University of Houston Athletics
Eight Cougar Gridders Earn All-Conference Honors
12/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 7, 2010
Eight University of Houston football players earned postseason All-Conference USA honors today as announced by the Conference office, including three members named to the first team --running back Bryce Beall, offensive guard Chris Thompson and receiver Patrick Edwards.
Senior offensive guard Isaiah Thompson, junior linebacker Marcus McGraw and Edwards as a punt returner were named to the second team, while senior receiver James Cleveland and junior linebacker Sammy Brown took honorable mention honors. True-freshman Efrem Oliphant was the sole representative on the C-USA All-Freshman team.
Beall and Edwards were among the top scorers in the conference in 2010 with Edwards leading with 14 total touchdowns. Beall broke the school record for career rushing touchdowns in just three seasons with the Cougars. The pair, along with C. Thompson, helped post the league's second-ranked total offense. All three put UH in the nation's top-15 in scoring, total offense and passing. For the third time under head coach Kevin Sumlin the squad averaged over 39 points, 450 total yards and 330 passing yards per game.
Second-team awardee McGraw led the Cougar defense for the third straight season, starting every game of his three-year career. He posted 110 tackles, topping the 100-tackle mark for the third consecutive year. I. Thompson was the second UH offensive lineman to be honored, a credit to the national rankings posted by the Cougar offense in 2010. Edwards logged his second league accolade as the second-team punt returner. He paced C-USA in punt return yards for 12 of the 13 weeks, with a 15.4 average, which included a 74-yard touchdown return vs. Memphis.
A pair of Cougars were named honorable mention All-Conference USA. Cleveland ranked fourth in the league in both receiving yards and catches, while Brown, a junior college transfer linebacker, led the league in tackles for loss as a newcomer, which ranked fifth in the NCAA. He also had the conference's fourth-most quarterback sacks.
Oliphant represented UH on the All-Freshman team after starting the final three games at linebacker as a true-freshman. He played in all 12 games and logged 66 tackles, three for loss and two fumble recoveries.
The league's individual awards will be released on Wednesday, December 8. Conference USA will conclude the 2010 season by sending six teams to bowl games for the fifth time in six seasons.
All-Conference USA
First Team
Bryce Beall, running back
Chris Thompson, offensive guard
Patrick Edwards, wide receiver
Second Team
Isaiah Thompson, offensive guard
Marcus McGraw, linebacker
Patrick Edwards, punt returner
Honorable Mention
James Cleveland, wide receiver
Sammy Brown, linebacker
All-Freshman Conference USA
Efrem Oliphant, linebacker
