Football paces AAC with 14 on all-conference lists

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Dec 04, 2019 | Football

Kenneth Gainwell named Rookie of the Year; Antonio Gibson is co-Special Teams Player of the Year

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The University of Memphis football team continues to rewrite the record books as a program-record 14 players have earned all-conference honors, while redshirt freshman Kenneth Gainwell has been coined the league's Rookie of the Year and senior Antonio Gibson has been named the AAC co-Special Teams Player of the Year the league announced Wednesday morning.

Memphis recorded the most all-conference selections of any team in the league this season. Gainwell was one of only two players to be unanimous all-conference selections.

First Team All-Conference

Second Team All-Conference

Honorable Mention

All-Conference Tidbits:

Memphis has won the Special Teams Player of the Year six times in seven seasons.
Gainwell is the second Tiger to earn Rookie of the Year honors after TJ Carter won the award in 2017.
The 14 student-athletes earning all-conference honors shatters Memphis' previous AAC high of 10 set during the 2014 season.
Gibson's appearance as a first-team specialist and second-team wide receiver marks the fourth time in league history a player has been named to multiple all-conference teams in the same season (Rodney Adams of USF in 2015, Demarcus Ayers of Houston in 2015, Mike Hughes of UCF in 2017 and Adrian Killins Jr. of UCF in 2018).

Kenneth Gainwell:

AAC Rookie of the Year
First Team All-Conference Running Back

Redshirt freshman running back Kenneth Gainwell has had a breakout season for the Tigers. Gainwell ranks first among the nation's freshmen with 1,381 rushing yards and 1,873 all-purpose yards. His rushing yards and all-purpose yards this season are both the fifth-most in a single season at Memphis.

Gainwell has also recorded a team-high 15 touchdowns, 12 rushing and three receiving. Earlier this season against Tulane, Gainwell became the first FBS player in over 20 seasons to record over 200 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing in the same game. He also set the Memphis freshman record of seven 100-yard rushing games this season (previous record was four set by DeAngelo Williams).

He was the league's Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21 and three times was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll this season.

Antonio Gibson:

AAC Special Teams Player of the Year
First Team All-Conference Kick Return Specialist
Second Team All-Conference Wide Receiver

A dynamic player in multiple phases of the game, Gibson has etched his name into the Memphis record books this season. With 386 all-purpose yards against SMU, Gibson broke the AAC and school record for most all-purpose yards in a single game. During the SMU contest, Gibson recorded his first career kickoff return touchdown and finished with a career-high 159 kickoff return yards. He was the first Memphis player to score three different ways since Arkelon Hall in 2008. Gibson was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week after the SMU game.

Leading into the AAC Championship Game, Gibson has scored in five straight games including rushing touchdowns in three of the last four games. He ranks eighth nationally averaging 20.83 yards per catch. He has averaged 20.1 yards per catch in his career, a total that is the second-highest average in program history.

Gibson has recorded a career-high 604 receiving yards with 10 total touchdowns. He has a long reception of 73 yards, a long rush of 78 yards and 1,398 all-purpose yards, the 12^th most in a single-season in program history.

Riley Patterson:

First Team All-Conference Kicker

Patterson continues to climb the Memphis record books after a stellar junior campaign. With 319 career points to-date, Patterson became the fourth kicker in league history to eclipse 300 career points. This season, Patterson is 60-for-61 in PATs and 12-for-14 in field goals.

Twice this season Patterson has hit a 50-yard field goal and he currently ranks in the top 10 nationally and first in the AAC in field goal percentage at 87.5 percent. Patterson's 199 career PATs are three shy of matching NFL kicker Jake Elliott's Memphis record and he sits seventh nationally with 5.1 PATs per game.

Patterson also ranks in the top 30 nationally with 61.4 percent of his kickoffs resulting in touchbacks. He is also fourth nationally with 5,616 total kickoff yards.

Damonte Coxie:

Second Team All-Conference Wide Receiver

Coxie sits 21 yards shy of recording his second career 1,000-yard receiving season and would become only the second player in Memphis history (Anthony Miller) to record multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Dating back to the Tulsa game in 2017, Coxie has recorded a catch in 31 consecutive contests and pulled in a season-high 145 receiving yards in Memphis' 34-24 win against Cincinnati. He has four 100-yard receiving games this season.

This season, Coxie has recorded a career-high nine receiving touchdowns. He continues to climb the Memphis record book as he is currently third all-time with 2,476 career receiving yards and tied for third all-time with 19 career touchdowns.

Coxie has been named second team all-conference twice in his career (2018 and 2019).

Bryce Huff:

Second Team All-Conference Defensive Lineman

For the second time in his career, Huff has been named second team all-conference. Huff has recorded 14.0 tackles for loss this season, upping his career total to 38.0, a mark that ranks in the top four all-time at Memphis. He has also recorded 6.0 sacks this season, raising his career total to 17.5. That mark is seventh-best all-time.

His 14.0 tackles for loss this season rank seventh in the league while his 6.0 sacks rank ninth. Against Cincinnati, Huff recorded a season-high 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He also recorded his first two forced fumbles of the season. Twice this season Huff has been named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week. He was responsible for forcing the Ole Miss safety in game one to help seal the victory for the Tigers.

Joey Magnifico:

Second Team All-Conference Tight End

Earlier this season, Magnifico became the second tight end in program history (Alan Cross) to record over 1,000 career receiving yards. With 335 receiving yards this season, Magnifico is 28 yards shy of matching his career-high of 363 yards set in 2018. His 1,

Magnifico has also recorded two touchdowns this season. Against South Alabama he recorded a career-long catch of 58 yards and against Temple he finished with a career-high 87 receiving yards.

He has been named second team all-conference twice in his career (2017 and 2019).

Brady White:

Second Team All-Conference Quarterback

For the first time in his career, White has been named all-conference for his work on the field. A Johnny Unitas Top 5 Finalist, White has thrown for a career-high 3,307 yards this season and ranks second in the league with 32 touchdowns. Nationally, White ranks in the top 10 in yards per pass attempt (10.02), passing efficiency (177.7) and passing touchdowns (32).

White has also recorded five 300-yard passing games including a career-high 363 passing yards at Temple. He became the fourth player in program history to eclipse 6,000 career passing yards and with 58 career touchdowns to-date, he currently ranks fourth all-time at Memphis.

This season, White was named to the Manning Award Watch List, the CFPA Midseason Watch List and three times has earned a spot on the Davey O'Brien Great 8 and the Manning Award Stars of the Week lists.

Dustin Woodard:

Second Team All-Conference Center

Woodard, one of only two returning starters on the offensive line, once again has blocked for an offense that ranks in the top five in program history in total offense. With starts in 50 consecutive games, Woodard is on pace to match Drew Kyser's program record of 52 starts in a Memphis uniform.

This season was the first season at center for Woodard. Woodard has played in 751 of the team's 823 total snaps including every snap in seven of Memphis' 12 games. In addition to his work on the field, Woodard is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.

Woodard was named all-conference twice in his career after earning a first team all-conference nod in 2018.

TJ Carter:

Honorable Mention Defensive Back

Carter recorded a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss this season and 39 tackles. With a forced fumble at Temple, Carter has now recorded a forced fumble in every season of his three-year Memphis career. He also recorded a fumble recovery at Temple, marking the third recovery in his career.

Against Tulane, Carter recorded his first career sack for a loss of 10 yards. He also has seven pass breakups for the Tigers.

This is the third time in his career he has been honored by the AAC. In 2017 and 2018, Carter was a second team all-conference pick as well as the 2017 Rookie of the Year.

Joseph Dorceus:

Honorable Mention Defensive Lineman

Dorceus leads the Tigers and ranks sixth in the league with a career-high 14.5 tackles for loss this season. Twice he has recorded 4.0 tackles for loss, most recently in Memphis' win over Cincinnati on Black Friday.

He also ranks 13^th in the AAC with 5.0 sacks, one sack shy of matching his career-high of 6.0 set in 2018. Also, against Cincinnati, Dorceus recorded a season-high 2.0 sacks. He recorded his first career forced fumble at Temple on the road.

O'Bryan Goodson

Honorable Mention Defensive Lineman

Starting at nose tackle in 11 of the 12 games this season, Goodson has played a crucial role on defensive line for Memphis. Goodson has recorded 7.0 tackles for loss this season, putting his career total to 19.5 in three seasons. Against Navy, Goodson forced his third career fumble and against Houston, he recorded his first career fumble recovery.

Goodson has recorded 16 tackles this season for Memphis. This is the first time in his career he has received postseason recognition by the AAC.

Austin Hall

Honorable Mention Linebacker

Hall continues to play a critical role on defense and special teams for the Tigers, leading Memphis with 62 tackles this season. His 8.0 tackles for loss this season rank third on the team and his two fumble recoveries rank first. Against South Alabama, Hall recorded a 48-yard fumble recovery touchdown for his second career score.

In his four-year career, Hall sits in a tie for 10^th all-time with 32.5 tackles for loss. With seven pass deflections this season, Hall is one deflection shy of matching his career-high of eight set in 2017.

Dylan Parham

Honorable Mention Left Guard

One of only two returning starters on the offensive line from a year ago, Parham has started in all 12 games at left guard for the Tigers this season. Parham has played in every snap in five of Memphis' 12 games this season and has blocked for one of the top five offenses in program history.

The Tigers have recorded 5,802 yards of total offense with 498 points scored this season. Memphis currently ranks 11^th nationally in total yards and eighth in scoring offense. In program history, the Tigers have only recorded over 6,000 yards of total offense and scored 500 points five times.