Tigers land 13 on Athlon Sports Preseason All-Conference teams

ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 28: Cotton Bowl Classic between Memphis and Penn State on December 28, 2019 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. (Photo by George Walker/DFWsportsonline)

Photo by: George Walker/DFWsportsonline

Tigers land 13 on Athlon Sports Preseason All-Conference teams

Jun 15, 2020 | Football

Damonte Coxie, Kenneth Gainwell, Dylan Parham and Riley Patterson named to first team

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis football landed 13 student-athletes to the Athlon Sports preseason All-American Athletic Conference team. The Tigers boast the second-most picks in the AAC behind UCF's 17 selections.

Six members on offense landed a spot on the lists as Kenneth Gainwell, Damonte Coxie and Dylan Parham paced the Tigers with three first team selections. Sean Dykes earned a second team spot at tight end while Brady White and Manuel Orona-Lopez found themselves on the third team.

The three first team offensive selections were the most by any member of the league.

On defense, Memphis had four players make their way on a list as O'Bryan Goodson, Joseph Dorceus and T.J. Carter were placed on the second team and JJ Russell was coined to the fourth team.

Three specialists were honored, led by Riley Patterson's first team selection as a kicker, followed by Pop Williams second team pick as a punt returner and Adam Williams' third team selection as a punter.

Eight of Memphis' 14 2019 All-AAC selections return in 2020, highlighted by Gainwell who was named the AAC Rookie of the Year and the FWAA Freshman of the Year. Coxie led the Tigers in receiving yards last season with 1,276 yards, his second consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season. He is only one of two players in program history (Anthony Miller) to amass at least 1,000 receiving yards in multiple seasons.

Last season, Patterson became the all-time career PAT leader at Memphis, passing Jake Elliott's record of 202 made PAT. In the 84^th Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Patterson broke the NCAA bowl record with six made field goals.

White, who was named Second Team All-AAC in 2019, was a Johnny Unitas Top 5 Finalist and threw for a career-high 4,014 yards with 33 touchdowns. He became the fourth quarterback in program history to throw for over 7,000 yards and he eclipsed that mark with a career-high 454 passing yards in the Cotton Bowl.

Memphis is set to take on Arkansas State in the season opener at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Sept. 5. For season ticket information, call the Memphis ticket office at 901-678-2331 or go online to www.gotigersgotix.com.

2020 Athlon Sports Preseason All-American Athletic Conference Team
First Team Offense
Damonte Coxie, WR
Kenneth Gainwell, AP
Dylan Parham, OL

First Team Specialist
Riley Patterson, K

Second-Team Offense
Sean Dykes, TE

Second-Team Defense
T.J. Carter, CB
Joseph Dorceus, DL
O'Bryan Goodson, DL

Second-Team Specialist
Pop Williams, PR

Third-Team Offense
Brady White, QB
Manuel Orona-Lopez, OL

Third-Team Specialist
Adam Williams, P

Fourth-Team Defense
JJ Russell, LB