University of Houston Athletics
Eight Cougars Grab Mid-Season Awards
10/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Houston, Texas - Senior tight end Mark Hafner and senior defensive end Phillip Hunt were named to Phil Steele's 2008 Mid-Season All-Conference USA First Team, as announced by Phil Steele Publications on Oct. 14. Six other Cougars were named to the Third Team.
One of the top tight ends in the nation, Hafner has already surpassed his career-highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns and has five games left to play. Hafner leads the Cougars with 52 catches and eight touchdowns and is second on the team with 569 yards receiving. In late September he was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week after catching three touchdown passes against Air Force.
As for Hunt, he leads C-USA in sacks with 10, a total that has him ranked #1 nationally at 1.43 sacks per game. Hunt was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Cougars to a 45-20 win over UAB, a game in which he recorded three sacks.
Senior offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer, junior kicker Ben Bell, junior punter Chase Turner, junior linebacker Matt Nicholson, sophomore quarterback Case Keenum and freshman wide receiver Patrick Edwards were all named to the C-USA Third Team.
Vollmer has started all seven games this season on an offensive line that has produced 544.3 yards and 39.3 points per game. Keenum is the triggerman in the potent offense, and he leads the nation in total offense with 407.9 yards per game. Keenum has thrown for 2,691 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 68.8 of his passes.
Outside of Hafner, one of Keenum's other favorite targets is Edwards, who has 43 catches for a team-leading 604 yards and four touchdowns. Edwards ranks second among freshmen in receiving yards per game (86.3) at a national level.
The special teams tandem of Bell and Turner have been outstanding for the Cougars this fall. Bell has scored 55 points, while nailing all 31 of his PATs and has hit eight-of-10 of his field-goal attempts. As for Turner, his 48.1 yard average would lead the nation if he averaged at least 3.6 punts per game. Heading into the Marshall contest, Turner averages only 3.1 punts per game.
Finally, Nicholson has been one of the Cougars top defenders this fall. He leads the team in total tackles with 57, including 33 unassisted and 3.5 for losses. He also has one sack and one interception.
Football returns to action in Huntington, W. Va., on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. to take on Conference USA rival Marshall on ESPN 2.
Fans can hear all UH games live on 790 AM The Sports Animal with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action, Ted Pardee providing color analysis and Chuck Brown reporting from the sideline. The pregame show is slated to begin one hour before kickoff.
Fans can follow live stats over the Internet by clicking the Gametracker link at UHCougars.com
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