Seven Named to The American All-Conference Team
12/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON - Seven players from the Houston Football program were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Conference teams the league announced Wednesday. Senior offensive lineman Rowdy Harper, senior defensive tackle Joey Mbu and junior safety Adrian McDonald were named to the American's All-Conference First Team.
Junior running back Kenneth Farrow, junior receiver Deontay Greenberry, junior cornerback William Jackson and senior linebacker Efrem Oliphant were named to the American's All-Conference Second Team.
The seven selections ranked fourth among all 11 American programs.
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Harper has started all 51 career games for Houston, tied for the nation's second-longest streak for consecutive starts. The Broken Arrow, Okla., native started all 12 games this season at right guard after seeing action at tackle and guard earlier in his career.
A Reese's Senior Bowl invitee, Mbu led the Houston defense up the middle while finishing the year with 31 tackles including 4.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. A veteran with 33 career starts, Mbu also picked off a pass this season, his second career interception, while breaking up four more.
After leading The American with six interceptions in 2013, McDonald is one away from matching the total this season. Houston's third-leading tackler with 66 stops, McDonald is also second in The American with three fumble recoveries and fifth with three forced fumbles. The Lawton, Okla., native also had a defensive touchdown on the year, recovering a fumble in the endzone vs. Tulane.
Farrow led The American with six 100-yard rushing games and 12 rushing touchdowns while finishing second in the league with 934 total rushing yards. His 12 rushing touchdowns rank sixth on the Houston single-season charts, just three away from the Houston single-season record. Farrow needs just 66 yards to become the 25th single-season 1,000-yard rusher in Houston history. The junior is 86 yards away from 2,000 career rushing yards.
Greenberry ranked fourth in The American this season with 68 receptions, including four touchdowns, and sixth in the league with 756 yards. Earlier this season the junior became the 11th player in Houston history to cross the 2,000 career receiving yards threshold and currently sits ninth on the UH career charts with 2,527 yards. He ranks eighth on the Houston career receptions chart with 197 and 11th on the career receiving touchdowns chart with 18.
Despite having to move from weakside linebacker to middle linebacker midway through the season after a season-ending injury to Derrick Mathews, Oliphant has over 130 tackles for the second straight season and is four away from eclipsing last year's season total. He ranks second in the league with his 130 stops including 8.5 for loss and 3.5 sacks. The senior had two key interceptions in Houston's win at Memphis and has forced two fumbles this year while recovering one.
A lockdown cornerback, often tabbed with man coverage of the opposition's top receiver, Jackson was third in The American with 10 pass breakups while also recording two interceptions. The junior totaled 36 tackles including 1.5 for loss while also forcing one fumble while recovering another.
Houston faces Pittsburgh from the ACC at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 2, at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. The game will be televised by ESPN and air on the official flagship station of Houston Athletics, KPRC 950 AM.
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