A trio of defenders — Blake Boyd, Dusty Bear and Andre Lewis — joined offensive lineman Chris Sullivan on the second-team, while seniors Justin Haddix, Dennis Mitchell and Lerron Moore as well as junior Chris James earned honorable mention accolades. Voting for the teams was conducted among the league’s eight head coaches and sports information directors, and selected media members.
It’s the sixth time in as many years that the Hilltoppers — who posted their 11th straight winning season with a 6-5 finish in 2006 — have had multiple players earn first-team all-conference honors.
Hamilton led the league in both catches and receiving yards per contest, ranking in the top 20 in the country in both categories, after collecting 52 receptions for 841 yards and 10 touchdowns — the second-highest total in school history — despite missing two-and-a-half games due to injury. The 6-foot, 195-pound junior from West Paducah, Ky., also was among the top 10 in the Gateway with 103.2 all-purpose yards and 6.7 points per game, as he caught four more touchdown passes than any other receiver in the conference. Hamilton recorded three 100-yard outings and scored multiple touchdowns on three occasions.
Rumph, also a junior, was WKU’s leading tackler for the second year in a row after totalling 87 total tackles, which ranks 12th in the conference. He paced the Hilltoppers in the category four times, posting two contests with more than 10 stops, including victories over league opponents Southern Illinois and Western Illinois — both were ranked in the top 25 at the time — as well as Chattanooga. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Bradenton, Fla., native also broke up four passes and recorded an interception in the season finale. His efforts helped WKU lead the conference in both passing and pass efficiency defense as it ranks in the top 25 nationally in both categories.
Boyd, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound Madisonville, Ky., resident, finished third on the team with 70 total tackles and was second with two interceptions. The only freshman to be named first- or second-team all-GFC, Boyd was second among all players in the class, and 18th overall, in the Gateway in tackles per game.
Bear was recognized after leading all WKU linemen with a career-high 42 tackles, which included six for loss and a team-best 3.5 sacks. The 6-foot-1, 265-pound junior from Osprey, Fla. — who also broke up two passes, and forced and recovered a fumble — had a career-high seven tackles in wins over WIU and Austin Peay.
A 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior, Lewis stands seventh in the conference with 8.4 tackles per game after recording 76 stops in nine appearances. The Madison, Tenn., native raised that average to 9.4 stops per game against Gateway opponents as he topped the squad in tackles on four occasions.
Sullivan — who became a starter in WKU’s third contest — was a three-time Hansen’s Football Gazette Offensive Lineman-of-the-Week honoree. A 5-foot-11, 265-pound senior from Louisville, Ky., he graded out at 89 percent overall while finishing second on the team with 102 knockdown blocks.
Haddix (6-0, 215, Jackson, Ky.), ranked second in the Gateway in passing yards and third in total offense as he completed 171-of-279 pass attempts for 2,186 yards and 14 touchdowns. James (6-0, 190, Fayetteville, Ga.) led the conference with 1.57 field goals per game and a 91.7 conversion rate in league-only contests, pacing WKU in scoring after hitting 13-of-17 field-goal attempts on the year. Mitchell (5-8, 180, Indianapolis, Ind.) was honored as a return specialist after averaging 26 yards per kick return and 8.1 yards per punt return. He also finished with 31 tackles and six passes broken up on defense. Moore (5-10, 205, Columbus, Ohio) was the Toppers’ leading rusher after posting 891 yards and nine touchdowns, as he is among the top 10 in the GFC in rushing, all-purpose yards and touchdowns.
League champion Youngstown State had both the Offensive Player of the Year and “Bruce Craddock” Coach of the Year in Marcus Mason and Jon Heacock, while Illinois State’s Cameron Siskowic was selected the Defensive Player of the Year.
