Ten 'Cats voted All-American

Just when the Weber State University Football Team thought they could finally wind down from the 2008 season, the Wildcats have once again been rewarded for their historic season. On Tuesday, the 2008 Sports Network All-America Team was released, and 10 Wildcats are listed among the nation's best. "It's absolutely remarkable," said WSU Head Coach Ron McBride. "It's pretty astounding. Having that many picks is just unheard of." McBride was inverviewed by phone from his home while recovering from outpatient surgury he underwent on Tuesday. McBride fell down a flight of steps at Stewart Stadium on Saturday, tearing his rotator cuff. WSU landed seven players on the three selected teams, which was more than any other team in the nation. Running back Trevyn Smith and receiver Tim Toone both garnered second-team honors for their stellar offensive performances during a season in which WSU won a share of its first Big Sky Conference Championship in 21 years. "I was kind of let down earlier when I didn't make the AP team, so this is just awesome," Toone said. Smith, a junior, rushed for 1,585 yards, received for 778 yards, and scored a national best 28 total touchdowns. Toone, also a junior, hauled in a national best 1,525 receiving yards and chipped in seven touchdown catches. A total of five Wildcats were selected to the third-team, including tackle Paul Carpenter, quarterback Cameron Higgins, safety Beau Hadley, defensive tackle Bryce Scanlon and tight end Cody Nakamura. Higgins, who was anchored by dominating protection from Carpenter and the offensive line, led the nation with 4,477 passing yards, and threw a school record 36 touchdown passes. Ten of those touchdown passes were snagged by Nakamura, who also averaged 15.2 yards per catch on 729 receiving yards. "It's pretty cool to see guys like Paul (Carpenter) get it," said WSU fullback Marcus Mailei. "I'm pretty much a glorified lineman so to see those guys get it is great." Mailei, who is hailed for his powerful blocking abilities added his name to the honorable mention list. His blocking was accompanied with 202 total yards and two touchdowns. Defensive tackle Bryce Scanlon, and defensive end Kevin Linehan were also honorable mention selections, who caused fits for opposing offenses all season. Scanlon and Linehan combined for 145 total tackles, 11.5 sacks, 22 tackles for a loss, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one defensive touchdown, and one blocked kick. Cornerback Josh Morris was the final Wildcat to receive honorable mention nods. Morris tallied 63 tackles, one sack, five interceptions, one fumble recovery, and nine pass break ups. "We have lots of picks on offense and defense, so it really shows that when we work as a team, our hard work will pay off," Toone said." Not only did WSU have the most All-American selections in the country, they also led the Big Sky with 12 All-Conference picks.Led by WSU, the Big Sky had more All-American selections than any other conference in the nation. The 10 selections are the most ever in a single year for WSU. In 1991, WSU landed three players on one of the three Sports Network teams. Smith and Higgins were also selected to the AP All-America Team in December, grabbing second and third-team spots respectively. Smith is the only repeat winner for WSU, who was voted honorable mention in 2007. "Even having the two All-Americans out of 109 schools in the country is a lot," McBride said. "So having 10 is unbelievable. It's also a compliment to our coaching staff. This team has done so many great things, and it's really icing on the cake."