It’s the second straight year that the senior has been voted second-team All-Academic Team, which requires the student-athlete to be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average. Voting is done by the sports information directors of the league’s eight member schools.
In his final season on the Hill, Claybourn set a school season record with an average of 43.4 yards per punt while having 14 kicks end inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound resident of Evansville, Ind., ranks fourth in the country in average, while his efforts helped the Hilltoppers stand seventh nationally in net punting — first in the Gateway. Claybourn was named the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week Oct. 30 after averaging 48.2 yards per kick in win over Illinois State.
He averaged 42 yards or better on punts in eight of 12 contests, with six games in which he recorded an average of 45 yards or more.
In addition to recording the highest season average by a Western punter, Claybourn also set the school game record with 52 yards per punt on four kicks in the Toppers’ season opener at I-A Kansas State on Sept. 4. He finished his career second all-time at WKU with 9,237 yards, 226 punts and an average of 40.87 yards per kick.
The Hilltoppers advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, finishing the season with a 9-3 mark (including a 6-1 Gateway Conference record).
