December 7, 1998

LAS VEGAS - UNLV linebacker James Sunia has been named First-Team Freshman All-America by Football News, the publication announced Monday.

Sunia, a redshirt, was the first freshman ever chosen as a team captain for UNLV and is the first freshman All-American in Rebel football history. He led this year's team in total tackles with 115, added two quarterback sacks, ranked third on the squad with six tackles for loss and also recovered one fumble.

His 10.5 tackles-per-game average ranked sixth in the Western Athletic Conference and he was the only freshman to appear among the league's top-20 tacklers.

Sunia, a 5-10, 245-pound native of Wianae, Hawaii, and graduate of famed prep football power St. Louis High School, was named the WAC Mountain Division Freshman of the Year on November 24.

      FOOTBALL NEWS 1998 FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
OFFENSEPOS PLAYER              SCHOOLQB  Major Applewhite    TexasRB  Ken Simonton        Oregon StateRB  DeShaun Foster          UCLAWR  Aaron Lockett       Kansas StateWR  James Jordan        Louisiana TechTE  Tim Stratton        PurdueOL  Seth McKinney       Texas A&MOL  Kenyatta Walker         FloridaOL  Kevin Rivers        South CarolinaOL  Joaquin Gonzalez    Miami (FL)OL  Corey Sewell        TulanePK  Ryan White      Memphis
DEFENSEPOS PLAYER              SCHOOLDL  Jarvis Green        LSUDL  Anthony Weaver          Notre DameDL  Kindal Moorehead    AlabamaDL  Justin Smith        MissouriLB  Jamie Winborn       VanderbiltLB  Pernell Griffin     East CarolinaLB  James Sunia         UNLVDB  Jamar Fletcher      WisconsinDB  Edward Reed     Miami (FL)DB  Chad Long       Bowling GreenDB  Andy Boyd       ToledoP   Dave Zastudil       Ohio