Brigham Young linebacker Rob Morris was named Pacific Division defensive player of the year by Western Athletic Conference coaches Tuesday. The 6-2, 250-pound junior headlines a cast of three other Cougars and five Utah players who earned first-team recognition.
"There's no question that Rob's very deserving," BYU coach LaVell Edwards said. "He just had a very big-time year. He was dominating.""Morris and Kautai (Utah first-teamer Olevao) were the best two linebackers in the league," said Utah coach Ron McBride.
The pair was among six local players named to the first defensive unit. The others include linemen Daren Yancey (BYU) and John Frank (Utah) as well as safety Robert Love (Utah) and cornerback Brian Gray (BYU).
On the offensive side, the Utes were represented by wide receiver Daniel Jones (also special-teams honorable mention) and tailback Michael Anderson. Tait was the lone Cougar named to the offensive squad.
Both Edwards and McBride expressed disappointment their teams weren't didn't receive more offensive representation.
"That was a little surprising," said Edwards. "We certainly had several players who are deserving."
"I would think one or two of our offensive linemen deserved first team - Darren (center Walker) and Sam (guard White), definitely," said McBride of two players named to the second team.
McBride was also surprised that Fresno State running back Jaime Kimbrough was named Pacific Division offensive player of the year, though he led the league in all-purpose yards and is second to Utah's Anderson in rushing average. "Michael (Anderson) or Ronney (BYU's Jenkins, named to the second team) should have been most valuable offensive player," said McBride. "They're the best two we've seen."
Kimbrough joined Air Force quarterback Blane Morgan as WAC offensive players of the year in the Pacific and Mountain divisions, respectively. Kimbrough led WAC all-purpose yards with 177.5 per game and is second in rushing (106.2 yards per game). Morgan is the fourth Air Force quarterback to earn the honor. He leads the WAC in scoring with 14 touchdowns.
Defensive honors went to Morris and Air Force senior defensive tackle Bryce Fisher. Morris is fourth in the WAC with 130 tackles, including 20 for a loss. Fisher recorded 68 tackles and six sacks in leading the Falcons to the divisional title.
Freshman of the year awards went to San Diego State defensive tackle Jerome Haywood in the Pacific Division and UNLV linebacker James Sunia in the Mountain Division.
San Diego State's Ted Tollner was named Pacific Division coach of the year while Air Force's Fisher DeBerry was named Mountain Division coach of the year in the voting of the WAC's coaches. It marked DeBerry's third such award. He also was honored in 1985 and 1995 before the WAC expanded to 16 teams and created two divisions.
Colorado State led the WAC with seven players on the Mountain Division first team, including offensive lineman Anthony Cesario who repeated from last year. San Diego State and Utah each have five players on the Pacific Division first team.
Utah (Walker, White, Josh Cochran, Jerome Anderson, Pene Talamaivao and Jason Hooks) and BYU (Jenkins, Kevin Feterik, Byron Frisch, Brad Martin, Jason Walker and Owen Pochman) each had six on the second team. Honorable mentions for BYU are Joe Wong, Chris Ellison and Mike Rigell, and for Utah are Andy Kassotis, Mike Thomas, Kimball Christianson, Chris Hunter and Jones).
Other repeat first-team selections are offensive lineman Charles Torello of Rice; defensive lineman Talance Sawyer of UNLV; defensive back Tim Curry of Air Force; Tait of BYU; quarterback Graham Leigh of New Mexico; defensive lineman Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila of San Diego State, and Lyle West, a defensive back from San Jose State.
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Additional Information
All-Western Athletic Conference
PACIFIC DIVISION
First Team - offense
Wide receivers - Damon Gourdine, San Diego State; Daniel Jones, Utah.
Tight end - Brian Natkin, UTEP.
Linemen - John Tait, Brigham Young; Ken Foersch, Fresno State; Rick Austin, SDSU; Mike Malano, SDSU; David Loverne, San Jose State.
Quarterback - Graham Leigh, New Mexico.
Running backs - Jaime Kimbrough, Fresno State; Mike Anderson, Utah.
Defense
Linemen - Darren Yancey, BYU; Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, SDSU; Brian Young, UTEP; John Frank, Utah.
Linebackers - Rob Morris, BYU; Tim Skipper, Fresno State; Kautai Olevao, Utah.
Defensive backs - Brian Gray, BYU; Brian Urlacher, New Mexico; Lyle West, San Jose State; Robert Love, Utah.
Specialists
Place kicker - Ricky Bishop, UTEP.
Punter - Jeff Roberts, Fresno State.
Special teams - Damon Gourdine - San Diego State.
Second Team-offense
Wide receivers - Martinez Williams, New Mexico; Oliver Newell, San Jose State; Jimmy Carpenter, UTEP; Jerome Anderson, Utah.
Linemen - Jason Carson, New Mexico; Alan Gray, UTEP; Josh Cochran, Utah; Darren Walker, Utah; Sam White, Utah.
Quarterback - Kevin Feterik, BYU.
Running backs - Ronney Jenkins, BYU; Jonas Lewis, SDSU.
Defense
Linemen - Byron Frisch, BYU; Jerry Lemon, Fresno State; Pene Talamaivao, Utah.
Linebackers - Brad Martin, BYU; Joey Mayo, SDSU; Joe Tuipala, SDSU; Jason Hooks, Utah.
Defensive backs - Jason Walker, BYU; Cory Hall, Fresno State; Rico Curtis, SDSU; Eric Lewis, SDSU.
Specialists
Place kicker - Owen Pochman, BYU.
Punter - Jason Bloom, New Mexico.
Special teams - Deonce Whitaker, San Jose State.
Honorable mention
BYU - Joe Wong, Sr., OL; Chris Ellison, Sr., DB; Mike Rigell, Fr., ST.
Utah - Andy Kassotis, Jr., TE; Mike Thomas, Sr., DL; Kimball Christenson, Soph., DB; Daniel Jones, Sr., ST.