Thirteen Tulsa Football Players Earn American Athletic Conference Honors; Collins is Unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Selection

IRVING, Texas –– The University of Tulsa junior linebacker Zaven Collins leads a list of 13 Golden Hurricane players earning American Athletic Conference all-conference honors as selected by the league's coaches, it was announced today.

Tulsa had three players named first team, five to the second team and another five players earned honorable mention accolades.

Collins was unanimously chosen as The American Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to earn unanimous player-of-the-year honors. A finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player and for the Butkus Award as the top linebacker, Collins has registered 51 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and four interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns. Two of Collins' four interceptions clinched wins for Tulsa, including a highlight-reel 96-yard pick six against Tulane in an overtime victory.

The 6'4" Collins is the first player from Tulsa to be named as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. He is the 8^th Tulsa defender in school history to earn a Conference Defensive Player of the Year award, including five past winners in the Missouri Valley Conference and two in Conference USA.

Tulsa's first-team all-AAC selections are Collins, defensive lineman Jaxon Player and offensive tackle Tyler Smith. A unanimous selection, Collins is a two-time all-league performer after earning second team honors a year ago, while Player and Smith are first-year selections.

Player has been a force upfront for the Hurricane defense. He has been credited with 28 tackles, including 19 solos, 8.5 TFLs for -23 yards and three sacks. Player was named the AAC's Defensive Player of the Week in Tulsa's last outing after recording a career-high 12 tackles and 4.5 TFLs in a 19-6 win at Navy.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Smith, a 6'5" offensive tackle, has made an impact as a first-year starter on the left side of the Tulsa front.

Tulsa's five second-team selections include wide receiver Keylon Stokes and offensive tackle Chris Paul, safety Cristian Williams, linebacker Justin Wright and place-kicker Zack Long.

Stokes leads Tulsa receivers with 508 yards and two touchdowns on 35 receptions this season and had a season-high of 122 yards on eight receptions in Tulsa's comeback win over No.19 SMU. Paul is the veteran of the offensive front, having started 27 career games and this year was his first as the starting right tackle. He started last year at left guard and in 2018 at right guard.

Defensively, Williams and Wright have helped lead a defense that ranks second in the AAC for total defense, scoring and passing, while among the top-21 nationally in each of those categories.

Williams, who plays the nickel safety position, has compiled 31 tackles and two pass breakups, while Wright ranks third on the team for tackles with 50 and has 8.5 TFLs for -20 yards and one interception.

A former high school soccer player, Long first began his football career as a junior in 2019, and in his second year has earned second-team merits. Long handled placements and kickoffs for Tulsa this year, converting 9-of-11 field goals and 20-of-21 PATS, while averaging 55.5 yards on 36 kickoffs.

Tulsa's honorable mention selections include three offensive linemen –– Dante Bivens, Dylan Couch and Gerard Wheeler – giving league honors to all five Hurricane players on the offensive front. On defense, senior cornerback Allie Green IV and sophomore safety Kendarin Ray also earned honorable mention merits.

Green IV, who is a finalist for the Thorpe Award for the nation's top defensive back, has totaled 21 tackles and one interception, while Ray is Tulsa's leading tackler with 52 stops and five pass breakups.

The 20^th-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane plays the No. 6-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game on Saturday at Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium with a kickoff time of 7:00 p.m. (CT).

Tulsa's 2020 American Athletic Conference Postseason Honors
Defensive Player of the Year
Zaven Collins, LB (unanimous)

First-Team
Zaven Collins, LB (unanimous)
Jaxon Player, DL
Tyler Smith, OT

Second-Team
Zack Long, PK
Chris Paul, OT
Keylon Stokes, WR
Cristian Williams, SAF
Justin Wright, LB

Honorable Mention
Dante Bivens, OG
Dylan Couch, OG
Allie Green IV, CB
Kendarin Ray, SAF
Gerard Wheeler, C

Thirteen Tulsa Football Players Earn American Athletic Conference Honors; Collins is Unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Selection

Players Mentioned

Dante Bivens

Zaven Collins

Dylan Couch

Allie Green IV

Zack Long

Chris Paul

Jaxon Player

Kendarin Ray

Tyler Smith

Keylon Stokes

Gerard Wheeler

Cristian Williams

Justin Wright

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