Official press release below...
COLLINS, WARD EARN C-USA ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
IRVING, Texas – Demonstrating excellence on and off the field, WKU junior Marcus Ward and redshirt-freshman Jake Collins were both named to the 2015 Conference USA Football All-Academic Team, the league announced on Thursday.
The duo were two of 12 players listed on the squad and became the first Hilltoppers to receive football academic honors from C-USA since joining the conference. WKU was one of three schools to have multiple representatives, joining West Division champion Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech.
Ward has made 19-straight starts in the WKU secondary, tallying 50 total tackles (32 solo) and ranking fourth on the team in tackles for loss (6.5) this season. He was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14after racking up a career-high 11 tackles to go along with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the win over LA Tech. In the classroom, Ward holds a 3.71 grade point average in accounting and was a 2014-15 C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection.
Collins has been steady for WKU since taking over the punting duties earlier in the year, registering the sixth-best average in C-USA at 42.1 yards per punt and pinning 12 kicks inside the 20. The rugby-style punter had a pair of games this season with at least three punts dropping inside the opponents’ 20 (Rice and Marshall) and booted his career-long 59-yarder at North Texas. Off the field, Collins has a 3.73 GPA in exercise science and joined Ward as a 2014-15 C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree.
Saturday’s game is the first ever conference championship game for the Hilltoppers, either as the host or on the road, and tickets to the game can be purchased through the WKU Ticket Office for as little as $15 by calling 1-800-5-BIG-RED. Students with a valid WKU ID will be able to enter the game free of charge.
COLLINS, WARD EARN C-USA ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
IRVING, Texas – Demonstrating excellence on and off the field, WKU junior Marcus Ward and redshirt-freshman Jake Collins were both named to the 2015 Conference USA Football All-Academic Team, the league announced on Thursday.
The duo were two of 12 players listed on the squad and became the first Hilltoppers to receive football academic honors from C-USA since joining the conference. WKU was one of three schools to have multiple representatives, joining West Division champion Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech.
Ward has made 19-straight starts in the WKU secondary, tallying 50 total tackles (32 solo) and ranking fourth on the team in tackles for loss (6.5) this season. He was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14after racking up a career-high 11 tackles to go along with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the win over LA Tech. In the classroom, Ward holds a 3.71 grade point average in accounting and was a 2014-15 C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection.
Collins has been steady for WKU since taking over the punting duties earlier in the year, registering the sixth-best average in C-USA at 42.1 yards per punt and pinning 12 kicks inside the 20. The rugby-style punter had a pair of games this season with at least three punts dropping inside the opponents’ 20 (Rice and Marshall) and booted his career-long 59-yarder at North Texas. Off the field, Collins has a 3.73 GPA in exercise science and joined Ward as a 2014-15 C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree.
Saturday’s game is the first ever conference championship game for the Hilltoppers, either as the host or on the road, and tickets to the game can be purchased through the WKU Ticket Office for as little as $15 by calling 1-800-5-BIG-RED. Students with a valid WKU ID will be able to enter the game free of charge.
