INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION Since the Knights joined Conference USA four short years ago, UCF student-athletes have garnered all-league accolades 33 �mes and league all-rookie recogni�on on 14 occasions. During that span, the Knights have had one C-USA Offensive Player of the Year selec�on, a conference Special Teams Player of the Year pick and a league Freshman of the Year pick. In 2008, eight Knights garnered all-league status, including Joe Burne� who, in addi�on to garnering the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year award, was named to the All-C-USA First Team as a cornerback, punt returner and kick returner.
C-USA SUCCESS UCF’s 13 First Team All-Conference USA selec�ons include Leger Douzable, Joe Burne�, Josh Si�on, Kevin Smith and Mike Walker.
EIGHT FOR BURNETT During his UCF career, Joe Burne� earned a total of eight All-Conference USA recogni�ons. He was named an All-C-USA First Team punt returner all four years, and took spots on the first-team defense three �mes. As a senior, he also garnered first-team kick returner honors.
24K In 2005, Kevin Smith was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year. He also was selected to the All-C-USA Second Team and the league’s all-freshman team. Two years later, the tailback was the league Offensive Player of the Year. He also earned a spot on the All-C-USA First Team that season. He is now a starter in the NFL for Detroit.
ROOKIE AWARDS UCF’s 13 Conference USA All-Freshman team picks include L.J. Anderson, Patrick Brown, Joe Burne�, Kevin Smith and Jason Venson.
NATIONAL HONORS In addi�on to garnering Conference USA honors, UCF players have also received na�onal recogni�on. In 2008, Joe Burne� received All-America First Team honors from ESPN.com and Sports Illustrated as a returner. In 2007, Kevin Smith was a consensus All-America selec�on – the first in UCF history. The tailback earned First Team All-America honors from several organiza�ons, including the Associated Press, the Football Writers Associa�on of America, the Walter Camp Football Founda�on and The Spor�ng News. Smith was named the na�onal Player of the Year at the annual Charity Sports Dinner in Pi�sburgh, Pa. Smith became the second UCF player to earn na�onal Player of the Year honors, as Daunte Culpepper was recognized by The Sports Network in 1998. Smith was a strong candidate for several na�onal honors, including the Heisman Trophy, the Doak Walker Award and the Walter Camp Award. Since arriving at UCF, head coach George O’Leary has also been the recipient of na�onal acclaim. In 2005, he earned na�onal coach of the year honors from CBSSports.com and SportsIllustrated.com. That season, O’Leary was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson and Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Awards.
ALL-AMERICA Under George O’Leary, several Knights have garnered freshman All-America recogni�on. Most recently, Bruce Miller and Blake Clingan garnered honorable men�on freshman All-America honors from The Spor�ng News in 2007.