American Athletic Conference All-Conference Awards Release
Nov. 30, 2016
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (SMU/The American) – Four Mustangs have been named first-team All-American Athletic Conference in a vote by the league's 12 head football coaches, the conference office announced Wednesday.
SMU's
Justin Lawler,
Darrion Millines,
Horace Richardson and
Courtland Sutton were all named to the first-team, which marks the most first-team selections for the Mustangs since 2011.
Lawler anchored the Mustang defense leading the team in tackles for loss (15) and finishing second in tackles (65). The junior defensive end finished sixth in The American in sacks with six, while also registering seven quarterback hurries, two blocked field goals and a fumble recovery.
Senior defensive backs Millines and Richardson patrolled SMU's secondary picking up 11 of the Mustangs' 18 interceptions on the season. Millines finished tied for second in the league in picks with five and third on the team in tackles with 64. Richardson led the conference in interceptions with six, while returning two of them for touchdowns at East Carolina. The Everman, Texas, native set SMU records for interception return yards in a single-game (150), season (215) and career (234).
Sutton became the first SMU receiver to garner first-team all-conference honors since current Dallas Cowboy
Cole Beasley in 2011 after leading the squad in receptions (76), receiving yards (1,246) and receiving touchdowns (10). The sophomore wide receiver tallied five 100-yard games this season and finished third in the league in receiving yards per game (103.8). The Brenham, Texas, native set a school record for receiving yards (252) on a career-high 13 receptions against USF. After his performance against the Bulls, he became just the ninth Mustang to register 1,000 yards in a season which ranks third at SMU. Sutton now has 2,135 career receiving yards which is ninth in program history and holds both the freshman and sophomore single-season receiving yards record.
2016 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Quinton Flowers, QB, USF
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Shaquem Griffin, LB, UCF
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tony Pollard, WR/RS, Memphis
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACHES OF THE YEAR
Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
| ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM |
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/Last School |
| WR |
Zay Jones 2 |
East Carolina |
Sr. |
6-1 |
197 |
Austin, Texas/Stephen F. Austin |
| WR |
Courtland Sutton |
SMU |
So. |
6-4 |
215 |
Brenham, Texas/Brenham |
| WR |
Keevan Lucas 2 |
Tulsa |
Sr. |
5-10 |
195 |
Abilene, Texas/Abilene |
| OT |
Kofi Amichia |
USF |
Sr. |
6-4 |
297 |
Riverdale, Ga./McEachern |
| OT |
Dion Dawkins 2 |
Temple |
Sr. |
6-5 |
320 |
Rahway, N.J./Rahway |
| OG |
Adam West |
Navy |
Sr. |
6-3 |
297 |
Spring, Texas/Klein |
| OG |
Blake Belcher |
Tulsa |
Sr. |
6-5 |
304 |
Guthrie, Okla./Guthrie |
| C |
Chandler Miller |
Tulsa |
So. |
6-3 |
290 |
Bixby, Okla./Bixby |
| TE |
Daniel Montiel |
Memphis |
Sr. |
6-3 |
240 |
Arlington, Texas/Arlington |
| QB |
Quinton Flowers |
USF |
Jr. |
6-0 |
210 |
Miami, Fla./Miami Jackson |
| RB |
Marlon Mack 1 1 |
USF |
Jr. |
6-0 |
195 |
Sarasota, Fla./Booker |
| RB |
James Flanders |
Tulsa |
Sr. |
5-10 |
203 |
Midwest City, Okla./Midwest City |
| DL |
Ed Oliver * |
Houston |
Fr. |
6-2 |
290 |
Houston, Texas/Westfield |
| DL |
Justin Lawler |
SMU |
Jr. |
6-4 |
262 |
Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro |
| DL |
Haason Reddick H * |
Temple |
Sr. |
6-1 |
230 |
Camden, N.J./Haddon Heights |
| DL |
Tanzel Smart 1 |
Tulane |
Sr. |
6-1 |
304 |
Baton Rouge, La./Scotlandville Magnet |
| LB |
Shaquem Griffin |
UCF |
Jr. |
6-1 |
213 |
St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood |
| LB |
Eric Wilson 2 |
Cincinnati |
Sr. |
6-2 |
225 |
Redford, Mich./Northwestern |
| LB |
Steven Taylor 2 |
Houston |
Sr. |
6-1 |
225 |
Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill |
| LB |
Genard Avery |
Memphis |
So. |
6-2 |
230 |
Byhalia, Miss./Byhalia |
| LB |
Nico Marley H 1 |
Tulane |
Sr. |
5-10 |
208 |
Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay |
| CB |
Howard Wilson |
Houston |
So. |
6-1 |
185 |
DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto |
| CB |
Horace Richardson |
SMU |
Sr. |
6-0 |
201 |
Everman, Texas/Everman |
| S |
Obi Melifonwu |
UConn |
Sr. |
6-3 |
217 |
South Grafton, Mass./Grafton |
| S |
Darrion Millines |
SMU |
Sr. |
6-0 |
208 |
Boynton Beach, Fla./American Heritage |
| K |
Jake Elliott 1 1 1 |
Memphis |
Sr. |
5-10 |
165 |
Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township |
| P |
Spencer Smith 2 1 |
Memphis |
So. |
6-1 |
195 |
Newnan, Ga./East Coweta |
| RS |
Tony Pollard |
Memphis |
Fr |
5-11 |
200 |
Memphis, Tenn./Melrose |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* unanimous selection
1 2 H indicates previous selections to first team, second team, or honorable mention |
| ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM |
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/Last School |
| WR |
Noel Thomas |
UConn |
Sr. |
6-1 |
202 |
Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke's School |
| WR |
Anthony Miller |
Memphis |
Jr. |
5-11 |
190 |
Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers |
| WR |
Rodney Adams H |
USF |
Sr. |
6-1 |
190 |
St. Petersburg, Fla./Toledo |
| OT |
Blake Copeland |
Navy |
Sr. |
6-4 |
223 |
Brownsville, Texas/Los Fresnos |
| OT |
Evan Plagg |
Tulsa |
Jr. |
6-3 |
292 |
Guthrie, Okla./Guthrie |
| OG |
Dominique Threatt |
USF |
Sr. |
6-1 |
330 |
Atlanta, Ga./Tri-Cities |
| OG |
Tyler Bowling |
Tulsa |
So. |
6-6 |
325 |
Yukon, Okla./Yukon |
| C |
Maurice Morris |
Navy |
Sr. |
6-2 |
327 |
La Porte, Texas/La Porte |
| TE |
Mitchell Wilcox |
USF |
Fr. |
6-4 |
248 |
Tarpon Springs, Fla./Tarpon Springs |
| QB |
Greg Ward Jr. 2 |
Houston |
Sr. |
5-11 |
190 |
Tyler, Texas/John Tyler |
| RB |
Jahad Thomas 1 |
Temple |
Sr. |
5-10 |
180 |
Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth |
| RB |
D'Angelo Brewer |
Tulsa |
Jr. |
5-9 |
185 |
Tulsa, Okla./Central |
| DL |
Jamiyus Pittman |
UCF |
Jr. |
6-0 |
295 |
Moultrie, Ga./Colquitt County |
| DL |
Cortez Broughton |
Cincinnati |
So. |
6-2 |
297 |
Warner Robbins, Ga./Veterans |
| DL |
Deadrin Senat |
USF |
Jr. |
6-1 |
305 |
Immokalee, Fla./Immokalee |
| DL |
Praise Martin-Oguike2 |
Temple |
Sr. |
6-1 |
255 |
Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge |
| LB |
Tyus Bowser |
Houston |
Sr. |
6-3 |
240 |
Tyler, Texas/John Tyler |
| LB |
Micah Thomas |
Navy |
Jr. |
6-1 |
249 |
Cedar Park, Texas/Vista Ridge |
| LB |
Auggie Sanchez 2 |
USF |
Jr. |
6-2 |
245 |
St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast |
| LB |
Avery Williams |
Temple |
Sr. |
5-10 |
224 |
Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley |
| CB |
Shaquill Griffin |
UCF |
Sr. |
6-1 |
200 |
St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood |
| CB |
Brandon Wilson |
Houston |
Sr. |
5-11 |
200 |
Shreveport, La./Calvary Academy |
| CB |
Deatrick Nichols 1 |
USF |
Jr. |
5-10 |
189 |
Miami, Fla./Miami Central |
| CB |
Parry Nickerson H |
Tulane |
Jr. |
6-0 |
175 |
Algiers, La./West Jefferson |
| S |
Garrett Davis |
Houston |
So. |
6-1 |
200 |
Red Oak, Texas/Red Oak |
| S |
Sean Chandler 2 |
Temple |
Jr. |
6-0 |
190 |
Camden, N.J./Camden |
| K |
Aaron Boumerhi |
Temple |
Fr. |
6-0 |
195 |
Phillipsburg, Pa./Phillipsburg-Osceola |
| P |
Worth Gregory |
East Carolina |
Sr. |
6-3 |
210 |
Fort Mill, S.C./Alabama |
| RS |
D'Ernest Johnson |
USF |
Jr. |
5-10 |
208 |
Immokalee, Fla./Immokalee |
| ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION |
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Cl. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown/Last School |
| WR |
Linell Bonner |
Houston |
Jr. |
6-0 |
202 |
Houston, Texas/Dekaney |
| OG |
Evan Martin |
Navy |
Jr. |
6-3 |
294 |
Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit West |
| TE |
Colin Thompson |
Temple |
Sr. |
6-4 |
255 |
Doylestown, Pa./Florida |
| LB |
Stephaun Marshall |
Temple |
Sr. |
5-11 |
206 |
Montclair, N.J./Montclair |
| S |
Drico Johnson |
UCF |
Sr. |
6-1 |
215 |
Orlando, Fla./Agape Christian |
| S |
Alohi Gilman |
Navy |
Fr. |
6-0 |
200 |
Laie, Hawaii/Kahuku |
| RS |
Dishan Romine |
Navy |
Sr. |
5-11 |
178 |
Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual |
1 2 H indicates previous selections to first team, second team, or honorable mention
