WR/KR
Joshua Simmons headlines six Prairie View A&M University football players who earned accolades as the 2016 Southwestern Athletic Conference football honors were announced Thursday.
Simmons was named SWAC Newcomer of the Year in voting conducted by the league's head coaches and sports information contacts. OL
Donovan Wheaton and
Gustavo Lopez, DT
DeVohn Reed, CB
Terrence Singleton, and P
Owen Hoolihan each earned second-team All-SWAC honors.
Simmons (5-10, 165, R-Jr., Houston, Texas) totaled 715 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 27.3 yards on 15 kickoff returns with one touchdown, 24.0 yards on one punt return, caught 20 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed nine times for 41 yards. In the season-opening win over Texas Southern in the first game at new Panther Stadium, Simmons totaled 145 all-purpose yards (81 kickoff return yards, 60 receiving yards, four rushing yards. He also caught touchdown passes in wins at Alabama A&M and vs. Alabama St, and returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown at Rice.
Wheaton (6-3, 305, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas) started every game at left guard and teamed with the versatile Lopez (6-3, 330, R-So., Rosenburg, Texas) to allow only 13 sacks on the season. The offense ranked third in scoring offense (32.7 points per game), posting six games of at least 400 yards total offense including a season-high 543 yards total offense in a road victory at Alabama A&M.
Reed (6-2, 265, R-Jr., Houston Texas) recorded 40 tackles and led the team with 6.5 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss. Reed, a two-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, made a career-high 10 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and 3.0 tackles for loss in a win at Miss. Valley St. He also recorded a five-tackle, 1.5-sack, 1.5-tackle for loss game in the homecoming game win over Alabama St.
Singleton (5-11, 200, Sr., Houston, Texas) led the team with 70 tackles, three interceptions, seven pass breakups and 10 total passes defensed. He earned SWAC Newcomer of the Week honors at Miss. Valley State, recording seven tackles and two interceptions, returning one for touchdown He made a season-high 10 tackles and one pass breakup against Texas Southern (9/4), and made nine tackles with one tackle for loss and two pass breakups at Texas A&M.
Hoolihan (6-0, 170, Jr.; Oberon, NSW, Australia) averaged 37.8 yards on 57 punts, including four 50 yard punts, with 19 downed inside the 20, 26 fair catches forced, and only two touchbacks. He averaged 36.1 yards on eight punts with a career-high five downed inside the 20 and five fair catches in a road win at Jackson St. He later averaged a season-high 48.0 yards on five punts with two 50 yard punts, two downed inside the 20 and two fair catches vs. Southern, and ended the season averaging 46.5 yards on two punts with one downed inside the 20 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
