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Two Tigers collect MIAA first-team honors
11/16/2011
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
Fort Hays State University senior linebacker Alex Whitehill entered the 2011 season with plenty of hype, including a preseason first team All-American honor by Consensus Draft Services. After Week 10, first-year Tiger coach Chris Brown was asked if Whitehill had lived up to the high expectations.
"I think he has, especially these last six, seven weeks. At first, he was kind of struggling with the stuff that we were doing, but he has really come along," Brown said. "You can really tell by his film study and coming in for extra meetings just to learn what we are doing and getting better at it."
On Saturday, Whitehill finished his standout season -- and career -- with a personal best 21 tackles in a loss against Missouri Western State University.
Whitehill's 164 tackles broke the school record of 150 set by Junior Hartig in 1979.
His 106 assisted tackles broke the NCAA Division II record of 105 set by Brian Holliday of Fayetteville State (N.C.) University in 2002. He helped FHSU see a one-win improvement to 4-7 overall, 3-6 in the MIAA.
"His play in the last six, seven weeks has been one of the best linebackers I have seen in a long time," Brown said. "He does a good job with reading his keys and filling on the run, and taking on blockers. He is very physical and tackles very well. He does a good job with it. I think he deserves any honor that he gets."
On Tuesday, Whitehill earned the first of possibly several awards when he collected first team all-MIAA honors at linebacker. As well, senior punter Ethan Kosjer also collected first-team honors. Kosjer led the MIAA and set the school record with 44.4 yards per punt. As well, Kosjer, a three-year starter, broke the school mark for career average (42.7).
"Looking back, coming in as a sophomore, I didn't know -- MIAA one of the best conferences in the nation, and I just trusted my coaches and trusted my ability to do well," Kosjer, a converted kicker, said. "... I am lucky to have a great season, and these coaches, they have been great to me and let me punt a lot and punt where I want. I just try to execute every play."
It marked the second all-conference honors for Whitehill and Kosjer. Whitehill was an honorable mention selection in 2010, while Kosjer was a second team pick as a sophomore. Junior center John "Hawk" Rouse collected second-team all-MIAA honors. Honorable mention selections included: junior running back Andre Smith, senior guard Casey Sorrell, senior tackle Lamar Leon, junior defensive end Kyle Perry, senior defensive back Korey Allison and junior defensive back Keke Paul.
Whitehill, a four-year player and two-year starter, played in all 44 games in his career. He finished with 333 career tackles, third-most in the Tigers' NCAA Division II history. Whitehill credited his success to working hard during the season and summer. Whitehill, a McPherson graduate, moved to Hays a week after he graduated high school, rarely went home and spent every summer in Hays. He redshirted the 2007 season, was a backup in 2008 and 2009 before he started the last two seasons.
"The biggest thing that I will try to push to these (underclassmen) is just be accountable, whether that's during the football season or the offseason, the summer," he said. "If you can be here in the summers and stuff, be here. Be willing to give up certain things for the team and make it important to you."
Whitehill recorded double-digit tackles in nine of 11 games and had three contests with at least 20 tackles. He helped the Tigers finish with the second-most MIAA victories since the program switched conferences before the 2006 season.
"We have had a great year, and I got to be a part of helping turn the program around with new coaches," Whitehill said.
"I think that was a big step for our senior class. That's what we wanted to do. We wanted to get these guys on the right foot for next year and get going."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |