Fourteen Southern Utah University football players have been named to the Great West Football Conference's all-conference squad, including four first-team selections. SUU wide receiver Braden Godfrey was named the league's Freshman of the Year as well in balloting conducted among the league's coaches.
Senior linebackers Nick DiPadova and Marques Harris and senior defensive end Sitiveni Tuivai all earned first team nods on the defensive side of the ball while senior wide receiver Jerome Eason was the only Thunderbird on the first offense.
DiPadova, a senior from Woodland Hills, Calif., led the Thunderbirds and was 14th in the nation in tackles with 120, while Harris, a senior from Grand Junction, Colo., ranked seventh in the nation in sacks and eighth in tackles-for-losses with his team-leading totals of 11 sacks and 18.5 TFLs. Tuivai, a senior from Tatakamotonga, Tonga, finished the season with 31 tackles, including eight TFLs and four sacks. Eason, a junior from Lancaster, Calif., pulled in 59 passes for team-highs of 806 yards and seven touchdowns.
Godfrey, a true freshman from Layton, Utah, caught 13 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown. His 15.2 yards-per catch average led the team.
Second-team honors went to quarterback Casey Rehrer, wide receiver A.J. Smith and tackle Iosefa Robins on offense, while four Thunderbirds earned defensive second team nods: LB Mike Overly, DL Levi Erickson and safeties Steve Smith and Brandon Perkins, and kicker Steve Pulver earned second team recognition as well.
Rehrer, a senior from Orem, Utah, rewrote Southern Utah's single-season record books this fall, setting records for passing yards (2,846), touchdowns (21), completions (247), attempts (376) and completion percentage (.635). Smith, a senior from Lehi, Utah, caught an SUU single-season record 80 passes for 740 yards and four TDs this season, while Robins, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii, started every game of his two-year SUU career.
Overly, a senior from Boise, Idaho, finished the season second on the team with 77 tackles despite missing the better part of two games with injury; he also tallied nine TFLs and four sacks. Erickson, a sophomore from Salt Lake City, led all SUU down linemen with 38 tackles, including eight TFLs and four sacks. Smith (junior, Salt Lake City) and Perkins (junior, Sandy, Utah) finished fifth and sixth on the squad in tackles, with 64 and 61, respectively. Smith also missed the better part of two games with injury but still had 10 tackles for losses and five sacks, while Perkins led the team with two interceptions and also had two TFLs.
Pulver, a sophomore from Salt Lake city, was successful on all 36 of his PAT attempts and 8-of-20 field goal tries.
Two more Thunderbirds earned honorable mention, senior offensive lineman Lee Chart (Park City) and freshman punter Trevor Ward (Bountiful).
Northern Colorado WR Vincent Jackson was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year, with Cal Poly linebacker Jordan beck receiving the defensive nod and UC Davis return specialist Jesse Oliva named Special Teams Player of the Year. Cal Poly Coach Rich Ellerson, who spent one season at the helm at SUU in 1996, was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Mustangs to an undefeated league championship and a 9-2 overall mark.