Cavitt was named the Defensive Player of the Week while Claybourn won Special Teams Player-of-the-Week accolades — it’s the second time in as many years that the senior has picked up the honor.
Cavitt, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior from Owensboro, Ky., posted a game-high-tying 13 tackles and broke up a pair of passes to help lead the Hilltoppers past Illinois State, 24-21, Saturday. Two of his stops ended Redbird drives as WKU limited ILS to just 337 total yards — including a season-low 82 on the ground — and a season-low-tying 21 points, 12 below their season scoring average.
The outside linebacker ranks 10th in the league with eight stops per contest, as he is third on the team with a career-best 64 total tackles. That includes 6.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, and he has also recorded two interceptions and three passes defensed.
Claybourn earned the award after averaging 48.2 yards per punt while all five of his kickoffs were downed for touchbacks in the Hilltoppers’ win over Illinois State. Two of his punts covered at least 50 yards, with a long of 58, while four of the Redbirds’ five drives following punts started inside the ILS-30.
A 6-foot-1, 185-pound Evansville, Ind., resident, Claybourn has averaged 45 yards per kick or better in a game on five occasions this season. His current average of 44.11 yards per effort leads the league and ranks third in the country, while the Hilltoppers stand second nationally in net punting after eight games. The school season record of 42.4 yards per punt — which Claybourn will qualify ahead of with four more kicks this fall — was set by Ray Farmer in 1980.
Claybourn, who was voted first-team all-conference as a junior last season, already ranks second on the Hill with a career average of 40.88 yards per punt. He is also third all-time in Western history with 216 punts and 8,829 yards.
Deont Smith was the last Hilltopper to be honored by the GFC this year when he picked up Defensive Player-of-the-Week accolades following Western’s league-opening victory over Youngstown State Oct. 2. Cavitt is the third Western player to collect the award, as Charles Thompson was named Defensive Player of the Week twice in September.
Cavitt, Claybourn and the Toppers return to action Saturday when WKU visits Southwest Missouri State in its final conference road game of the season. Kickoff in Springfield is set for 1 p.m. (CST).
