University of Houston Athletics
Two Cougars Grab League Honors
12/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 7, 2001
Junior weak safety Hanik Milligan and sophomore offensive guard Rex Hadnot today were named to the Conference USA First Team by Collegefootballnews.com, an affiliate of Foxsports.com.
Milligan-who two days ago was selected Second Team, All-Conference USA by the league's head coaches and media-led the Cougars in tackles in 2001, with 174 total stops. He racked up at least 10 tackles per game, while averaging 15.8 per game. On three different occasions Milligan registered at least 20 tackles, including a career-best 22 versus TCU at home. The 22 tackles tied for the fourth-best output in school history.
Speaking of records, Milligan came up just three tackles shy of the school seasonal mark for tackles. Frank Ditta's 1970 mark of 177 was within Milligan grasp, but the North Ft. Lauderdale native came up just shy of the mark. His 102 unassisted tackles placed him in a third-place tie with Robert Harper (1986), and he became only the eighth player in school history to record at least 100 solo stops in a season. The school record for unassisted tackles is the 118 racked up by Gary McGuire in 1986.
As for Hadnot, the former Lufkin (Texas) High School star had a breakout season in his first year as a starting offensive lineman. Starting all 11 games at left guard, Hadnot did not allow a sack all season long-a remarkable string of 500 pass plays. He also racked up over 100 knockdown blocks and was second on the team in "ESPN Blocks" with 34. On the year the Cougars offense averaged 342.5 yards per game, including almost 250 through the air.
Also on Collegefootballnews.com's list was C-USA's "Top 30 Players of the Year Regardless of Position." Milligan was rated as the league's ninth-best player, while junior running back Joffrey Reynolds was the 30th.
In his second year as a starter, and first 100% healthy, Reynolds illustrated why he was one of the top dual-purpose threats in Conference USA. Reynolds racked up four 100-yard games, including three straight in midseason, en route to a career-best 818 yards and seven touchdowns rushing. On top of that, Reynolds was second on the team in receptions with 37 for 349 yards and one score, and his average of 3.4 receptions per game ranked him in the Top 10 nationally among running backs.
Fortunately for the Cougars, all three of these honored player's return for the 2002 campaign.
-UHCougars.com-
