CEDAR CITY, Utah, Nov. 23 – Southern Utah's Tysson Poots was named Offensive Player of the Year and 10 SUU football players have earned first-team all-Great West Conference honors, the conference announced Tuesday. SUU Head Coach Ed Lamb was also tabbed as the conference's Coach of the Year after he led the team to an undefeated conference mark and a 6-5 overall record.

Poots, a senior receiver from Henderson, Nev. (Coronado HS), holds every single-season and career receiving record at Southern Utah and he finished his career ranked among the NCAA's career leaders as well. He finished the season with 85 receptions for 1,230 yards and 11 TDs. The receptions tied his own school single-season record while the yards are six short of his own record to rank second at SUU. The touchdown receptions rank third in school history, behind his record 15 last year and his own 14 in 2008. Poots finished his career with 285 receptions for 3,960 yards and 43 touchdowns. In NCAA FCS history his 99.0 career receiving yards per game rank sixth, his 285 receptions rank eighth, the 43 career TDs rank ninth and his 3,960 receiving yards rank 10th.

“Tysson Poots represents everything that a coach could ask for in a player;  top-notch student, excellent leadership skills as team captain, tireless off-season worker and a fierce competitor,” Lamb said. “I'm grateful that the Great West Conference football coaches would consider Tysson deserving of such a prestigious award.”

Poots, a three-time first-team all-GWC honoree, is joined on the first team offense by fellow senior receiver Fesi Sitake (Sandy, Utah/Hillcrest HS), junior running back Austin Minefee (Cedar City, Utah/Canyon View HS), junior offensive lineman Trevor Schauerhamer (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline HS) and sophomore quarterback Brad Sorensen (Grand Terrace, Calif./Colton HS/BYU).

Sitake, a second-team selection last year, finished the season with 82 receptions for 877 yards and five TDs. The receptions are the fourth-most in SUU single-season history while the yards rank 10th. In the career books he finished with 194 receptions for 2,081 yards, the second-most receptions and the third-most yards in SUU history.

Minefee carried 133 times for 764 yards and six touchdowns, while Sorensen set the SUU single-season passing yards record with 3,163, breaking Cade Cooper's record of 2,988, a mark he hit last year. Schauerhamer anchored an SUU offensive line that facilitated the Thunderbirds averaging 431.1 yards per game, which ranked 10th in the nation, including 296.1 passing yards per game, the fifth-best attack in the nation.

Earning first-team defensive honors were senior linebacker Akeem Anifowoshe (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas HS), senior cornerback Colin Pretlow (Las Vegas, Nev./Las Vegas HS), junior defensive end Tyler Osborne (Pleasant View, Utah/Weber HS/Snow JC), junior cornerback Dion Turner (Oakland, Calif./Oakland Tech) and junior safety Erron Vonner (Toledo, Ohio/West Valley HS).

Anifowoshe is a three-time first-team selection while Pretlow is a four-time all-GWC selection, including two first-team nods. Anifowoshe was second on the team with 87 tackles, while Pretlow had 56 stops despite seeing limited time in the final three games of the season because of a sprained ankle.

Osborne led the team in tackles-for-loss with 18.5 and in sacks with seven to rank 12th and 28th in the nation in those two categories, respectively. Turner had 54 tackles while Vonner had 60 and broke up a team-high seven passes.

SUU also had four players earn second-team honors, two on offense and two on defense. Sophomore center Gavin Farr (South Ogden, Utah/Northridge HS) and junior tackle Brandon Beddes (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS/Snow JC) both earned offensive honors, while tackle Cody Larsen (Draper, Utah/Jordan HS) and linebacker Blake Fenn (Roosevelt, Utah/Union HS) earned defensive recognition.

Earning honorable mention recognition were sophomore safety Matt Holley (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS), junior offensive lineman Brock Christensen (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS/San Diego) and freshman kicker Brock Miller (Encinas, Calif./Santa Fe Christian HS).

Lamb earned Coach of the Year honors after leading the team to its first winning record since the 2004 campaign. He took over the SUU program in January of 2008 after the 2007 squad recorded an 0-11 mark. He is also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is bestowed annually on the top coach in the FCS ranks.

“I feel honored to be recognized by my fellow GWC coaches as Coach of the year,” Lamb said. “Our fine players, committed administration, and hard-working assistant coaches at SUU deserve all the credit.”

The other major GWC awards went to Cal Poly linebacker Marty Mohamed, who was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Year, and South Dakota punter Cole Zwiefelhofer , who was named Special Teams Player of the Year.

-- SUU --