Feb. 11, 2010
LAS VEGAS - A total of 17 UNLV football players - the second-most in program history -- were named to the 2009 Academic All-Mountain West Conference team, the league announced Thursday.
The impressive total trails only the 20 that won last season and ranks third in the MWC this time around, coming in behind only BYU (32 honorees) and Utah (20 honorees) in the nine-team league.
This season's group of Rebels includes 11 players who also earned the honor in previous years.
Two UNLV wide receivers closed their collegiate careers as rare four-time academic honorees: graduate student and record-setting wideout Ryan Wolfe (Santa Clarita, CA) boasted a 3.79 GPA in his master's program of sports education leadership; while Rodelin Anthony (Immokalee, FL) posted a 3.28 GPA in the dual major of political science and journalism/media studies.
Four other veterans picked up their third such honor: QB Omar Clayton (Normal, IL), OL Matt Murphy (Lake Forest, CA) and DBs Marquel Martin (Rialto, CA) and Ryan Tillman (Rialto).
Other Rebels who were also on a previous year's list were OL Mike Donato (Las Vegas), OL John Gianninoto (Tucson, AZ), LS Kamu Kapanui (Honolulu), WR Tate Knutson (Anchorage, AK) and LB Beau Orth (Las Vegas).
Making their first appearance on the annual list this season were WR Mark Barefield (Wills Point, TX), LB David Blair (Tempe, AZ), OL Andrew Mack (Plano, TX), LB Travis Trickey (Springerville, AZ), OL Shane Watterson (Saugus, CA) and OL Doug Zismann (Phoenix, AZ).
To be eligible for selection student-athletes must have completed at least one academic term at the school while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, and be a starter or significant contributor on their team.
UNLV MEMBERS OF 2009 ACADEMIC ALL-MWC FOOTBALL TEAMPlayer, Pos. GPA MajorRodelin Anthony*, WR 3.28 Journalism/Political ScienceMark Barefield, WR 3.34 UndeclaredDavid Blair, LB 3.25 FilmOmar Clayton*, QB 3.02 Political ScienceMike Donato*, OL 3.20 Higher Education Leadership#John Gianninoto*, OL 3.07 MarketingKamu Kapanui*, LS 3.00 Kinesiological SciencesTate Knutson*, WR 3.61 Kinesiological SciencesAndrew Mack, OL 3.04 Business AdministrationMarquel Martin*, DB 3.33 Sport & Leisure Service Management#Matt Murphy*, OL 3.28 Mathematics-Secondary EducationBeau Orth*, LB 3.24 Journalism & Media StudiesRyan Tillman*, DB 3.01 Physical EducationTravis Trickey, LB 3.28 Business AdministrationShane Watterson, OL 3.20 Criminal JusticeRyan Wolfe*, WR 3.79 Sports Education Leadership#Doug Zismann, OL 3.34 Mechanical Engineering*Multiple-season honoree#Master's program
