|
|
|
Ten MWC Football Players Named to 2008 NFF Hampshire Honor Society
April 9, 2008 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Ten Mountain West Conference football players are among those honored by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) as members of the 2008 NFF Hampshire Honor Society. Matthew Allen (BYU), Jesse Nading (Colorado State), Cody Kase (New Mexico), Vince Natali (New Mexico), Scotty James (San Diego State), Chris Manfredini (TCU) Steve Tate (Utah), Luke Chase (Wyoming), Sean Claffey (Wyoming), and Brandon Haugen (Wyoming) were named to the list, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a 3.2 GPA or better. Allen, a wide receiver from Peoria, Ariz., averaged 27.5 receiving yards per game in 2007, and made 31 grabs for 358 yards and three touchdowns. In his four years at BYU, the recreation management graduate made 80 receptions for 1,076 yards and seven total touchdowns and was recognized as a finalist for the 2007 Wuerffel Trophy. Nading, a Highlands Ranch, Colo. product, made 56 tackles (21 solo) for the Rams in 2007. During his four years in Fort Collins, the finance major made 175 career stops (92 solo), including 22 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He was named to the conference's fall 2007 all-academic list with his 3.55 grade-point average. A four-year starter at linebacker for the Lobos, Kase owns a 3.94 cumulative GPA as a business administration major. The Valencia, Calif. native made 60 total tackles in 2007 (25 solo) on a New Mexico squad that ranked second in the MWC and 13th nationally in total defense. Kase is the sixth Academic All-American in school history and UNM's first since 1998. Natali, a first-team all-league center, joined Kase on the 2007 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America list as a second-team selection. A third-semester graduate student, Natali earned his bachelor's of business administration degree in Decemebr 2006 with a 3.89 cumulative GPA.
James, from Elsinore, Calif., played in nine games for the Aztecs in 2007, starting the first four at cornerback and logging 13 tackles and a pair of pass breakups. He will complete his bachelor's degree in social science this May and currently boasts a 3.38 cumulative GPA. James was also named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine All-District VIII second team and earned the squad's President's Award for Highest Standards of Academic and Athletic Excellence in 2006.
Manfredini, who hails from Colleyville, Texas, is a three-time all-Conference placekicker who scored 103 points in 2007 and 254 points overall during his tenure as a Horned Frog. He was named to the 2005 all-MWC second team, and garnered honorable mention in 2006 and 2007. Manfredini earned his Bachelor's degree in supply and value chain management and currently working on a master's degree in liberal arts. Tate, an economics major with a 3.34 cumulative grade-point average, was named a first-team all-MWC selection in 2007. The Salt Lake City native led all defensive backs in the league last year with 10.5 tackles for a loss, 2.0 of which were sacks. Tate, a three-time Academic All-MWC award recipient, led the Utes in tackles his senior season with 103 total, which ranked seventh in the conference. Chase, a business management major from Windsor, Colo., made 200 total tackles (40 solo) during his career as a Cowboy, including 52 tackles (16 solo) in 2007. The inside linebacker, who holds a 3.50 GPA, played an integral role on a Wyoming defense that ranked No. 22 in the nation in total defense, No. 30 in pass defense and No. 27 in rushing defense. Claffey ranked six on the 2007 Wyoming defense in tackles, having made 71 stops (33 solo). A civil engineering major, the Fruita, Colo. product made 219 total tackles, including 19.0 tackles for loss, during his four seasons for the Pokes. Claffey also received academic All-MWC honors in each of his four years in Laramie. Haugen, from Spokane, Wash., was credited with making 37 tackles in 2007. The geography major had a seven-tackle performance in Wyoming's 23-3 home-opener victory over Virginia. Claffey achieved Academic All-MWC honors three times in his stint at Wyoming and currently holds a 3.38 cumulative GPA. A total of 433 players from 225 schools qualified for membership in the society's second year, an increase of more than 25 percent from the inaugural class in 2007. Qualifications for membership in the inaugural NFF National Honor Society include:
|
|
