Press Release
Junior tight end earns first team honors, second all-conference recognition
Senior linebacker and sophomore cornerback honored for first time
TAMPA, NOV. 28, 2018 – The USF football team saw three players earn all-conference recognition Wednesday, including a pair returners and Bay Area natives, when the American Athletic Conference announced postseason honors as voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
Junior tight end Mitchell Wilcox (Tarpon Springs) earned first team all-conference honors, marking the second all-conference selection of his career after earning second team honors as a freshman in 2016. Senior linebacker Khalid McGee (Miami) earned second team honors in his first season starting at linebacker and sophomore Mike Hampton (Tampa) earned honorable mention recognition in his first season as a starter at cornerback.
Wilcox, a Mackey Award candidate the last two seasons, set USF tight end season records with 40 catches for 506 yards and added a pair of touchdowns on the year. He ranks second on the team in receptions and third in receiving yards while also serving as a strong blocker in helping lead junior Jordan Cronkrite to the program’s ninth 1,000-yard rushing season and true freshman Johnny Ford to 737 yards on the ground. Wilcox set a USF tight end game record with eight receptions for a personal-best 109 yards at Illinois and set the USF career record for a tight end with 942 receiving yards. His 69 career receptions are just six shy of the USF tight end record of 75 set by Sean Price (2012-15).
McGee, a former safety, leads USF and ranks second in the conference posting 9.5 tackles per game. His 104 tackles on the year are tied for 10th on the USF season charts and just the 15th 100-tackle season in program history. McGee has posted double-digit tackles in five games, including 13 vs. UCF and a career-best 14 at Illinois. He has also added 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a safety on the year.
Hampton has had a breakout year in his first season as a starter as he leads USF and ranks second in the conference (9th nationally) with 17 passes defended. He is tied for second on the team with two interceptions and has 41 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack on the year while starting 10 games at cornerback.
USF (7-5; 3-5 American) will find out this weekend its destination for the program’s 10th bowl appearance and fourth straight. The Bulls are 6-3 all-time in bowl games and have won in five of their last six bowl appearances, including defeats of South Carolina and Texas Tech in the Bulls’ last two appearances in the Birmingham Bowl.
The priority renewal period for season ticket members for the 2019 season has begun. Season ticket members can lock in their current seat locations, add new seats or change seat locations for the 2019 season. Season tickets may be renewed by visiting USFBullsTix.com by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls. Season ticket members that renew by the priority deadline of Dec. 15 will receive an early renewal gift.
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
USF posted its second straight 10-win season in 2017 (10-2) by winning its second straight Birmingham Bowl with a 38-34 victory over Texas Tech. USF is one of just 15 teams nationally to win 20-plus games in the last two seasons (21-4) and posted a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the top 25, reaching as high as No. 13 in Week 8 of the 2017 season. The Bulls have won five of their last six bowl appearances and made nine (6-3) total bowl appearances in 21 seasons, including a current run of three straight bowls. USF won a program-record 11 games in 2016 (11-2) and has posted 14 winning seasons. The USF program, which first took the field in 1997, reached No. 2 in the rankings in 2007 and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and had 28 first-team all-conference selections.
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