MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (July 15, 2015) – 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, Sr.
Defensive Player of the Year: Shawn Oakman, Baylor, DE, Sr.
Newcomer of the Year: Chris Carson, Oklahoma State, RB, Jr.
Offense
Pos Name School Ht Wt Cl/Exp Hometown
QB Trevone Boykin1 TCU 6-2 205 Sr./3L Dallas, Texas
RB Shock Linwood1^ Baylor 5-9 195 Jr./2L Linden, Texas
RB Samaje Perine1 Oklahoma 5-11 237 So./1L Pflugerville, Texas
FB Glenn Gronkowski1 K-State 6-3 234 Jr./2L Amherst, N.Y.
WR Corey Coleman2 Baylor 5-11 190 Jr./2L Richardson, Texas
WR Sterling Shepard1 Oklahoma 5-10 191 Sr./3L Oklahoma City, Okla.
WR Josh Doctson2 TCU 6-3 195 Sr./2L Mansfield, Texas
TE Tre’Von Armstead Baylor 6-6 270 Jr./2L Port Arthur, Texas
OL Spencer Drango1^ Baylor 6-6 310 Sr./3L Cedar Park, Texas
OL Cody Whitehair2^ K-State 6-4 305 Sr./3L Abilene, Kan.
OL Joey Hunt2 TCU 6-3 295 Sr./3L El Campo, Texas
OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai2 TCU 6-6 308 Sr./3L Haltom, Texas
OL Le’Raven Clark1^ Texas Tech 6-6 307 Sr./3L Rockdale, Texas
PK Josh Lambert2 West Virginia 5-11 215 Jr./2L Garland, Texas
KR/PR Alex Ross Oklahoma 6-1 220 Jr./2L Jenks, Okla.
Defense
DL Andrew Billings1 Baylor 6-2 300 Jr./2L Waco, Texas
DL Shawn Oakman1 Baylor 6-9 280 Sr./2L Philadelphia, Pa.
DL Emmanuel Ogbah1 Oklahoma State 6-4 275 Jr./2L Houston, Texas
DL Davion Pierson TCU 6-2 305 Sr./3L Oklahoma City, Okla.
DL Pete Robertson2 Texas Tech 6-3 243 Sr.3L Longview, Texas
LB Eric Striker1^ Oklahoma 6-0 223 Sr./3L Seffner, Fla.
LB Ryan Simmons Oklahoma State 6-0 240 Sr./3L Cibolo, Texas
LB Nick Kwiatkoski West Virginia 6-2 235 Sr./3L Bethel Park, Pa.
DB Orion Stewart Baylor 6-2 200 Jr./2L Waco, Texas
DB Dante Barnett2 K-State 6-1 193 Sr./3L Tulsa, Okla.
DB Zack Sanchez1^ Oklahoma 5-11 175 Jr./2L Fort Worth, Texas
DB Kevin Peterson Oklahoma State 5-11 190 Sr./3L Wagoner, Okla.
DB Duke Thomas Texas 5-10 178 Sr./3L Killeen, Texas
DB Karl Joseph1^ West Virginia 5-11 197 Sr./3L Orlando, Fla.
P Taylor Symmank Texas Tech 6-3 194 Sr./2L McKinney, Texas
A tie in voting at DB created an additional spot.
^ 2014 Preseason Team
1 2014 All-Big 12 First Team selection
2 2014 All-Big 12 Second Team selection
Press Release courtesy WVU Athletic Communication
