Ashley was a first-team All-America selection by both the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press, while Claybourn earned third-team AP accolades.
Ashley is the first Hilltopper ever to be voted first-team All-America twice by the AFCA, while its the fifth straight year that the organization has recognized an individual from Western.
He was also chosen first-team All-America by the Walter Camp Foundation and was a second-team honoree by The Sports Network after helping the Toppers average 396.4 yards and 29.2 points per game en route to a 9-3 finish in 2004. A three-time first-team all-Gateway Conference selection, Ashley led WKU with 159 pancake blocks in the regular season while posting grades of 97 percent in production and 94 percent overall.
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Owensboro, Ky., resident — who did not allow a sack and gave up only two quarterback pressures on 222 pass attempts this fall — was the only player in the Gateway to claim the league’s Offensive Lineman-of-the-Week award on two occasions.
Claybourn, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound native of Evansville, Ind., earned first-team all-GFC honors for the second straight year after ranking fourth nationally with an average of 43.4 yards per punt — that figure set the school season record by a yard per kick. He also broke the Western game standard after averaging 52 yards per punt in the Hilltoppers’ season opener at I-A Kansas State on Sept. 4. Claybourn, who averaged 45 yards per kick or better in half of WKU’s 12 games, ended his career ranked second all-time on the Hill in punts (226), yards (9,237) and average per effort (40.9).
He helped Western rank seventh in the nation in net punting.
It’s the second time this week that Claybourn has been honored, as he was also a third-team Sports Network All-America selection.
The Hilltoppers participated in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the fifth consecutive season in 2004, the second-longest active streak in the country.
