Calhoun, Hall named MWC Coach, Offensive Player of the Year
12/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 4, 2007
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force football head coach Troy Calhoun and running back/receiver Chad Hall were named coach and offensive player of the year today in the Mountain West Conference by votes of head coaches and media. In addition, Calhoun was named the Region 5 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.
Calhoun is the first Air Force coach to win the award in his first season and just the second to ever win it, joining Fisher DeBerry, who won the award in 1985, 1995 and 1998. Hall is the sixth Air Force player to win the conference's offensive player of the year award and first non-quarterback. He joins quarterbacks Bart Weiss (1985), Dee Dowis (1989), Beau Morgan (1996), Blane Morgan (1998) and Mike Thiessen (2000). Hall was named to the first-team offense as a running back and was joined by center Blaine Guenther. Outside linebacker John Rabold and cornerback Carson Bird were named to the first-team defense. Inside linebacker Drew Fowler, a first-team selection in 2006, along with offensive guard/tackle Nick Charles took home second-team honors. Quarterback Shaun Carney, tight end Travis Dekker, defensive end Ryan Kemp and safety Chris Thomas received honorable mention honors.
Air Force's four first-team selections are its most ever in the Mountain West Conference and most since 1998 when the Falcons placed five members on the conference's first team as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
Hall led the conference in rushing with 1,415 yards and set the school record for rushing yards with 275 and all-purpose yards with 333 vs. Army earlier this season. A third-team All-American by Rivals.com, Hall was the conference leader in all-purpose yards with an average of 208.7 which ranked third nationally. Hall is also the only player in the nation to lead his team in rushing and receiving.
Guenther was instrumental in helping a young offensive line pave the way for the nation's No. 2-ranked rushing offense. The Falcons averaged 298.5 yards rushing per game and ranked second in the conference in scoring with a 29.4 average.
Rabold led the Falcons and ranked second in the conference with 16.5 tackles for loss. He also led the conference in fumble recoveries with four and is among the conference leaders in quarterback sacks with 5.5. He recorded 73 total tackles this season. Bird led the conference and ranked seventh nationally in interceptions with six which tied as the fourth most in school history. He is one off the single-season MWC record for interceptions. Bird was is second in the conference in fumble recoveries with three and recorded nine total turnovers on the season. He also averaged one pass breakup per game to rank among the conference leaders.
Air Force finished the season with a 9-3 overall record and placed second in the MWC with a 6-2 mark. The Falcons play California in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 31, at 10:30 a.m. MT. The game will be televised by ESPN.
