Justin Haddix was selected the league’s Freshman of the Year, and he was joined on the offensive side of the ball by Lerron Moore and Anthony Oakley. Charlie Phillips and Brandon Smith were voted on defense.
A 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Jackson, Ky., Haddix ranks sixth in the WKU season record books with 1,680 passing yards and seventh with 1,933 yards of total offense. He has accounted for 20 touchdowns (12 pass, eight rush) against just four interceptions while also running for 253 yards. Haddix ranks in the top 10 in the conference in pass efficiency (second — 144.0), total offense (fifth — 161.0 ypg) and passing yardage (sixth — 140.0 ypg), jumping from 31st to 16th in the country in pass efficiency after a 6-of-10, 181-yard performance with three touchdowns in the Toppers’ opening-round playoff victory over Jacksonville State.
He’s the first Western player to ever win a Gateway specialty award.
Moore, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, leads the conference in rushing with 117.8 yards per game, raising that average to 137 yards per contest in Gateway action. An honorable mention all-league selection, he is 14th in the country in rushing and is currently ranked fourth on the season record list with 1,413 yards this fall. Moore also stands fifth in the conference in all-purpose yardage and is ninth in the league in scoring with a team-best 12 touchdowns. His five straight 100-yard games to open Gateway play was the second-longest streak in school history, and he currently owns eight 100-yard efforts after rushing for 137 on five carries in last week’s win.
Oakley, who transferred to the Hill from Indiana prior to the start of his senior season, posted an overall grade of 95 percent, an assignment grade of 99 percent and a 95 percent factor grade while recording 128 pancake blocks in the regular season. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Houston, Texas, resident, was selected the Gateway Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week on Oct. 18 after helping Western to a road victory at Illinois State. His efforts have helped the Hilltoppers average 34.2 points per game, the fourth-best mark in school history, and 398.7 total yards per game, the highest since 1998 — WKU ranks in the top 10 nationally in rushing for the 13th consecutive year and is also 13th in the country in scoring offense.
Phillips is a 6-foot-3, 235-pound sophomore from Kissimmee, Fla., who has been a regular in the Toppers’ rotation on the defensive line this year. He has 41 tackles, nine stops for loss and two sacks with a pass defensed and a blocked kick to his credit. Phillips has posted five contests with four or more tackles, including recording a career-high nine with two sacks in Western’s season-opening victory over Union (Ky.). His efforts have helped the WKU defense rank in the top 25 nationally in all five statistical categories — rushing, passing, total yards and points against, and pass efficiency defense — while leading the league in total and scoring defense.
A 6-foot-1, 205-pound sophomore, Smith leads all Hilltopper newcomers with 75 tackles in 11 games, is tied for the team lead with nine sacks and stands third on the squad with 16 stops behind the line of scrimmage. The native of Stanford, Ky., who transferred to WKU prior to the second game of the season from Missouri, also forced two fumbles and added three fumble recoveries, grabbed an interception and broke up one pass. Smith was credited with three-sack efforts in conference wins over Southwest Missouri State and Indiana State in October.
The Hilltoppers (9-3) will take on No. 3 seed Wofford (11-1) Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST) in Spartanburg, S.C., in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
