[New post] John Marshall Named Unanimous First-Team All-American Athletic Conference; Jacob Busic Honorable Mention
David M. Higgins II, Publisher/Editor posted: " IRVING, Texas – Standout student-athletes from Tulane, Cincinnati and Temple claimed major individual awards as the American Athletic Conference announced its 2022 players of the year and all-conference selections as chosen by the league's 11 head coache" The Southern Maryland Chronicle
IRVING, Texas – Standout student-athletes from Tulane, Cincinnati and Temple claimed major individual awards as the American Athletic Conference announced its 2022 players of the year and all-conference selections as chosen by the league's 11 head coaches.
Tulane saw running back Tyjae Spears chosen as The American's Geico Offensive Player of the Year, while Green Wave coach Willie Fritz was unanimously chosen as Coach of the Year. Cincinnati had two individual award-winners as linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. was named the RoofClaim Defensive Player of the Year, while punter Mason Fletcher was tabbed as Special Teams Player of the Year. Temple freshman quarterback E.J. Warner was the coaches' choice as Rookie of the Year.
In addition to the individual awards, Tulane and Cincinnati both had a league-leading six players chosen to The American's all-conference first team. UCF and Houston had five first-team players each.
Spears becomes the first Tulane player, and the first non-quarterback, to be named as American Offensive Player of the Year. Spears finished the regular season with 1,177 rushing yards, good for third in The American, and a league-leading 14 rushing touchdowns. He registered a conference-best 972 yards and eight TDs in conference games, helping the Green Wave to a 7-1 league record (10-2 overall) and its first appearance in The American Championship Game.
Pace is the second consecutive Cincinnati player to be named as The American's Defensive Player of the Year, following cornerback Sauce Gardner's honor in 2021. This year's selection also marks the second consecutive conference player-of-the-year honor for Pace, who was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year at Miami (Ohio) last season. An Associated Press Mid-Season All-America choice and a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Bednarik Award, Pace leads The American with 120 tackles and 19.5 tackles for loss and is second in the conference with 9.0 sacks.
Fletcher is Cincinnati's first player to win American Special Teams Player of the Year honors. The sophomore leads The American and is fourth nationally with a 46.7-yard punting average and 28 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He hit 14 punts of at least 50 yards, including an 84-yard punt that shattered The American's distance record. A Ray Guy Award finalist, Fletcher helped Cincinnati finish the regular season ranked second nationally in net punting at 44.7 yards.
Warner becomes the first Temple player to be chosen as The American's Rookie of the Year. The true freshman took over as the Owls' starter in the third game of the season and finished the 2022 campaign with 3,028 passing yards and 18 touchdown passes, capped by a 527-yard, five-touchdown effort in the season finale against East Carolina. Warner finished fourth in The American in passing, averaging 275.3 yards per game in his debut season.
Fritz was the unanimous choice of his peers as American Coach of the Year after he orchestrated Tulane's turnaround from a 2-10 season in 2021 to a 10-2 showing and a first-place finish in The American's regular-season standings. The Green Wave is ranked No. 18 in this week's Associated Press poll as Tulane earned its first 10-win season and top-25 rankings since 1998. He is the third coach to be unanimously chosen as American Coach of the Year, joining Justin Fuente of Memphis in 2014 and Scott Frost of UCF in 2017.
In addition to the major award-winners, The American also named its first, second and honorable mention all-conference teams. East Carolina running back Keaton Mitchell, Houston wide receiver Nathaniel Dell and Houston offensive tackle Patrick Paul were repeat first-team selections. Navy linebackerJohn Marshall was the lone unanimous first-team all-conference selection.
2022 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE GEICO OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOFCLAIM DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Ivan Pace Jr., LB, Cincinnati
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Mason Fletcher, P, Cincinnati
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR E.J. Warner, QB, Temple
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR Willie Fritz, Tulane *
1 2 H indicates previous selections to the first, second or honorable mention all-conference teams
American Athletic Conference Offensive Players of the Year 2013 Blake Bortles, QB, UCF 2014 Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina 2015 Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy 2016 Quinton Flowers, QB, USF 2017 McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF 2018 McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF 2019 Malcolm Perry, QB, Navy 2020 Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati 2021 Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati 2022 Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
American Athletic Conference Defensive Players of the Year 2013 Marcus Smith, DE, Louisville 2014 Jacoby Glenn, CB, UCF Tank Jakes, LB, Memphis 2015 Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple 2016 Shaquem Griffin, LB, UCF 2017 Ed Oliver, DT, Houston 2018 Nate Harvey, DE, East Carolina 2019 Quincy Roche, DE, Temple 2020 Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa * 2021 Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati * 2022 Ivan Pace Jr., LB, Cincinnati
American Athletic Conference Special Teams Players of the Year 2013 Demarcus Ayers, WR/KR, Houston Tom Hornsey, P, Memphis 2014 Jake Elliott, K, Memphis 2015 Jake Elliott, K, Memphis 2016 Tony Pollard, WR/RS, Memphis 2017 Tony Pollard, WR/RS, Memphis 2018 Isaiah Wright, WR/RS, Temple 2019 Dane Roy, P, Houston Antonio Gibson, WR/RS, Memphis 2020 Chris Naggar, K, SMU 2021 Marcus Jones, CB/RS, Houston 2022 Mason Fletcher, P, Cincinnati
American Athletic Conference Rookies of the Year 2013 John O'Korn, QB, Houston 2014 Marlon Mack, RB, USF 2015 Tre'Quan Smith, WR, UCF 2016 Ed Oliver, DT, Houston 2017 T.J. Carter, CB, Memphis 2018 Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati 2019 Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Memphis 2020 Rahjai Harris, RB, East Carolina Ulysses Bentley IV, RB, SMU 2021 Alton McCaskill, RB, Houston 2022 E.J. Warner, QB, Temple
American Athletic Conference Coaches of the Year
2013 George O'Leary, UCF * 2014 Justin Fuente, Memphis * 2015 Tom Herman, Houston, Ken Niumatalolo, Navy 2016 Ken Niumatalolo, Navy 2017 Scott Frost, UCF * 2018 Luke Fickell, Cincinnati 2019 Ken Niumatalolo, Navy 2020 Luke Fickell, Cincinnati 2021 Luke Fickell, Cincinnati 2022 Willie Fritz, Tulane *
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