Weber State football: 10 Wildcats earn All-America honors

Published: Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 12:30 a.m. MST
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OGDEN — One of the most, if not the most, successful football teams ever at Weber State made school history as 10 Wildcat players earned All-America honors on the 2008 Sports Network NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-America teams.

Players were voted on by media members who cover FCS teams and by sports information directors from the 122 teams that make up NCAA Division I FCS.

The Wildcats had two players — Trevyn Smith, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound junior running back; and Tim Toone, a 5-10, 165-pound junior wide receiver — named to the second team.

Smith was arguably the most versatile running back in Division I FCS in 2008. In 14 games, he carried 295 times for 1,585 yards, scoring 21 touchdowns, and had 62 receptions for 778 yards and seven more touchdowns, giving him 28 for the season. Smith led NCAA Division I FCS in scoring with 168 points and was the only running back in Division I FCS to have 1,500 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving.

Toone exploded onto the scene as one of the top receivers in Division I FCS this past season. In his first two seasons, Toone had 39 receptions for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns, but in 2008 he grabbed 84 passes for 1,525 yards and seven touchdowns. His yardage total set a new Big Sky Conference and Weber State single-season record. His 19 career touchdown catches are a Weber State career record.

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Five WSU players — Paul Carpenter (6-6, 310 senior offensive tackle), Beau Hadley (6-0, 185 junior safety), Cameron Higgins (6-2, 195 sophomore quarterback), Cody Nakamura (6-1, 220 junior tight end) and Bryce Scanlon (6-3, 295 senior defensive tackle) — were selected to the third team.

Three other Wildcats — Kevin Linehan (6-3, 255 junior defensive end), Marcus Mailei (6-1, 245 senior fullback) and Josh Morris (6-0, 190 junior cornerback) — earned honorable mention All-America honors.

"This is a great honor, not only for these players, but for our team as well," said WSU head coach Ron McBride. "What's really exciting is seven of those ten will be back with us next season.

"All 10 of these players worked extremely hard, in season and off-season, to prepare themselves to succeed. We now understand, as a team, what kind of effort it takes to be a champion."

The Big Sky Conference placed 17 players on the first three teams. That was the most by any conference, and the Big Sky had 11 more named honorable mention.

FCS national finalist Montana had two first team members in offensive guard Collin Dow and safety Colt Anderson. Greg Peach (defensive end), the 2008 Division I FCS Defensive Player of the Year (Buck Buchanan Trophy) from Eastern Washington, was also named to the first team, as was K.J. Gerard (cornerback, Northern Arizona).

Recent comments

Awesome! Great Job to the Wildcats. Can't wait to see the "The Beast"...

Beast 95 #1 fan | Jan. 10, 2009 at 6:29 p.m.

Well deserved!

CatFanBrynn | Jan. 10, 2009 at 1:32 a.m.

Weber State, Weber State - great, great, great!! Way to go...

darthwader | Jan. 9, 2009 at 8:41 a.m.

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