Sports in Brief

Weber State University has seven football players listed on the Consensus Draft Services (CDS) Pre-season All-American Teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Division for 2009. This is the first award given out for the 2009-10 football season. On the first team is WSU's center Kyle Mutcher. On the second team is running back Trevyn Smith. Smith was also on the second team for the Associated Press NCAA Division I FCS All-American for the 2008-09 season. He scored 28 touchdowns last season and carried 295 times for 1,585 yards in 14 games. Smith was ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division I FCS with 168 points. Honorable mentions include WSU's junior quarterback Cameron Higgins, wide receiver Tim Toone, tight end Cody Nakamura, defensive end Kevin Linehan, and cornerback Josh Morris. Higgins, Toone, Nakamura, Linehan, and Morris all made it on last year's Associated Press NCAA Division I FCS All-American Team as well. Higgins was one of the top five quarterbacks for the NCAA Division and was the 2008 Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Toone was listed fifth last year for receiving in the NCAA Division I FCS. On October 4, 2008 Linehan was named Big Sky Conference's Defensive Player of the Week. Trevyn Smith and Cameron Higgins are in the running for the Walter Payton Award (which is awarded to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS) this year and Kevin Linehan and Josh Morris are in the running for the Buck Buchanan Award (which is awarded to the most outstanding defensive player in the FCS). Head Coach Ron McBride said about the honors: "It's nice to see that the team is getting respect early. These seven players are obviously proven commodities." As for the players themselves, "It obviously makes them happy," said McBride, "but they are taking care of what they need to get done today. If they take care of today, it takes care of tomorrow."