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Three Named Preseason All-Conference
July 15, 2015 02:06 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University senior safety Karl Joseph, senior linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and junior kicker Josh Lambert have been named to the Big 12 Preseason All-Conference Team, today, as selected by media representatives who cover the league.
Joseph, who was named to the preseason team for the second straight year, was named to the watch lists for the Maxwell Football Club’s Bednarik Award, the Football Writers Association of America’s Bronko Nagurski Award and the Jim Thorpe Award. Kwiatkoski was named to the Rotary Lombardi Award’s Watch List and Lambert was one of several kickers to be named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List.
Joseph, a native of Orlando, Fla., has been named to various preseason All-American teams already. He earned All-Big 12 Conference First Team honors in 2014, after finishing with 92 tackles, including 62 solo stops, 4.5 tackles for loss, a team-leading three forced fumbles, an interception and three pass breakups. He finished with five or more tackles in eight games and five or more solo tackles in six games.
Kwiatkoski, a native of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, played in all 13 games in 2014 and led the Mountaineers with 103 tackles, including a team-leading 71 unassisted tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss and had four pass breakups. He posted five double-figure tackle performances and two or more tackles for loss in three games. His top performance was 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops and three tackles for loss at Maryland.
Lambert, a finalist for the 2014 Lou Groza Award and an All-American, became just the third kicker in FBS history to make 30 field goals in a single campaign. He earned All-Big 12 Conference Second Team honors as a redshirt sophomore.
In 2014, Lambert hit 30-of-39 field goal attempts and was perfect on all 45 of his extra point tries. He set an NCAA record for hitting 16 field goals of 40 yards or more and tied the records for most games with two or more field goals made in a game (10) and most with three or more (6). His 30 field goals in 2014 tied the school record for most field goals hit in a season with Paul Woodside, who did it in 1982. Lambert also set the school’s kick scoring season record with 135 points last year. For his efforts, he earned All-Big 12 Conference honors by several organizations and was named All-American by four different groups.
The 2015 Big 12 preseason team was dominated by upperclassmen with 19 seniors and 10 juniors among the 30 honorees. Thirteen players were named to the 2014 All-Big 12 First Team, while eight were on the second team.
Individual selections include quarterback Trevone Boykin (TCU) as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, lineman Shawn Oakman (Baylor) as Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and running back Chris Carson (Oklahoma State) as Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
The media Preseason Big 12 Poll will be released on Thursday, followed by the annual Big 12 Football Media Days to be conducted in Dallas on July 20-21. Live video coverage, including press conferences and one-on-one interviews with a variety of guests, will be featured both days on the Big 12 Digital Network, including Big12Sports.com. The Big 12’s social media sites will also provide a unique perspective of Big 12 Football Media Days.
2015 Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Trevone Boykin, TCU, QB
Defensive Player of the Year: Shawn Oakman, Baylor, DL
Newcomer of the Year: Chris Carson, Oklahoma State, RB
The full 2015 Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team can be found here
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