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Cincinnati has Eight Named to AAC All-Conference Teams

The American Athletic Conference announced their All-Conference Award Winners yesterday and Cincinnati had eight players named to the All-Conference teams.

James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, the American Athletic Conference announced their postseason award winners, headlined by Navy's Keenan Reynolds being named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Temple's Tyler Matakevich earning the distinction of American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Jake Elliott, the kicker from Memphis, was named the Conference Special Teams Player of the Year and UCF wide receiver Tre'Quan Smith was named the Conference Rookie of the Year. Tom Herman and Ken Niumatalolo earned the title of American Athletic Conference Coaches of the Year, leading Houston (11-1) and Navy (9-2), respectively, to fantastic seasons.

Cincinnati turned their 7-5 (4-4) season record into eight All-Conference designations. Offensive tackle Parker Ehinger is the only Bearcat to be selected to the All-Conference First-Team. Center Deyshawn Bond, offensive guard Ryan Leahy, defensive end Silverberry Mouhon, linebacker Eric Wilson, kicker Andrew Gantz and wide receiver Shaq Washington all were named to the All-Conference Second Team, with safety Zach Edwards named an All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Ehringer, Bond and Leahy were solid, consistent players for the Bearcats all season as the offense accumulated yards and put up points in bunches. The offensive line, as a whole, only allowed 22 sacks all season and set up the quarterbacks to throw for 4,477 yards. They led the way for Cincinnati's run game as well, which rushed for 2,236 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Mouhon was a little quieter than expected this season, but still made plays, racking up 4.5 sacks with five quarterback hurries. He had 38 total tackles and seven tackles for a loss. Wilson was a tackle machine, accumulating 103 total tackles. He also had two of Cincinnati's five fumble recoveries. Edwards was the second leading tackler from the safety spot. He had 87 total tackles and added three interceptions.

Gantz was solid all year, hitting 21-of-27 field goals on the year with a long of 51. Three of those misses were from beyond 50 yards. He also missed only one extra point on the year, going 48-of-49. He scored 111 points on the year, which is a single-season school record for points scored by a kicker.

Washington was phenomenal this season with a school record 88 receptions for 971 yards and six touchdowns. He set the career mark for receptions (238) this season and also reeled in a school record 15 receptions last weekend against East Carolina.

The AAC had a great season as a conference with three teams in the AP Top 25 and Amway Coaches Polls heading into the Conference Championship games this weekend. Houston, Navy, Memphis, Temple and even South Florida weren't supposed to be this good, but all five teams surprised with big-time players stepping up into starring roles. Sure, it would have been great to see a little more Cincinnati love with the First Team, but when you look at the selections below, courtesy of the American Postseason Honor Announcement, you have to just come away impressed with the quality of the conference as a whole. Particularly for a Group of Five Conference, there are so many good and great players. Cincinnati's 7-5 regular season is disappointing, but their losses came, in large part, because of the star talent below.

ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Pos. Player School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/Last School
WR Demarcus Ayers 1 Houston Jr. 5-11 190 Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster
WR Keyarris Garrett 2 Tulsa Sr. 6-4 221 Daingerfield, Texas/Daingerfield
OT Parker Ehinger 1 Cincinnati Sr. 6-7 318 Rockford, Mich./Rockford
OT Taylor Fallin Memphis Sr. 6-6 330 Bowie, Md./Bowie
OG E.K. Binns Navy Sr. 6-3 295 Cape Coral, Fla./Island Coast
OG Eric Lofton Temple Sr. 6-5 302 Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley
C Kyle Friend 2 Temple Sr. 6-2 305 Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley
TE Bryce Williams 2 East Carolina Sr. 6-6 258 Winston-Salem, N.C./Marshall
QB Paxton Lynch 2 Memphis Jr. 6-7 245 Deltona, Fla./Trinity Christian Academy
QB Keenan Reynolds Navy Sr. 5-11 205 Antioch, Tenn./Goodpasture Christian
RB Marlon Mack 1 USF So. 6-0 195 Sarasota, Fla./Booker
RB Jahad Thomas Temple Jr. 5-10 180 Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth
K Jake Elliott 1 1 Memphis Jr. 5-10 165 Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township
RS Demarcus Ayers Houston Jr. 5-11 190 Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster
DL Will Anthony Navy Sr. 6-1 254 Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian
DL Matt Ioannidis 2 Temple Sr. 6-4 292 Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central
DL Nate D. Smith Temple Sr. 6-0 236 Highland Park, N.J./Fork Union
DL Tanzel Smart Tulane Jr. 6-1 304 Baton Rouge, La./Scotlandville Magnet
LB Zeek Bigger 2 East Carolina Sr. 6-2 216 Gastonia, N.C./Ashbrook
LB Elandon Roberts Houston Sr. 6-0 235 Port Arthur, Texas/Morgan State
LB Tyler Matakevich * 1 1 Temple Sr. 6-1 232 Stratford, Conn./St. Joseph's
LB Nico Marley H Tulane Jr. 5-10 208 Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay
CB Jamar Summers UConn So. 6-0 185 Orange, N.J./Orange
CB Deatrick Nichols USF So. 5-10 189 Miami, Fla./Miami Central
S Trevon Stewart 2 Houston Sr. 5-10 195 Patterson, La./Patterson
S Alex Wells Temple Sr. 6-0 203 Baltimore, Md./Overlea
P Spencer Smith 2 Memphis So. 6-1 195 Newnan, Ga./East Coweta

* unanimous selection

ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Pos. Player School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/Last School
WR Shaq Washington Cincinnati Sr. 5-9 179 Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights
WR Isaiah Jones East Carolina Jr. 6-1 197 Austin, Texas/Stephen F. Austin
OT Alex Cooper Houston Sr. 6-4 305 Bellaire, Texas/Second Baptist
OT Dion Dawkins Temple Jr. 6-5 318 Rahway, N.J./Rahway
OG Ryan Leahy Cincinnati Jr. 6-6 292 Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle
OG Thor Jozwiak USF Sr. 6-4 318 Eagle Lake, Fla./Lake Region
C Deyshawn Bond Cincinnati Jr. 6-1 291 Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
TE Sean Price USF Sr. 6-3 252 Citra, Fla./North Marion
QB Greg Ward Jr. Houston Jr. 5-11 185 Tyler, Texas/John Tyler
RB Kenneth Farrow 2 Houston Sr. 5-10 220 Hurst, Texas/L.D. Bell
RB Chris Swain Navy Sr. 6-1 245 Macon, Ga./Mount de Sales Academy
K Andrew Gantz 2 Cincinnati So. 5-9 170 Dayton, Ohio/Centerville
RS Rodney Adams USF Jr. 6-1 190 St. Petersburg, Fla./Toledo
DL Silverberry Mouhon 2 Cincinnati Sr. 6-3 255 Norcross, Ga./Norcross
DL Julian Campenni UConn Sr. 6-0 306 West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming Area
DL B.J. Singleton Houston Jr. 6-4 305 Destrehan, La./Destrehan
DL Eric Lee USF Sr. 6-3 260 Daphne, Ala./Daphne
LB Eric Wilson Cincinnati Jr. 6-2 219 Redford, Mich./Northwestern
LB Montese Overton East Carolina Sr. 6-3 221 Greenville, N.C./South Central
LB Steven Taylor Houston Jr. 6-1 225 Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill
LB Auggie Sanchez USF So. 6-2 244 St. Petersburg, Fla./Northeast
CB William Jackson III 2 Houston Sr. 6-2 195 Houston, Texas/Trinity Valley CC
CB Sean Chandler Temple So. 5-11 185 Camden, N.J./Camden
S Andrew Adams UConn Sr. 6-0 198 Fayetteville, Ga./Woodward Academy
S Adrian McDonald 1 Houston Sr. 5-11 205 Lawton, Okla./Eisenhower
P Caleb Houston UCF Jr. 6-1 210 Cleveland, Tenn./Walker Valley
P Mattias Ciabatti 1 USF Sr. 6-0 200 Tampa, Fla./Hillsborough


ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
Pos. Player School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown/Last School
WR Rodney Adams USF Jr. 6-1 190 St. Petersburg, Fla./Toledo
OT Ike Harris 2 East Carolina Sr. 6-7 309 Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork
OT Joey Gaston Navy Sr. 6-5 281 Knoxville, Tenn./Knoxville Catholic
OG J.T. Boyd 2 East Carolina Jr. 6-4 298 Fort Mill, S.C./Nation Ford
C Will Noble Houston Fr. 6-4 290 Leander, Texas/Rouse
TE Alan Cross 1 Memphis Sr. 6-1 235 Millington, Tenn./Millington
DL Haason Reddick Temple Jr. 6-1 225 Camden, N.J./Haddon Heights
DL Folorunso Fatukasi UConn So. 6-4 304 Far Rockaway, N.Y./Beach Channel
LB Junior Joseph UConn So. 6-1 242 Sinking Springs, Pa./Wilson Westlawn
LB Trent Martin Tulsa Jr. 6-2 230 Jenks, Okla./Jenks
S Zach Edwards Cincinnati Jr. 6-1 200 Middletown, Ohio/Middletown
S Michael Mudoh Tulsa Sr. 5-10 205 Richmond, Texas/Bush


1 2 H indicates previous selections to first team, second team, or honorable mention