Fresno State Athletics
Lepori Named All-WAC
12/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 1, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State's outstanding senior offensive tackle Bobby Lepori led a Bulldog group of six players honored by the Western Athletic Conference coaches today.
Lepori, a senior from Reno, Nevada, was named to the All-WAC first team. He was one of two Bulldog linemen honored on either the first or second team.
"I think when it comes to toughness and playing Bulldog football, Bobby Lepori epitomizes that," said head coach Pat Hill. "He deserves this honor and has been an important part of our football team for the last three seasons."
It marked six of the last seven years a Bulldog lineman has been selected to the All-WAC first team. Lepori joins other Bulldog line greats Ryan Wendell, Chris Denman, Logan Mankins, Mike Stovall and Joe Schey as first-team All-WAC players.
Sophomore right guard Andrew Jackson was selected to the All-WAC second team by the league's coaches.
Senior right end Bear Pascoe, who was injured for part of the conference season, was selected to the All-WAC second team. Last season, he became the first Bulldog tight end ever selected first-team All-WAC. He set Bulldog record by catching 10 touchdowns in his career, most-ever by a tight end, and also holds a school record by blocking six kicks.
Three Bulldog underclassmen, end Chris Carter, linebacker Ben Jacobs and safety Moses Harris were selected to defensive All-WAC second-team.
Jacobs leads the Dogs and ranks fifth in the WAC in tackles with 106 on the season. Carter, who finished the season as a defensive end, was among the WAC leaders in tackles with 79, and had 6.5 tackles for losses and 3.5 sacks this season. Harris, an academic honors candidate, has 70 tackles on the season, his third as a starting player.
"The fact that four of the six players on the All-WAC team, three sophomores, bodes well for the future of Bulldog football," Hill said. "I believe we have several other guys on our team who were on track for All-WAC kinds of years but were sidelined because of injuries. I think Cole Popovich, who was a consensus preseason All-WAC player, was one of the best linemen in the league. When Ryan Mathews got hurt he was leading the WAC and ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in rushing. A healthy Jon Monga is a first-team All-WAC player. But injuries are a part of football and that's a shame."
The Bulldog are taking a short break to prepare for final exams and waiting on their bowl destination.
"This break is needed," Hill added. "The guys need a break and a chance to concentrate on school. The college football season is a grind. It gives us a chance to get some guys healthy and ready for the bowl game. We will take some time off and then get back to work and prepare for the bowl game and finish this season the way we want to and that's with a bowl win."
2008 All-WAC Team
Offensive Player of the Year - Colin Kaepernick, So., QB, Nevada
Co-Defensive Players of the Year - Solomon Elimimian, Sr., LB, Hawai`i and Jarron Gilbert, Sr., DT, San Jose State
Freshman of the Year - Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
Coach of the Year - Chris Petersen, Boise State
First Team
Offense
WR *Jeremy Childs, Boise State, 6-0, 196, Jr.
WR Marko Mitchell, Nevada, 6-4, 200, Sr.
WR %$Chris Williams, New Mexico State, 5-8, 157, Sr.
TE Eddie Williams, Idaho, 6-1, 249, Sr.
OL Andrew Woodruff, Boise State, 6-2, 320, Sr.
OL Bobby Lepori, Fresno State, 6-5, 290, Sr.
OL *John Estes, Hawai`i, 6-2, 290, Jr.
OL %Adam Korby, Idaho, 6-2, 292, Sr.
OL *#Dominic Green, Nevada, 6-3, 295, Sr.
QB Colin Kaepernick, Nevada, 6-6, 215, So.
RB Daniel Porter, Louisiana Tech, 5-9, 189, Jr.
RB Vai Taua, Nevada, 5-10, 225, So.
Defense
DL Ryan Winterswyk, Boise State, 6-4, 258, So.
DL D'Anthony Smith, Louisiana Tech, 6-2, 292, Jr.
DL Kevin Basped, Nevada, 6-6, 240, So.
DL %Jarron Gilbert, San Jose State, 6-6, 280, Sr.
LB Ellis Powers, Boise State, 5-10, 200, Sr.
LB *Solomon Elimimian, Hawai`i, 6-0, 220, Sr.
LB *#Adam Leonard, Hawai`i, 6-0, 235, Sr.
LB Duke Ihenacho, San Jose State, 6-1, 200, So.
DB %Kyle Wilson, Boise State, 5-10, 185, Jr.
DB Ryan Mouton, Hawai`i, 5-10, 180, Sr.
DB *Antonio Baker, Louisiana Tech, 5-11, 200, Jr.
DB %Christopher Owens, San Jose State, 5-10, 170, Sr.
Specialists
PK Brett Jaekle, Nevada, 6-4, 210, Sr.
P T.J. Conley, Idaho, 6-3, 216, Sr.
ST Phillip Livas, Louisiana Tech, 5-8, 170, So.
Second Team
Offense
WR Austin Petts, So., Boise State
WR Michael Washington, Sr., Hawai`i
WR David Richmond, Sr., San Jose State
TE *Bear Pascoe, Sr., Fresno State
OL Andrew Jackson, So., Fresno State
OL Mike Iupati, Jr., Idaho
OL Rob McGill, So., Louisiana Tech
OL Alonzo Durham, Jr., Nevada
OL Mike Gallett, So., Nevada
OL Richie Bolin, Sr., New Mexico State
OL Brennan McFadden, Jr., Utah State
QB Kellen Moore, Fr., Boise State
RB *$Ian Johnson, Sr., Boise State
RB #@Yonus Davis, Sr., San Jose State
Defense
DL Mike T. Williams, Sr., Boise State
DL *David Veikune, Sr., Hawai`i
DL Keala Watson, Sr., Hawai`i
DL Dontay Moch, So., Nevada
DL Carl Ihenacho, Jr., San Jose State
LB Chris Carter, So., Fresno State
LB Ben Jacobs, So., Fresno State
LB Justin Cole, Jr., San Jose State
LB %Jake Hutton, Jr., Utah State
LB Paul Igboeli, Jr., Utah State
DB Jeron Johnson, So., Boise State
DB Moses Harris, Jr., Fresno State
DB Derrick Richardson, Sr., NMSU
DB Coye Francies, Sr., San Jose State
Specialists
PK Tino Amancio, Sr., Idaho
P *Chris Keagle, Sr., Louisiana Tech
P Brad Langley, So., Nevada
ST Kyle Wilson, Jr., Boise State
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs host the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in the 2008 Papé Slam on Wednesday, December 3 at 7:00 pm in the Save Mart Center. It's "Working Wednesday" and fans can enter to win via their business cards for prizes or free tickets to future games. Tickets are on sale now through the Save Mart Center box office, by calling (559) 485-TIXS or online at ticketmaster.com.
