WVU Football: Four Mountaineers Earn All-Big 12 Team Honors
By Phil Poling
The Associated Press announced the All-Big 12 Team on Tuesday, and four WVU Football players made the first team, with one player earning a unanimous selection.
Cornerback Rasul Douglas was one of four players to get voted on the All-Big 12 team unanimously. He routinely followed the opposing team’s best player in a pass-happy conference, and made huge plays for the Mountaineers when they needed it most. Not only did he lead the conference with eight interceptions, he’s tied for the most interceptions in the country.
Aside from Douglas, wide receiver Shelton Gibson made the team as an all-purpose player (receiver, runner, returner). Dede Westbrook (a unanimous selection) and James Washington made the team as wide receivers, but Gibson still put up decent numbers in a run-dominated offense that Dana Holgorsen used this season. His eight receiving touchdowns rank fifth in the conference, and he tallied the sixth-most yards with 927.
But it’s no surprise that two West Virginia offensive lineman made the team; senior Tyler Orlosky and junior Kyle Bosch. These two helped propel the Mountaineers to the second-best rushing attack in the conference, where they averaged 239.50 yards per game. They cleared holes for nine 100-yard games by their running backs, and twice had players up over 200 yards.
One award that somehow wasn’t given to a Mountaineer was Coach of the Year.
Prior to the season, West Virginia was expected to finish in the bottom half of the division. No one gave them a chance after losing 20 seniors from last year’s squad. Dana Holgorsen didn’t really care! He coached his team to a 10-2 overall record, and won 7 conference games for the first time in the Big 12. ESPN did award him Coach of the Year, so at least he’s getting some recognition.