Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Garner 10 All-WAC Selections
12/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 7, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State football team was well-represented on the All-WAC football first and second teams as the Bulldogs had six first-team selections and four second-team selections. Of the 10 honorees six were juniors and one was a sophomore, showing the young talent the Bulldogs have on their team.
Earning first-team honors on the offense was junior Andrew Jackson on the offensive line and junior running back Ryan Mathews. Defensively, juniors Chris Carter and Ben Jacobs earned the honor while sophomore Keving Goessling and senior Robert Malone earned first-team honors on the special teams.
Senior wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu and junior offensive lineman Kenny Wiggins earned second-team honors on the offensive while Lorne Bell and Moses Harris earned second team honors on defense.
This is the second straight year Harris, Jacobs, Carter and Jackson have earned All-WAC honors as all four earned second-team accolades last year.
"I'm glad we had six players on the first team, and only one of those guys is a senior," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "We are a young team. I'm especially glad that both of our specialists made the first team. Both of those guys received too much criticism early in their careers, but they hung in there. They are very strong, tough individuals. We knew they were going to be special players. I'm also happy for Chris Carter. He played the whole year with a club on his hand, and to make the All-WAC first-team playing one-handed is a great tribute to his ability and tenacity."
Mathews has led the nation in rushing for a majority of the season as he is currently averaging 151.3 yards a game and has 17 touchdowns. He has carried the ball for 1,664 yards in his junior season.
With Jackson earning first-team all-conference honors, it marks the seventh time in the last eight years that a Fresno State lineman has earned first-team All-WAC. Jackson joins an impressive list of Bulldog lineman greats, Bobby Lepori, Ryan Wendell, Chris Denman, Logan Mankins, Mike Stoval and Joe Schey.
Jacobs leads the Bulldogs in tackles with 92, one interception, three fumble recoveries, one for a touchdown and three forced fumbles. Despite playing hurt, Carter was still fifth on the team in tackles with 44 and he had a team-best 12 tackles for a loss, four sacks and one fumble recovery.
Goessling was a perfect 51-for-51 on extra points and was 15-for-16 on field goals. He has made 15 straight field goals and 22 of his last 24. Malone averaged 45.1 yards a punt and he had 14 punts of 50 yards or more, including a 69-yarder and he pinned the opponent 16 times inside the 20.
The Bulldogs leading receiver was Ajirotutu who had 48 receptions for 671 yards and seven touchdowns this year. Wiggins was key player on the offensive line in opening holes for the Bulldogs excellent rushing game.
Moses Harris was third on the team in tackles with 58 while his teammate in the secondary, Bell was second on the team in tackles with 60.
BCS and WAC champion representative Boise State had 11 All-WAC selections while Nevada had nine All-WAC honorees. The WAC Offensive Player of the Year was Kellen Moore from Boise State and the Defensive Player of the Year was Nevada's Dontay Moch. The Coach of the Year was Boise State's Chris Petersen and the Freshman of the Year was Brandon Wimberly of Nevada.
The Bulldogs are set to play in the New Mexico Bowl on December 19 against Wyoming from the Mountain West Conference. This is the 10th time in 11 seasons Fresno State has played in a bowl game. The game will be at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time on ESPN.
Top Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year - Kellen Moore, So., QB, Boise State
Defensive Player of the Year - Dontay Moch, Jr., DE, Nevada
Freshman of the Year - Brandon Wimberly, WR, Nevada
Coach of the Year - Chris Petersen, Boise State
First Team
Offense
WR-%Austin Pettis, Boise State, 6-3, 201, Jr.
WR-Titus Young, Boise State, 5-11, 170, Jr.
WR-Greg Salas, Hawai`i, 6-2, 200, Jr.
TE-Dennis Morris, Louisiana Tech, 6-2, 265, Sr.
OL-Nate Potter, Boise State, 6-6, 293, So.
OL-%Andrew Jackson, Fresno State, 6-5, 295, Jr.
OL-*$John Estes, Hawai`i, 6-3, 300, Sr.
OL-%Mike Iupati, Idaho, 6-6, 330, Sr.
OL-%Alonzo Durham, Nevada, 6-4, 285, Sr.
QB-%Kellen Moore, Boise State, 6-0, 187, So.
RB-Ryan Mathews, Fresno State, 5-11, 220, Jr.
RB-*Vai Taua, Nevada, 5-10, 220, Jr.
Defense
DL-*Ryan Winterswyk, Boise State, 6-4, 263, Jr.
DL-%Chris Carter, Fresno State, 6-2, 230, Jr.
DL-*D'Anthony Smith, Louisiana Tech, 6-2, 300, Sr.
DL-%Dontay Moch, Nevada, 6-1, 245, Jr.
LB-%Ben Jacobs, Fresno State, 6-3, 225, Jr.
LB-Blaze Soares, Hawai`i, 6-1, 245, Sr.
LB-Adrien Cole, Louisiana Tech, 5-11, 240, So.
LB-Bobby Wagner, Utah State, 6-1, 217, So.
DB-*#Kyle Wilson, Boise State, 5-10, 186, Sr.
DB-#Shiloh Keo, Idaho, 5-11, 211, Jr.
DB-Davon House, New Mexico State, 6-0, 178, Jr.
DB-*Duke Ihenacho, San Jose State, 6-1, 210, Jr.
Specialists
PK-Kevin Goessling, Fresno State, 6-0, 195, So.
P-Robert Malone, Fresno State, 6-2, 215, Sr.
ST-Titus Young, Boise State, 5-11, 170, Jr.
Second Team
Offense
WR-Seyi Ajirotutu, Sr., Fresno State
WR-Max Komar, Sr., Idaho
WR-Brandon Wimberly, Fr., Nevada
WR-Kevin Jurovich, Sr., San Jose State
TE-Virgil Green, Jr., Nevada
OL-Kenny Wiggins, Jr., Fresno State
OL-Aaron Kia, Sr., Hawai`i
OL-Irv Stevens, Sr., Idaho
OL-%Rob McGill, Jr., Louisiana Tech
OL-Kenneth Ackerman, Sr., Nevada
QB-*Colin Kaepernck, Jr., Nevada
RB-Jeremy Avery, Jr., Boise State
RB-*Daniel Porter, Sr., Louisiana Tech
RB-Robert Turbin, So., Utah State
Defense
DL-Billy Winn, So., Boise State
DL-Aaron Lavarias, Jr., Idaho
DL-*Kevin Basped, Jr., Nevada
DL-%Carl Ihenacho, Sr., San Jose State
LB-Winston Venable, Jr., Boise State
LB-JoJo Dickson, Jr., Idaho
LB-James-Michael Johnson, So., Nevada
LB-%Justin Cole, Sr., San Jose State
DB-%Jeron Johnson, Jr., Boise State
DB-Lorne Bell, Jr., Fresno State
DB-%Moses Harris, Sr., Fresno State
DB-Jonathon Amaya, Sr., Nevada
Specialists
PK-Trey Farquhar, Fr., Idaho
P-Philip Zavala, Sr., San Jose State
ST-*Phillip Livas, Jr., Louisiana Tech
*2008 First-Team All-WAC Selection
%2008 Second-Team All-WAC Selection
$2007 First-Team All-WAC Selection
#2007 Second-Team All-WAC Selection
"We Are Your Team"- For Fresno State ticket information on the New Mexico Bowl stay tuned to gobulldogs.com.
