Brian Claybourn and Casey Rooney were named to the second-team, while Karl Maslowski was an honorable mention selection.
Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average, and they must have reached sophomore status both academically and athletically with at least one year at their institution. The team was voted on by the league's eight sports information directors.
Claybourn, a marketing major, is one of the top punters in the nation, ranking second in the league and ninth nationally with an average of 42.9 yards per punt - that figure is the best season average in Western history. Almost a third - 14 of 45 - of his kicks have ended inside the opponents' 20-yard line, and 15 efforts have covered 50 yards or more. A 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior from Evansville, Ind., Claybourn averaged better than 40 yards per punt in eight of 10 games, including earning Gateway Conference Special Teams Player-of-the-Week accolades after averaging 49.3 yards per punt at Western Illinois Oct. 4.
A social studies major, Rooney is the top receiver on the WKU roster, leading Western with 41 catches for 807 yards and four touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior from Sioux City, Iowa, stands second in the league in catches per game and is third in receiving yards per contest. It's the most receptions for a Topper since Alan Mullins recorded 65 in 1985 and the most yards since Joey Stockton had 863 in 1995. Rooney led the league in conference-only games after raising his average to 87 yards per contest, and he also ranks second in league-only action with 4.4 receptions per outing.
A 6-foot-1, 225-pound inside linebacker, Maslowski is second on the team with 113 total tackles, tied for second on the squad with eight sacks and is fourth among Hilltoppers with 15 tackles for loss. The senior, a New Lenox, Ill., native, had five games with 10 or more tackles - all in Gateway Conference contests - and three others with nine stops. Maslowski, who is majoring in public health, was selected the GFC Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 12 tackles with four stops behind the line of scrimmage, including two sacks, and a pass defensed in win over nationally ranked Northern Iowa Nov. 8.
The league's annual all-conference teams will be announced Wednesday.
