2012 CFN All-Sun Belt Team & Roundup

2012 Sun Belt Fearless Predictions, Game Stories, Game of the Week, Player of the Week, Roundup & Standings

CFN 2012 All-Sun Belt Team 

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- 2012 CFN All-Sun Belt Team & Top 30 Players 
 

2012 CFN All-Sun Belt Offense
QB – Ryan Aplin, Sr. ASU
RB – Antonio Andrews, Jr. WKU
RB – David Oku, Jr. ASU
WR – Anthony Amos, Sr. MT
WR – Brent Leonard, Sr. ULM
TE – Jack Doyle, Sr. WKU
OL – Leonardo Bates, Sr. ULL
OL – Jonathon Gill, Sr. ULM
OL – Zack McKnight, Sr. ASU
OL – Adam Smith, Sr. WKU
OL – Kyle Wilborn, Sr. Troy
PK – Brett Baer, Sr. ULL
KR – Reggie Whatley, Soph. MU

2012 CFN All-Sun Belt Defense
DL – Ryan Carrethers, Jr. ASU
DL – Omar McLendon, Sr. MT
DL – Quanterus Smith, Sr. WKU
DL – Tourek Williams, Sr. FIU
LB – Andrew Jackson, Jr. WKU
LB – Zach Orr, Jr. UNT
LB – Jake Johnson, Sr. USA
DB – Jonathan Cyprien, Sr. FIU
DB – Brent Harstad, Sr. FAU
DB – Brynden Trawick, Sr. Troy
DB – Zach Whitfield, Fr. UNT
P – Will Atterberry, Sr. UNT
PR – Antonio Andrews, Jr. WKU

Top 30 Sun Belt Players
1. LB Andrew Jackson, Jr. WKU
2. DE Quanterus Smith, Sr. WKU
3. QB Ryan Aplin, Sr. Arkansas State
4. RB Antonio Andrews, Jr. WKU
5. QB Kolton Browning, Jr. ULM
6. QB Corey Robinson, Jr. Troy
7. RB David Oku, Jr. Arkansas State
8. WR Brent Leonard, Sr. ULM
9. DE Tourek Williams, Sr. FIU
10. LB Jake Johnson, Sr. USA
11. RB Shawn Southward, Sr. Troy
12. S Jonathan Cyprien, Sr. FIU
13. LB Zach Orr, Jr. UNT
14. S Brynden Trawick, Sr. Troy
15. S Brent Harstad, Sr. FAU
16. DT Ryan Carrethers, Jr. ASU
17. CB Zach Whitfield, Fr. UNT
18. WR Anthony Amos, Sr. MT
19. S Jonathan Dowling, Soph. WKU
20. OT Zack McKnight, Sr. ASU
21. LB Nathan Herrold, Sr. ASU
22. CB Hilbert Jackson, Jr. UNT
23. OG Kyle Wilborn, Sr. Troy
24. PK Brett Baer, Sr. ULL
25. OG Adam Smith, Sr. WKU
26. DE Omar McLendon, Sr. MT
27. QB Terr. Broadway, Soph. ULL
28. LB Ray Stovall, Soph. ULM
29. QB Kawaun Jakes, Sr. WKU
30. LB Qushaun Lee, Soph. ASU

2012 CFN Sun Belt Off. Player of the Year
QB Ryan Aplin, Sr. Arkansas State

A three-time Sun Belt Player of the Year, Aplin stepped up in Gus Malzahn's offense and kept the production rolling. He might not have thrown for as many yards as he did under Hugh Freeze - throwing for 3,129 yards after coming up with 3,588 in 2011 - but he cut down on his interceptions with just four on the year after giving away 16, and he threw 23 touchdown passes after coming up with 18 in the 2011 regular season. Most importantly, he led his team to a Sun Belt title.

2012 CFN Sun Belt Def. Player of the Year
LB Andrew Jackson, Jr. WKU

The big-hitter was one of the key stars of a great Hilltopper defense, leading the Sun Belt with 116 tackles with 16.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and and four forced fumbles. A guided missile, he was seemingly in on every running play with 19 tackles against Florida Atlantic, 15 against North Texas and 12 against both Arkansas State and Troy.

3 Biggest Surprises

1. ULM – There was experience and talent returning, especially on offense, but the program hadn’t exactly shown it could come through when pushed. There was hope for a decent year, but starting out with a win over Arkansas and with tight games against Auburn and Baylor, the Warhawks turned into the big Sun Belt story of the first few weeks.

2. Arkansas State RB David Oku. It’s not like Arkansas State was hurting for running backs, and originally the idea was for Brandon Michael Dyer to follow Gus Malzahn over from Auburn. Oku started his career at Tennessee before moving over to ASU where he dominated at times on the way to a 1,024-yard, 15 score season.

3. Louisiana-Lafayette DE Emeka Onyenekwu. He was the Ragin’ Cajuns’ leading pass rusher coming into the season, but he wasn’t expected to rise up and become more of a pass rushing star. While he was a bit of a situational player, he still earned a spot on the official All_SuN Belt team.

3 Biggest Disappointments

1. Florida International – There wasn’t much of an excuse to come up with a 3-9 season. The defense was loaded with veterans, and it wasn’t too bad at giving up yards, but it struggled to come up with enough key plays to help out a struggling offense. Instead of winning the Sun Belt and going bowling, FIU went 3-9 and canned head coach Mario Cristobal.

2. Troy over the second half of the season. – The offense exploded, leading the Sun Belt in both total offense and points, and while there wasn’t much of a pass rush, the defense wasn’t too bad. At 4-2, everything appeared to be set up to go bowling, but instead the Trojans dropped four of their last five.

3. FAU’s defense. – New head coach Carl Pelini was supposed to start dialing up the pressure with an undersized line that was going to rely on its quickness. Instead, the Owls came up with a mere 12 sacks and rarely got into the backfield.

Best Sun Belt Game of the Season

Oct. 20 – ULM 43, at Western Kentucky 42 OT. It was a wild and crazy game with a big comeback and a terrific late drive. WKU got up big in the first half with four Kawaun Jakes touchdown passes, but ULM roared back with 21 straight points. A two-yard Antonio Andrews touchdown run gave the Hilltoppers a late lead, but Kolton Browning brought the Warhawks back once again with his fourth touchdown pass of the game in the final moments to sent the game into overtime. WKU scored on a Jakes touchdown run, but ULM answered with a three-yard Browning run. ULM went for two, got it, and came away with the thrilling win.

Second Best Game
Oct. 20 – South Alabama 37, Florida Atlantic 34 2OT
Third Best Game
Nov. 24 – ULM 23, at FIU 17 OT

Coach of the Year
1) Gus Malzahn, Arkansas State
2) Todd Berry, ULM
3) Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee

Performances of the Year
1) Sept. 8 – QB Kolton Browning, ULM vs. Arkansas. 42-67, 412 yards, three TDs, one pick, and 16 carries for 69 yards and a score in the 34-31 win.
2) Nov. 10 – LB Andrew Jackson, WKU vs. Florida Atlantic. 19 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one broken up pass.
3) Oct. 27 – DE Quanterus Smith, WKU vs. FIU. Five sacks, 7.5 tackles, one forced fumble.

Top Freshmen
1) WR J.D. McKissick, Arkansas State
2) DB Kevin Byard, Middle Tennessee
3) RB Jordan Parker, Middle Tennessee