DALLAS — UTSA sophomores Lucas Dean and Sincere McCormick have been tabbed Conference USA Special Teams and Offensive Player of the Year, respectively, the league office announced Tuesday.
The two player of the year awards mark the first time the Roadrunners have collected more than one in a single year. Dean is the first Roadrunner to be named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year, while McCormick — the 2019 C-USA Freshman of the Year — is the first to win the offensive player of the year certificate. That duo joins 2017 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Davenport and 2016 C-USA Freshman of the Year Josiah Tauaefa as league superlative award winners.
A first-team all-conference selection on Monday, Dean leads C-USA and ranks fourth nationally in punting with a UTSA-record 46.3-yard average. The sophomore from Australia is a four-time Ray Guy Award Ray’s 4 honoree and he was named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week after averaging 45.0 yards on six punts with five inside the 20 and three of 50-plus yards versus UAB. He has logged 27 punts inside the 20-yard line, including 15 inside the 10 and seven inside the 5, and he owns 21 punts of 50-plus yards, including a career-best 67-yarder at FAU. Dean has averaged 45.0-plus yards in eight games this year and of his 55 punts this fall, 39 have not been returned. He was voted C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 46.7 yards with two inside the 20 in the 49-17 victory over North Texas.
McCormick, who also collected first-team all-league accolades on Monday, leads C-USA and ranks second in the FBS with a school-record 1,345 rushing yards to go along with a program-record 11 rushing touchdowns this fall. A semifinalist for the Doak Walker and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Awards, the Converse Judson High School product boasts six 100-yard rushing games, including five of 150-plus, during his sophomore campaign. He is a four-time C-USA Offensive Player of the Week and he was named Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week after totaling 165 yards and three TDs on a school-record 37 carries in the win over Louisiana Tech. McCormick has twice broken his own school record for rushing yards in a game, including 251 yards in the win over North Texas in his last outing. He owns the top two and five of the top 10 rushing games in C-USA this season and he has 31 runs of 10-plus yards, including 16 of 20-plus and four of 50-plus yards.
The two player of the year awards come 24 hours after a record-setting day that saw 23 Roadrunners recognized by the conference office. A school-record 19 collected all-conference accolades, the most in a single year since UTSA joined C-USA in 2013, bettering the previous standard of 11 established in each of the first two seasons in the league.
Dean and McCormick were joined on the first team by senior place-kicker Hunter Duplessis and sophomore safety Rashad Wisdom, giving UTSA a program-best four first-team picks, one more than the previous combined number of first-team all-conference honorees in school annals.
The junior offensive line trio of Spencer Burford, Makai Hart and Ahofitu Maka garnered second-team accolades, while honorable mention went to Caleb Cantrell (LS), Joshua Cephus (WR), Lorenzo Dantzler (DE), Brennon Dingle (KR), Zakhari Franklin (WR), Trevor Harmanson (LB), Frank Harris (QB), Jaylon Haynes (DT), Brandon Matterson (DT), Corey Mayfield Jr. (CB), Leroy Watson (TE) and Charles Wiley (LB).
Meanwhile, Demetris Allen, Christian Clayton, Jamal Ligon and Ken Robinson were voted to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, the most in a single year in program history.
The Roadrunners will make their second bowl game appearance this Saturday, Dec. 26, when they face No. 16 Louisiana in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
2020 Conference USA Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year — Sincere McCormick, UTSA
Defensive Player of the Year — Tavante Beckett, Marshall
Special Teams Player of the Year — Lucas Dean, UTSA
Most Valuable Player — Jaelon Darden, North Texas
Freshman of the Year — Grant Wells, Marshall
Newcomer of the Year — Luke Anthony, Louisiana Tech
Coach of the Year — Doc Holliday, Marshall
-UTSA-
The two player of the year awards mark the first time the Roadrunners have collected more than one in a single year. Dean is the first Roadrunner to be named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year, while McCormick — the 2019 C-USA Freshman of the Year — is the first to win the offensive player of the year certificate. That duo joins 2017 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Davenport and 2016 C-USA Freshman of the Year Josiah Tauaefa as league superlative award winners.
A first-team all-conference selection on Monday, Dean leads C-USA and ranks fourth nationally in punting with a UTSA-record 46.3-yard average. The sophomore from Australia is a four-time Ray Guy Award Ray’s 4 honoree and he was named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week after averaging 45.0 yards on six punts with five inside the 20 and three of 50-plus yards versus UAB. He has logged 27 punts inside the 20-yard line, including 15 inside the 10 and seven inside the 5, and he owns 21 punts of 50-plus yards, including a career-best 67-yarder at FAU. Dean has averaged 45.0-plus yards in eight games this year and of his 55 punts this fall, 39 have not been returned. He was voted C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 46.7 yards with two inside the 20 in the 49-17 victory over North Texas.
McCormick, who also collected first-team all-league accolades on Monday, leads C-USA and ranks second in the FBS with a school-record 1,345 rushing yards to go along with a program-record 11 rushing touchdowns this fall. A semifinalist for the Doak Walker and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Awards, the Converse Judson High School product boasts six 100-yard rushing games, including five of 150-plus, during his sophomore campaign. He is a four-time C-USA Offensive Player of the Week and he was named Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week after totaling 165 yards and three TDs on a school-record 37 carries in the win over Louisiana Tech. McCormick has twice broken his own school record for rushing yards in a game, including 251 yards in the win over North Texas in his last outing. He owns the top two and five of the top 10 rushing games in C-USA this season and he has 31 runs of 10-plus yards, including 16 of 20-plus and four of 50-plus yards.
The two player of the year awards come 24 hours after a record-setting day that saw 23 Roadrunners recognized by the conference office. A school-record 19 collected all-conference accolades, the most in a single year since UTSA joined C-USA in 2013, bettering the previous standard of 11 established in each of the first two seasons in the league.
Dean and McCormick were joined on the first team by senior place-kicker Hunter Duplessis and sophomore safety Rashad Wisdom, giving UTSA a program-best four first-team picks, one more than the previous combined number of first-team all-conference honorees in school annals.
The junior offensive line trio of Spencer Burford, Makai Hart and Ahofitu Maka garnered second-team accolades, while honorable mention went to Caleb Cantrell (LS), Joshua Cephus (WR), Lorenzo Dantzler (DE), Brennon Dingle (KR), Zakhari Franklin (WR), Trevor Harmanson (LB), Frank Harris (QB), Jaylon Haynes (DT), Brandon Matterson (DT), Corey Mayfield Jr. (CB), Leroy Watson (TE) and Charles Wiley (LB).
Meanwhile, Demetris Allen, Christian Clayton, Jamal Ligon and Ken Robinson were voted to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, the most in a single year in program history.
The Roadrunners will make their second bowl game appearance this Saturday, Dec. 26, when they face No. 16 Louisiana in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
2020 Conference USA Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year — Sincere McCormick, UTSA
Defensive Player of the Year — Tavante Beckett, Marshall
Special Teams Player of the Year — Lucas Dean, UTSA
Most Valuable Player — Jaelon Darden, North Texas
Freshman of the Year — Grant Wells, Marshall
Newcomer of the Year — Luke Anthony, Louisiana Tech
Coach of the Year — Doc Holliday, Marshall
-UTSA-
