray, Sr., UCF
RB- Darrin Reaves, So., UAB
OL- Jacolby Ashworth, Sr., Houston
OL- Brian DeShane, Sr., Tulsa
OL- Jared Grigg, Sr., Tulsa
OL- Chris Hubbard, Sr., UAB
OL- Jordan Rae, Sr., UCF
TE- Vance McDonald, Sr., Rice
WR- Ryan Grant, Jr., Tulane
WR- Justin Hardy, So., East Carolina
WR- Tommy Shuler, So., Marshall
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL- Jamie Collins, Sr., Southern Miss
DL- Troy Davis, Sr., UCF
DL- Cory Dorris, Sr., Tulsa
DL- Margus Hunt, Sr., SMU
LB- DeAundre Brown, Sr., Tulsa
LB- Ja'Gared Davis, Sr., SMU
LB- Phillip Steward, Sr., Houston
DB- Phillip Gaines, Jr., Rice
DB- D.J. Hayden, Sr., Houston
DB- Kemal Ishmael, Sr., UCF
DB- Dexter McCoil, Sr., Tulsa
FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
K- Cairo Santos, Jr., Tulane
P- Richie Leone, Jr., Houston
KR- Quincy McDuffie, Sr., UCF
PR- J.J. Worton, So., UCF
LS- Billy Johnson, Gr., Tulane
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB- Blake Bortles, So., UCF
RB- Vintavious Cooper, Jr., East Carolina
RB- Charles Sims, Jr., Houston
OL- Bryan Collins, Sr., SMU
OL- Jordan Devey, Sr., Memphis
OL- Trent Dupy, Sr., Tulsa
OL- Will Simmons, Jr., East Carolina
OL- Torrian Wilson, So., UCF
TE- Gator Hoskins, Jr., Marshall
WR- Aaron Dobson, Sr., Marshall
WR- Keyarris Garrett, So., Tulsa
WR- Darius Johnson, Sr., SMU
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL- Michael Brooks, Sr., East Carolina
DL- Johnnie Farms, Jr., Memphis
DL- Martin Ifedi, So., Memphis
DL- Jared St. John, Sr., Tulsa
LB- Marvin Burdette, Sr., UAB
LB- Derrell Johnson, Jr., East Carolina
LB- Taylor Reed, Sr., SMU
DB- Kenneth Acker, Jr., SMU
DB- A.J. Bouye, Sr., UCF
DB- Dominick LeGrande, Gr., Marshall
DB- Marco Nelson, Jr., Tulsa
SECOND TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
K- Chris Boswell, Jr., Rice
P- Ian Campbell, Sr., UTEP
KR- Trey Watts, Jr., Tulsa
PR- Justin Hardy, So., East Carolina
LS- Brandon Hartson, Sr., Houston
HONORABLE MENTION OFFENSE
QB- Shane Carden, So., East Carolina
QB- Cody Green, Jr., Tulsa
QB- Ryan Griffin, Sr., Tulane
QB- Taylor McHargue, Jr., Rice
RB- Nathan Jeffery, So., UTEP
RB- Alex Singleton, Sr., Tulsa
RB- Trey Watts, Jr., Tulsa
OL- Eloy Atkinson, Sr., UTEP
OL- Drew Carroll, So., Rice
OL- Adhem Elsawi, Jr., East Carolina
OL- Jordan Free, Sr., SMU
OL- Chris Jasperse, So., Marshall
OL- Jordan Jeffries, Jr., Marshall
OL- Eric Jones, Sr., Tulane
OL- Jordan McCray, Jr., UCF
OL- James Nelson, Sr., UTEP
OL- Austin Quattrochi, Sr., Southern Miss
OL- Bryce Redman, So., Houston
OL- Alex Schooler, Jr., Marshall
OL- Jason Weaver, Sr., Southern Miss
OL- Caleb Williams, Fr., Rice
TE- Kennard Backman, So., UAB
TE- Justin Tukes, So., UCF
TE- Craig Wenrick, Jr., UTEP
TE- Luke Willson, Sr., Rice
WR- Mike Edwards, Sr., UTEP
WR- Rannell Hall, So., UCF
WR- Jordan James, Jr., Tulsa
WR- Jeremy Johnson, Jr., SMU
WR- Sam McGuffie, Sr., Rice
WR- Marcus Rucker, Sr., Memphis
WR- Jackie Williams, Jr., UAB
WR- Antavious Wilson, Sr., Marshall
HONORABLE MENTION DEFENSE
DL- Marcus Bagley, Jr., UTEP
DL- Alex Bazzie, Jr., Marshall
DL- Cody Bauer, Jr., Rice
DL- Christian Covington, Fr., Rice
DL- Austen Jacks, Sr., Tulane
DL- Derrick Jackson, Sr., Tulsa
DL- Horace Miller, Jr., UTEP
DL- Lee Pegues, Jr., East Carolina
DL- Torlan Pittman, Sr., SMU
DL- Terry Redden, So., Memphis
DL- Hosam Shahin, Jr., Rice
DL- Brandon Sparrow, Jr., Marshall
DL- Rakeem Nunez-Roches, So., Southern Miss
DL- Julius Warmsley, Jr., Tulane
DL- Greg Watkins, Sr., UTEP
LB- Anthony Brown, Jr., Memphis
LB- Jeremy Grove, So., East Carolina
LB- Shawn Jackson, Jr., Tulsa
LB- Tank Jakes, So., Memphis
LB- Derrick Mathews, So., Houston
LB- Cameron Nwosu, Jr., Rice
LB- Josh Fely, Sr., UTEP
DB- Lonnie Ballentine, Jr., Memphis
DB- Jordan Batiste, Fr., Tulane
DB- Lorenzo Doss, Fr., Tulane
DB- DeShawn Grayson, Sr., UTEP
DB- Calvin Jones, Jr., UAB
DB- Damon Magazu, Jr., East Carolina
DB- Zach McMillian, Jr., Houston
DB- Okechukwu Okoroha, Gr., Marshall
DB- Paul Porras, Jr., Rice
DB- Lowell Rose, Sr., Tulsa
DB- Deron Wilson, Sr., Southern Miss
DB- Darren Woodard, Sr., UTEP
HONORABLE MENTION SPECIAL TEAMS
K- Justin Haig, So., Marshall
K- Warren Harvey, So., East Carolina
K- Matt Hogan, Sr., Houston
K- Ty Long, So.., UAB
P- Tom Hornsey, Jr.., Memphis
P- Mike Loftus, So., SMU
P- Hunter Mullins, So., UAB
P- Trent Tignor, Jr., East Carolina
KR- Autrey Golden, Fr., UTEP
KR- Bobby McCain, So., Memphis
PR- Mike Edwards, Sr., UTEP
LS- Nick Dooley, Fr., UTEP
LS- Trevor Gillette, Jr., Rice
LS- Taylor Klein, Sr., UAB
2012 C-USA All-Freshman Team
Offense
QB- Austin Brown, UAB
RB- Kevin Grooms, Marshall
RB- Luke Turner, Rice
OL- Cameron Dees, Marshall
OL- Taylor Fallin, Memphis
OL- Caleb Williams, Rice
OL- Taylor Lasecki, SMU
OL- Cameron Blankenship, UAB
TE- Alan Cross, Memphis
WR- Deontay Greenberry, Houston
WR- Larry McDuffey, Houston
WR- Breshad Perriman, UCF
Defense
DL- Ricky Hunter, Memphis
DL- Christian Covington, Rice
DL- Derrick Alexander, Tulsa
DL- Deion Green, UCF
LB- Montese Overton, East Carolina
LB- D.J. Hunter, Marshall
LB- Trent Martin, Tulsa
DB- Trevon Stewart, Houston
DB- Shakiel Randolph, SMU
DB- Darion Monroe, Tulane
DB- Lorenzo Doss, Tulane
Special Teams
K- Daniel Schwarz, Tulsa
P- Tyler Williams, Marshall
KR- Autrey Golden, UTEP
PR- Dennis Parks, Rice
LS- Rey Higuera, Tulsa