Defensive backs Marion Rumph and Bo Smith joined the two as second-team selections.
Voting was conducted by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in the district, which includes Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
Cline, a junior from Centerville, Ohio, already has posted a career-best 23 total stops in his first year playing on the defensive line, including 4.5 behind the line of scrimmage. He’s also broken up three passes, blocked one field-goal attempt and recovered a fumble. Cline was credited with six tackles at Ball State, surpassing his previous career high by two, while he made four stops in wins over Eastern Kentucky and North Carolina Central. He collected at least one tackle for loss in each of WKU’s first four contests.
Hayden leads the Hilltoppers with 820 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, as he also ranks first on the squad with 848 all-purpose yards and is second in scoring. A native of Lexington, Ky., Hayden recorded the first three 100-yard rushing games of his career in 2007, including a 149-yard effort last time out in a win at Chattanooga and a 144-yard performance in the Toppers’ victory at Middle Tennessee in the opening month of the season. The sophomore has paced WKU in rushing in seven of nine games this fall.
Cline and Hayden are now eligible for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team, which will be announced Nov. 29.
This is the third time that Rumph — a Bradenton, Fla., resident — has been honored in his career, as he was a first-team selection last year and a second-team choice as a sophomore. The senior hasn’t played in more than a month after suffering an injury in the Hilltoppers’ win over the Blue Raiders, but he had posted 17 stops in the first four games while helping the team to a 3-1 start. That included leading the squad with seven tackles in the season opener at nationally ranked Florida as well as seven in the EKU victory.
A native of Rockledge, Fla., Smith has collected 27 total tackles while leading the Toppers with a career-best five interceptions — the senior had just one in 30 appearances in his first three seasons on the Hill — and another pass broken up in his final year of eligibility. He recorded a career-high eight tackles in the victory over the Blue Raiders, while posting at least five stops in contests against Ball State and North Carolina Central as well. Smith has intercepted a pass in each of WKU’s last three games, including one that led to the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute remaining last week at UTC.
To be eligible for academic honors, individuals must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically — freshmen and first-year transfers cannot be nominated — and a starter or key reserve with a minimum 3.2 cumulative grade-point average.
