Coaches Select UH Quartet To First Team
12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 2006
Houston, Texas - A few days after capturing the Conference USA Championship with a 34-20 win over Southern Miss, the University of Houston football team received some more good news Tuesday, as four Cougar players were named to the league First Team, as it was announced by the conference office in Irving.
Quarterback Kevin Kolb, center Sterling Doty, free safety Will Gulley and outside linebacker Wade Koehl were named to the Conference USA First Team by the league's 12 head coaches. Last week Doty, Gulley and Kolb were named to the First Team by the media.
Houston produced a league-high 12 total selections, with five on the Second Team and three Third-Team picks. The Cougars also had seven Honorable Mentions.
Running back Anthony Alridge was joined on the Second Team by offensive tackle Jeff Akeroyd, nose guard Marquay Love, cornerback Willie Gaston and wide receiver Vincent Marshall, who was named the MVP of the Conference Championship Game. The Third Team was led by running back Jackie Battle and included wide receiver Donnie Avery and defensive end Phillip Hunt.
Honorable Mention included offensive tackle Dustin Dickinson, tight end Mark Hafner, wide receiver Jeron Harvey, linebacker Trent Allen, cornerback Kenneth Fontenette and kicker Ben Bell. Allen, Bell and Dickinson were named to either the Second or Third Teams by the media last week.
Safety Brandon Brinkley was the only UH member of the C-USA Football Coaches All-Freshman Team.
In his final season at the helm of the Cougar offense, Kolb led Houston to a 10-3 record and 26 wins during his career. A four-year starter who enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl contest with South Carolina on a streak of 49 straight starts, Kolb owns almost every passing and total offense mark in UH history and has thrown for 12,578 yards and accounted for 103 touchdowns in his career. Kolb was named the Media Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year.
Doty has been nothing but solid for the Cougars in the middle, starting 36 straight games at the center position. Earlier this year he was a member of the Rimington Award Watch List.
As for Gulley, the free safety completed his return from major knee surgery with his first-placement on one of the league's postseason squads. Gulley leads the Cougars with five interceptions and 93 total tackles. Gulley missed all of the 2005 season after suffering a knee injury towards the end of the '04 campaign.
Koehl started all 13 games for the Cougars this season and registered 62 total tackles. He was a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy and was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team last week.
After beginning the year as a wide receiver, Alridge grabbed the spotlight in the second half of the UTEP game on Oct. 21 and never looked back. Alridge racked up four 100-yard games in league play, including a remarkable 225 versus SMU on Nov. 11. Alridge leads the Cougars with 904 yards and an eye-popping 10.6 yards per rush. He scored three touchdowns over 70 yards this season.
Marshall will conclude his career as the school's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, and this year's selection marks the third straight year he picked up C-USA postseason accolades. Marshall leads the Cougars with 71 catches and six touchdowns this season.
Akeroyd's selection is the first for the 13-game starter. He began the year as the Cougars' starting left guard but moved outside to left tackle following the season-ending injury to SirVincent Rogers.
Gaston concludes his career with a UH record 44 pass breakups. He has played in 48 games for the Cougars, including the last three as a starting cornerback.
Battle wraps up his career with a Third-Team selection after rushing for 858 yards and a team-best 13 touchdowns. Entering the season with just one 100-yard game, Battle registered three in 2006, including back-to-back century performances to conclude the regular season. As for Hunt, he leads the team with seven sacks and is second on the team with 11 tackles for losses.
Speed-burner Avery and run-stuffing Love also pick up conference postseason accolades for the first time. Avery leads the Cougar receivers with 780 yards while hauling in five scores from Kolb.
A two-time C-USA Player of the Week, Love elevated his game to the next level in final season with the Cougars. Love finished the regular season with a career-best 51 tackles, including a team-best 11 for losses.
---UHCougars.com---
