Ashley, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound Owensboro, Ky., native, is a two-time All-America selection on the offensive line — he was a consensus pick following the 2003 campaign after grading out at 95 percent overall while recording 168 pancake blocks. He has earned preseason first-team All-America honors from Athlon Sports and is also a preseason first-team all-Gateway Football Conference choice. Ashley has been voted first-team all-league each of the last two seasons and was a second-team all-conference selection as a freshman in 2001, when he was also a member of the Gateway’s All-Newcomer Team.
A 6-foot-1, 185-pound resident of Evansville, Ind., Claybourn is already in the Western career record books after his first three years on the Hill — he ranks fourth all-time with 180 punts and 7,241 yards. He is coming off a season in which he earned first-team all-conference honors after averaging 41.2 yards per punt with 18 of 54 kicks downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Claybourn was ranked 19th in the country in the category, while his efforts helped the Hilltoppers finish 21st in net punting. He was chosen honorable mention all-league as a sophomore and was a second-team all-league pick his freshman season, when he also was voted to the conference’s All-Newcomer Team.
Thompson enters this season ranked 10th among the top 20 returning linebackers in NCAA Division I-AA football by the Sports Network, and he was also one of four Toppers to earn preseason first-team all-league accolades. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound native of Louisville, Ky., enters his final year at Western with 312 total tackles including 31 behind the line of scrimmage, three interceptions and eight passes broken up. Last fall, Thompson was named second-team all-conference after collecting 110 stops in 10 games — he ranked 18th nationally in total tackles per game. His career-best total of 159 stops came during his sophomore season.
The Hilltoppers will continue preparations for their Sept. 4 season opener at I-A Kansas State with the annual Red-White Game, which will take place Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field. The event will be held in conjunction with “I Scream For WKU Football,” an ice cream social that will allow students and fans to meet the team on the field after the scrimmage.
