DALLAS — Conference USA announced its all-conference and all-freshman teams on Tuesday and No. 22 UTSA has earned a program-record 30 combined accolades.
The Roadrunners reeled in 27 all-conference honors, including a league-best six first-team selections. UTSA placed five on the second team to tally a conference-high 11 combined honorees on the first two teams. Additionally, a trio of Roadrunners landed on the C-USA All-Freshman Team to bring today's total to a school-record 30.
UTSA's six first-team selections featured an even split on each side of the ball with quarterback Frank Harris, wide receiver Zakhari Franklin and center Ahofitu Maka on the offense joined by defensive lineman Brandon Brown and defensive backs Clifford Chattman and Corey Mayfield Jr.
Five Roadrunners made the second team, including wide receivers De'Corian Clark and Joshua Cephus, linebacker Jamal Ligon, punter Lucas Dean and place-kicker Jared Sackett.
A total of 16 Roadrunners earned honorable mention accolades, including running backs Brenden Brady and Kevorian Barnes, tight end Oscar Cardenas, offensive linemen Ernesto Almaraz, Walker Baty, Kevin Davis and Terrell Haynes, defensive linemen Nick Booker-Brown and Joe Evans, linebackers Trevor Harmanson and Trey Moore, defensive backs Nicktroy Fortune and Dadrian Taylor, long snapper Caleb Cantrell, kick returner Chris Carpenter and Cephus at punt returner.
Barnes, Moore and defensive lineman Tai Leonard all landed on the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
Harris, the 2022 Ryan C-USA Championship Game MVP and a second-team selection last year, has completed 305 of 429 passes for 3,865 yards, 31 touchdowns and a .711 completion percentage, and he also rushed for 588 yards — the most by a QB in a season — and nine TDs on 120 carries. The Schertz Clemens High School product owns seven 300-yard passing performances this fall — also a UTSA record — and set the single-game mark with 414 in the win at Middle Tennessee. The senior and four-time C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honoree this season ranks fourth nationally with a league-leading 342.5 yards of total offense per game.
Franklin earned a spot on the first team for the second straight year, as he has caught 86 passes and broken his own single-season school standards with 1,100 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. The senior from Cedar Hill High School has eclipsed the century mark in four contests this year, highlighted by 144 yards and a school record-tying three touchdowns on 10 receptions in the 48-27 win over North Texas in the C-USA Championship Game. He currently ranks third in the FBS in receiving TDs and 12th in both receiving yards and receptions per game.
A second-team performer each of the last two seasons before landing on the first team this year, Maka has been the starter at center in all 13 games for one of the most prolific offenses in the nation. The senior from Honolulu, Hawai'i, has yet to allow a sack or a hit on the quarterback in 553 pass-blocking snaps according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), which also has graded the William V. Campbell Trophy finalist with a 98.2% pass-blocking efficiency this fall. Maka has helped the Roadrunners rank ninth nationally with a league-leading 486.1 yards of offense per game.
Brown, an honorable mention and C-USA All-Freshman Team pick last season, has registered 20 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble as the starter at nose guard on UTSA's deep defensive line rotation. The Katy, Texas, native had three stops in the win over WKU and also versus No. 20 Texas, and he logged 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble against No. 24 Houston.
Chattman emerged as a playmaker at safety for the Roadrunners in his first full season as a starter. The senior from New Orleans has posted 68 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 13 pass breakups to go with a school record-tying four interceptions in 2022. He recorded a season-high 11 stops and a key PBU in the end zone in overtime of UTSA's 41-38 victory at Army and he has set the UTSA standard with interceptions in each of his last four contests. Chattman turned in nine tackles in both victories over North Texas this fall.
Mayfield developed into one of the league's top cornerbacks in his final campaign with the Roadrunners. The North Forney High School product has registered 60 tackles, four tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, three interceptions, 12 pass breakups and a forced fumble this fall. His three picks came in consecutive wins over FIU, North Texas and UAB in the middle of the season, matching a then-school record in the process. The school record holder for career games played at 60 knocked away a season-high three passes in the first win against North Texas and recorded sacks in road triumphs over UAB and Rice.
Clark earned his first career all-conference certificate with a second-team selection this year. The senior wide receiver from Fort Worth was one of the most productive pass-catchers in the conference before suffering a season-ending injury against UAB on Nov. 5. He caught 51 balls for 741 yards — an average of 14.5 per reception — and eight touchdowns this fall. Clark exploded for a UTSA-record 217 yards and three scores on nine catches in the 52-24 win over Texas Southern, and he also topped 100 yards with 139 on eight grabs in the victory at Middle Tennessee.
Cephus, an honorable mention selection the past two seasons, landed on the second team this fall. The senior from Houston currently owns the UTSA single-season record with 87 receptions, which he has turned into 985 yards and six touchdowns. He has surpassed 100 receiving yards three times with a season-high 114 versus Texas Southern, 112 in the overtime win at Army and 106 against No. 24 Houston. Cephus owns a pair of 11-reception outings, both coming in victories over North Texas.
Ligon leads the Roadrunners with 85 total tackles to go with 40 solo stops, 4.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a pass breakup. An honorable mention performer last year and a C-USA All-Freshman Team pick in 2020, the junior linebacker from Tyler has logged 10 tackles twice this season, reaching double digits in the win at Middle Tennessee where he also forced a fumble, and also against No. 24 Houston. He caused a fumble in the 41-7 victory at Rice and recovered one a week earlier in the 51-7 triumph over Louisiana Tech.
Dean collected his third career all-conference certificate with his second straight second-team nod. The senior from Australia is averaging 44.9 yards on 37 punts with 12 of 50-plus yards this fall. He has pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line 15 times and has induced nine fair catches while allowing only 13 returns. Dean averaged 60.5 yards on four punts and broke his own school record with a 76-yard bomb in the 52-24 win against Texas Southern. He averaged 47.3 yards on three kicks in the win at UAB that included a 70-yarder.
Sackett earned the second-team selection at place-kicker in his final season as a Roadrunner after back-to-back years as an honorable mention pick in 2017-18. The Fort Worth native has made 21 of 26 field goals (80.8%) and all 58 extra-point attempts this season, marks that rank second on UTSA's single-season list. A five-time C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week honoree in 2022, he has made 13 of his last 14 field-goal tries and drilled three in a game in wins against UAB and Louisiana Tech.
UTSA's three C-USA All-Freshman Team honorees mark the second-highest total in one season behind four in 2020.
Barnes burst onto the scene as one of the top rushers in the league midway through the season. The redshirt freshman from San Augustine, Texas, has piled up a team-high 713 yards and six touchdowns on 114 carries, good for an average of 6.3 yards per attempt. He also has caught nine passes for 103 yards, an 11.4-yard average. Barnes owns four 100-yard games this fall with 128 yards and two TDs in the win at FIU, 114 yards and a score in the double-overtime victory at UAB, 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 51-7 rout of LA Tech and a season-best 175 yards and a TD in the 48-27 triumph over North Texas in the C-USA Championship Game.
Moore has started all 13 contests at outside linebacker and emerged as one of the league's top pass rushers. The redshirt freshman out of Smithson Valley High School leads UTSA with 13.5 tackles for loss — third on the program's single-season chart — and six sacks to go along with 53 total tackles, five pass breakups, five QB hurries, two forced fumbles and a recovery this fall. He made 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage in the 30-10 win at FIU and also had 2.5 TFLs as part of six total tackles in the victory against Texas Southern.
Leonard has earned his way into UTSA's deep defensive-line rotation as a true freshman out of perennial prep powerhouse Galena Park North Shore. He has nine total tackles, three solo stops, a half-tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries in nine contests this fall. The Houston native made a pair of tackles in wins over UAB and LA Tech and was in on a stop behind the line in the victory against Texas Southern.
2022 All-Conference USA Teams
First Team
OFFENSE
QB: Frank Harris, UTSA
RB: DeWayne McBride, UAB
RB: Larry McCammon III, Florida Atlantic
WR: Zakhari Franklin, UTSA
WR: Malachi Corley, WKU
WR: Tre Harris, LA Tech
TE: Var'Keyes Gumms, North Texas
OL: Ahofitu Maka, UTSA
OL: Manase Mose, North Texas
OL: Jeremiah Byers, UTEP
OL: Sidney Wells, UAB
OL: Kadeem Telfort, UAB
DEFENSE
DE: Jadrian Taylor, UTEP
DT: Brandon Brown, UTSA
DT: Keivie Rose, LA Tech
DE: Jordan Ferguson, Middle Tennessee
LB: KD Davis, North Texas
LB: Noah Wilder, UAB
LB: JaQues Evans, WKU
DB: Clifford Chattman, UTSA
DB: Corey Mayfield Jr., UTSA
DB: Ridge Texada, North Texas
DB: Starling Thomas V, UAB
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Gavin Baechle, UTEP
P: Kyle Ulbrich, Middle Tennessee
LS: Brody Butler, Middle Tennessee
KR: Kaylon Horton, North Texas
PR: Smoke Harris, LA Tech
Second Team
OFFENSE
QB: Austin Reed, WKU
RB: Jermaine Brown Jr., UAB
RB: Deion Hankins, UTEP
WR: De'Corian Clark, UTSA
WR: Joshua Cephus, UTSA
WR: Grant DuBose, Charlotte
TE: Joshua Simon, WKU
OL: Will Rykard, UAB
OL: Shea Baker, Rice
OL: Brendan Bordner, Florida Atlantic
OL: Gunner Britton, WKU
OL: Quincy McGee, UAB
DEFENSE
DE: Praise Amaewhule, UTEP
DT: Evan Anderson, Florida Atlantic
DT: Fish McWilliams, UAB
DE: Amir Siddiq, Charlotte
LB: Mazin Richards, North Texas
LB: Jamal Ligon, UTSA
LB: Tyrice Knight, UTEP
DB: Teldrick Ross, Middle Tennessee
DB: Grayson Cash, UAB
DB: Kahlef Hailassie, WKU
DB: Myles Brooks, LA Tech
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Jared Sackett, UTSA
P: Lucas Dean, UTSA
LS: Angelo Tejada, UTEP
KR: Smoke Harris, LA Tech
PR: Jaylin Lane, Middle Tennessee
Honorable Mention (UTSA players only)
RB: Brenden Brady, UTSA
RB: Kevorian Barnes, UTSA
TE: Oscar Cardenas, UTSA
OL: Ernesto Almaraz, UTSA
OL: Kevin Davis, UTSA
OL: Walker Baty, UTSA
OL: Terrell Haynes, UTSA
DE: Nick Booker-Brown, UTSA
DT: Joe Evans, UTSA
LB: Trey Moore, UTSA
LB: Trevor Harmanson, UTSA
DB: Nicktroy Fortune, UTSA
DB: Dadrian Taylor, UTSA
LS: Caleb Cantrell, UTSA
KR: Chris Carpenter, UTSA
PR: Joshua Cephus, UTSA
2022 C-USA All-Freshman Team
OFFENSE
RB: Kevorian Barnes, UTSA
RB: Marquis Crosby, LA Tech
WR: Cyrus Allen, LA Tech
WR: Ja'Mori Maclin, North Texas
WR: Tony Johnson, Florida Atlantic
TE: Var'Keyes Gumms, North Texas
OL: Febechi Nwaiwu, North Texas
OL: Ethan Onianwa, Rice
OL: Keylan Rutledge, Middle Tennessee
OL: Carson Bruno, LA Tech
OL: John Bock II, FIU
DEFENSE
DE: Trey Moore, UTSA
DT: Fatafehi Vailea, North Texas
DT: Tai Leonard, UTSA
DE: Cam Robertson, North Texas
LB: Jaylen Wester, Florida Atlantic
LB: Reid Williford, Charlotte
LB: Aaron Key, WKU
DB: Demetrius Hill, FIU
DB: Ilijah Johnson, UTEP
DB: Maguire Neal, Charlotte
DB: Hezekiah Masses, FIU
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Buck Buchanan, LA Tech
P: Tom Ellard, WKU
KR: Jayshon Platt, Florida Atlantic
LS: Jackson Lee, FIU
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