Led by defensive end and unanimous selection Jerry Hughes, TCU tops all
league members with a school-record 18 players earning All-Mountain West
Conference honors this season.
Hughes was named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
He leads the nation with an MWC-record 14 sacks and six forced fumbles while
placing in the top 10 with 18.5 tackles for loss and three fumble
recoveries. He also has two interceptions, including one returned for a
touchdown.
A finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award, Hughes is
the first TCU player to receive the MWC's top defensive honor and the first
Frog to be a Conference Defensive Player of the Year since linebacker
LaMarcus McDonald in Conference USA in 2002.
Eight of TCU's 11 defensive starters were either first- or second-team
All-MWC with two others being named honorable mention. The Frogs (10-2),
ranked 11th in the BCS Standings, top the nation in run defense (48.7 yards
per game) while placing second in total defense (215.1 yards per game),
scoring defense (10.9 points per game) and sacks (41). TCU is fourth in pass
defense efficiency (96.1).
The Frogs' six first-team selections included four defensive starters in
Hughes, linebackers Robert Henson and Jason Phillips and safety Stephen Hodge. Center Blake Schlueter represented the offense, while Jeremy Kerley
was the return specialist.
Second-team honorees featured four more defensive starters:?safety Steven Coleman, nose tackle Cody Moore, defensive end Matt Panfil and cornerback
Rafael Priest. Offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse was also a second-team
pick.
TCU's seven honorable-mention picks included return specialist Aaron Brown,
offensive tackle Marcus Cannon, quarterback Andy Dalton, punter Anson Kelton, cornerback Nick Sanders, defensive tackle James Vess and wide
receiver Jimmy Young.
Phillips is the first defensive player in MWC history, and the second
overall, to be a first- or second-team selection all four years. With 79
stops, he is TCU's leading tackler for the third time in four seasons.
Henson had been an honorable-mention All-MWC pick the previous three
campaigns. He's totaled a career-best 73 tackles, his fourth straight season
with at least 64 stops. Hodge, the nation's sack leader for defensive backs
in 2007, has a career-best 70 tackles including seven for loss.
Schuleter, who appeared on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, anchors
an offensive line that has enabled TCU to set single-season school records
for points (420) and touchdowns (54).
Kerley gives the Frogs the first-team All-MWC return specialist all four
seasons they have been in the MWC (Cory Rodgers, 2005; Brian Bonner,
2006-07). Kerley ranks 11th nationally with a 14.5 punt return average.
Coleman, Moore and Panfil, all seniors, receive their first All-MWC honor.
Coleman tops TCU with three interceptions while placing second with 12
passes defended. Moore and Panfil had career-best seasons. Moore's 6.0 sacks
equal the total from his first three seasons combined. Panfil's 9.0 tackles
for loss double his career output entering the 2008 campaign.
Priest, an honorable-mention All-MWC pick in 2007, has 10 pass breakups.
Newhouse has started every game the last two seasons at left tackle and is
instrumental in TCU leading the nation in time of possession (35:05).
Brown is second in the nation with a 31.9 average on kickoff returns. His
85-yard touchdown against Wyoming represented TCU's first kick return for a
score since 2005. He also had returns of 75 yards at Oklahoma and 56 versus
BYU.
Cannon helps pave the way for the Frogs to have the nation's 13th-best
rushing attack (215.7 yards per game) despite not having a player rank in
the top 100 individually. Dalton has completed 58.8 percent of his passes
for 2,405 yards with 11 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Kelton placed over half his punts (27-of-50) inside the opponent 20-yard
line with just seven touchbacks. He averaged 42.0 yards on the season.
Sanders is tied for second in the MWC in passes defended with his team-best
total of 13. He had two interceptions in TCU's 32-7 win over BYU. Vess has
started all 12 games and is one of the unsung heroes of the TCU defense.
Young's 926 yards receiving, on 54 receptions, mark the second-best
single-season total in TCU history. He is just 87 yards shy of breaking
Reggie Harrell's 2003 mark of 1,012. Young has four 100-yard receiving games
on the year, including a 226-yard effort with three touchdowns against
Wyoming.