2017 Conference USA Preseason Awards
IRVING, Texas — Quarterback Mike White and kick returner Kylen Towner were named 2017 Preseason Conference USA Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year, respectively, the league office announced Monday.
Voted on by C-USA head coaches, White becomes the second Hilltopper (quarterback Brandon Doughty in 2015) to earn Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors. Towner, meanwhile, is the first WKU player to snag Special Teams Preseason Player of the Year distinction since WKU joined the league prior to 2014.
Last season, White ranked in the top 10 nationally in completion percentage (67.3, eighth), passing yards (4,363, fifth) and touchdowns (37, eighth), while boasting the third-best passer rating (181.4) and the second-best yards per attempt mark (10.5). He earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors for a 517-yard performance in a Week 1 victory vs. Rice, and was recognized for his year-long success when he was named the league's Newcomer of the Year. The field general was recently named to the Maxwell Award Watch list, given to the nation's best player.
?Towner set the FBS single-season record by averaging 40.3 yards per return, with 26 attempts for 1,048 yards and a 93-yard touchdown at Marshall. Against the Thundering Herd, he became the first Hilltoppers in the FBS Era to return the opening kickoff for a score. In the process of his stellar season, Towner etched his name as WKU's career record holder in return yardage at 2,441 yards, passing Joey Stockton's mark of 2,302 from 1994-97.
Overall, the back-to-back defending Conference USA champion Hilltoppers earned a league-high seven selections to the 2017 Preseason All-C-USA Team. Two players on offense and a pair on defense are both tied for tops in C-USA, while the Hilltoppers cleaned up with three of the five special teams spots. Seven selections tied last year's Louisiana Tech team for most preseason picks since 2015. However, there were 51 total players honored in 2016 compared to only 29 this season.
On offense, offensive lineman Brandon Ray joins White on the list after helping lead the nation's highest-scoring attack in 2016. Ray has started 41-of-41 possible games the past three seasons on The Hill. He was ranked No. 30 among offensive guards by Pro Football Focus, while the line as a whole reached as high as No. 8 in 2016.
Two more seniors, defensive lineman Chris Johnson and defensive back Joe Brown, are featured on the other side of the ball.
Johnson started all 14 games for WKU on the interior and consistently wreaked havoc in the opposing backfield, as his 12.5 tackles for loss ranked second on the squad. Among those for loss included four sacks, while recording 43 total tackles, which led all linemen.
Recently named to the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List, the nation's top award for a collegiate defensive back, Brown was an All-C-USA Second Team selection last year. He led the Hilltoppers with 10 pass breakups, while recording four tackles for loss and an interception at Marshall.
Punter Jake Collins and punt returner Nacarius Fant were voted in to join Towner as a trio on special teams.
The lone junior Hilltopper on the squad, Collins recently earned his third straight Ray Guy Award Watch List designation. He averaged 42.7 yards per kick last season, which garnered All-C-USA Second Team honors. In 2016, Collins helped hold opponents to only nine returns for 49 yards over 14 games.
Fant earned Conference USA First Team honors despite missing five of the final six games, with 11 returns for 172 yards and a pair of scores. He was named to the Paul Hornung Award Watch list Monday morning, given to the most versatile player in college football.
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