Dec. 4, 2007
Seven UTEP football players were tabbed to the coaches' All-Conference USA Team on Tuesday, including four first teamers.
UTEP joined Southern Miss and UCF as the only schools to have at least four first team selections. Southern Miss had six and UCF had five.
Senior offensive lineman Oniel Cousins, sophomore wide receiver Jeff Moturi, senior defensive back Quintin Demps and junior placekicker Jose Martinez were all selected first team All-Conference. Demps was also chosen second team All-League as a punt returner.
Senior linebacker Jeremy Jones was a second team honoree, and punter Kyle Petersen joined quarterback Trevor Vittatoe on the coaches' All-Freshman team.
Cousins started all 12 games at right tackle this season, blossoming into a potential NFL Draft pick. He helped the Miners rank 25th in the country in passing offense (275.2 ypg), 27th in scoring offense (33.6 ppg) and 37th in total offense (422.8 ypg), while setting a school record with 5,074 yards of offense. The Miners also tied the school record by scoring 40+ points five times.
Moturi tied the school record by catching a touchdown pass in 10 straight games this season. He led UTEP in catches (65) and yardage (891). His 13 touchdown receptions were two shy of the school seasonal standard. Moturi had four 100-yard games in 2007.
Demps is first among active NCAA Division I-A players with 17 interceptions. He posted 72 tackles (55 solos), 4.5 tackles for losses, two fumble recoveries and a blocked kick in 2007. He led the team with five interceptions (for a school-record 220 yards) and nine pass break-ups. Demps, who saw action at both safety and cornerback this year, scored on 100-yard interception returns at New Mexico State and UCF. He was UTEP's 2007 defensive captain.
Demps ranked 15th nationally in punt returns with a 13.3-yard average.
One of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, Martinez scored 95 points this season. He was 17-for-20 on field goal attempts and 44-for-46 on extra points. Martinez tied the school record by making five field goals against East Carolina, and booted a Conference USA record 57-yard field goal versus Houston.
Jones led UTEP with 11 tackles for losses this season, while ranking second on the squad with 96 takedowns overall.
Petersen punted 51 times for 2,075 yards, a 40.7-yard average.
Vittatoe set school freshman records for passing yards (3,101) and passing touchdowns (25), with only seven interceptions. He was first among freshmen nationally in passing yardage.
