Wilson, Broughton Earn All-AAC Honors

It should come as no surprise that the annual All-American Athletic Conference awards were devoid of many Cincinnati Bearcats this year. After all, UC went just 4-8 and struggled to do much more than exist on offense and keep its head above water on defense.

However, that doesn’t mean that a few players didn’t do enough to gain some recognition. The league released its All-Conference teams and annual awards today and UC had two players featured. Senior linebacker Eric Wilson was named to the All-AAC first-team and sophomore defensive tackle Cortez Broughton was placed on the second-team.

Wilson led the entire league and ranked third nationally in tackles (129) during the regular season. He also accumulated 7.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 3.0 sacks along with two passes defended and a pair of fumble recoveries.

Broughton managed 42 total tackles, including five for loss, as well as 2.5 sacks and even a few passes defended (three) and an interception.

As for the individual awards, USF quarterback Quinton Flowers was named Offensive Player of the Year, UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin took home Defensive Player of the Year honors, Memphis kick returner Tony Pollard won Special Teams Player of the Year and Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver snagged Rookie of the Year. Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo was honored as Coach of the Year after leading the Midshipmen to a 9-2 overall record and a spot in Saturday’s AAC title game.