CEDAR CITY, Utah, Dec. 12 - Southern Utah University's
Cody Larsen and Colton Cook have been named to the Associated Press 2012 FCS
All-America Team, it was announced today. Both players were named to the second
team.
Larsen, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior defensive tackle from Draper,
Utah (Jordan HS) led the Thunderbirds with 14.0 tackles for loss and was second
on the squad with 6.5 sacks in 2012. He ranked second in the Big Sky Conference
and 27th in the nation in TFLs, and sixth in the BSC and 45th in the country in
sacks while regularly drawing double-teams from opposing offenses. He finished
the season with 48 total tackles, including a career-high 11 at Montana.
Earlier this week Larsen was named first-team All-America by The Sports Network
and he has also been named All-American by the Beyond Sports Network and
College Sports Madness this season. Larsen was honored as a 2012 first-team
all-Big Sky performer and he was a two-time all-Great West Conference honoree,
in 2010 and 2011, when the Thunderbirds competed in that league.
Cook, a 5-foot-8, 177-pound kicker from Bountiful, Utah
(Viewmont HS) connected on 19-of-22 field goal attempts and 30-of-33 extra
points to lead the Thunderbirds in scoring with 87 points in 2012. He finished
the regular season ranked first in the Big Sky Conference and second in the
nation with 1.73 field goals per game. He was a perfect 14-of-14 on field goals
inside 40 yards and 5-of-8 on attempts over 40 yards, including a career-long 49-yarder
against Montana State. Cook also averaged 60.4 yards per kickoff after kicking
off 61 times for 3,683 yards and he finished the season with a net kickoff
average of 46.8 yards per kick. Cook was also named to All-America squads by
College Sports Madness and the Beyond Sports Network, and he was a second-team
all-Big Sky Conference selection this season as well.
Larsen and Cook give SUU Associated Press All-Americans four
consecutive seasons. Last year defensive end Tyler Osborne earned the distinction,
while wide receiver Tysson Poots was an AP All-American in 2009 and 2010.
The Big Sky had 15 representatives on the three-team AP
All-America squad.
-- SUU --
