Memphis Lands Four on American First-Team

Jake Elliott, a finalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award and the nation's leading scorer among kickers, has been named the American Athletic Conference's Special Teams Player of the Year. Elliott was one of four Memphis players to receive first-team recognition as the league announced all-conference teams on Wednesday.

Also named to The American's first team was Memphis' all-time, season passing yards leader, Paxton Lynch, along with senior offensive tackle Taylor Fallin and sophomore punter Spencer Smith. Memphis senior tight end Alan Cross was named all-conference honorable mention.

Elliott earned Special Teams Player of the Year recognition for a second straight year and was named to The American's all-conference first-team for a third straight year.

During 2015, Elliott set season records for points kicking (128) and PAT made (62). One of the most-called on place-kickers in the country, Elliott's 1.83 field goals made per game ranks sixth in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). With 22 field goals made during the year, he would equal the school record of 23 set by Joe Allison in 1992, the year Allison won the first Lou Groza Award.

Elliott's booming kickoffs into the end zone and strategic placement of others has helped Memphis lead FBS in kickoff return defense. Opponents are averaging just 14.90 yards per return. Only 21 of Elliott's 96 kickoffs during the season were returned. He has had 72 of his kickoffs go for touchbacks (.750).

The junior from Western Springs, Ill., has scored 320 career points which ranks all-time at Memphis. Elliott's career scoring total ranks 15^th among active FBS players. He has made 143 straight PATs at Memphis.

Elliott will attend The Home Depot 25^th Anniversary College Football Awards next week at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga. The awards show will air on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Last week in the Tigers' 63-0 shutout win over SMU, Lynch set an NCAA FBS record by completing seven touchdown passes in one half. While he tied four players for the record, Lynch became the first to distribute the seven touchdown passes to seven different receivers.

For the year, Deltona, Fla., native has completed 280-of-406 passes for 3,670 yards and a school-record 28 touchdowns.

Fallin has started 34 games including 32 over the past three seasons of his career. The Bowie, Md., native has played on 2,509 career offensive snaps including 735 plays in 2015.

This year, Fallin has been a part of an offense which set a school record with 6,125 total yards of offense. Memphis ranks 12^th nationally in total offense, averaging 510 yards per game. The Tigers' 42.7 points an outing ranks seventh in the country.

Smith, a native of Newnan, Ga., has averaged 47.2 yards on 37 punts this season, including 10 downed inside opponents' 20-yard line. If Smith met the NCAA's minimum of 3.6 punts per game (44 punts), he would have ranked fourth nationally in punting average.

Cross has caught 24 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns during the 2015 season. With his three touchdown receptions this year, he has added to his school record for most career touchdowns by a tight end and currently has 14.

Cross is one of three walk-ons who have surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving total for his career. The Millington native has caught 89 passes for 1,050 yards at Memphis.

Memphis is in the midst of a two-year span in which the program has won more games than any other back-to-back years at 19 victories. The 2015, 9-3 Tigers will learn their bowl destination early next week.

University of Memphis Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Alan Cross

Jake Elliott

Taylor Fallin

Paxton Lynch

Spencer Smith

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