Trio of Offensive Players / Kick Returners Named to Paul Hornung Award Week Eight Honor Roll
McCaffrey Makes Honor Roll for Fifth Time this Season, Boyd and Ervin Earn Award Second Time
Louisville, Ky. – Monday, October 19, 2015 – Tyler Boyd (Pittsburgh), Tyler Ervin (San Jose State) and Christian McCaffrey (Stanford) combined for 864 total yards of total offense and led their teams to key conference wins to earn the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll in the eighth week of the college football season.
The Paul Hornung Award, presented by Texas Roadhouse, is awarded annually to the most versatile player in major college football. The winner and his family will be honored on February 25, 2016, at a banquet presented by KentuckyOne Health at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville, Ky.
Pittsburgh wide receiver Tyler Boyd displayed his versatility in the Panthers’ 23-20 win over the Syracuse Orange by throwing a 38-yard completion, rushing six times for 34 yards, returning three kickoffs for 75 yards and posting a career-high 12 receptions for 93 yards. He completed a pass for the second consecutive game and is now 2-2 throwing the ball this year for 67 yards. Boyd is seventh in the ACC in all-purpose yards per game with 115.8, and he became the first player to record 20 yards passing, rushing and receiving in consecutive games since UTEP’s Lorne Sam in 2007. Pitt is atop the ACC Coastal division with a 4-0 conference record and a 6-1 overall record.
San Jose State running back Tyler Ervin accumulated 324 all-purpose yards in the Spartans’ 31-21 win over New Mexico. The bulk of his yardage came on the ground with 36 carries for 263 yards and one touchdown. His 71-yard touchdown run came on the second play of the game giving the Spartans an early 7-0 lead. Ervin also had two receptions for 11 yards and three kickoff returns for 50 yards. He has surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing threshold for the season and stands at 1,159 yards after eight games; he is second in the FBS in total all-purpose yards with 1,756. San Jose State is second in the Mountain West – West Division standings.
Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey led the Cardinal’s to a 31-14 win against the Washington Huskies with 300 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. McCaffrey rushed 23 times for 109 yards and a score, caught five passes for 112 yards and his second touchdown of the game, returned three kickoffs 79 yards and fair caught four punts. McCaffrey now has five straight games with at least 200 all-purpose yards and leads the FBS with 1,818 all-purpose yards on the season. He is approaching Barry Sanders’ single-season all-purpose yards record of 2,743 yards set in 1988. With a 6-1 overall record and 5-0 in conference, Stanford is the only Pac-12 team undefeated in conference play.
Past Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll Selections
Week One: William Likely (Maryland), Myles Jack (UCLA), Braxton Miller (Ohio State), Robert Nkemdiche (Ole Miss)
Week Two: Kenyan Drake (Alabama), Janarion Grant (Rutgers), Jahad Thomas (Temple), Brandon Wilson (Houston)
Week Three: William Likely (Maryland), Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), Jakeem Grant (Texas Tech), Ryan Switzer (North Carolina)
Week Four: Trevone Boykin (TCU), Adoree’ Jackson (USC), Christian Kirk (Texas A&M), Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), Robert Nkemdiche (Ole Miss)
Week Five: Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), KaVontae Turpin (TCU)
Week Six: Tyler Ervin (San Jose State), Reggie Davis (Georgia)
Week Seven: Bralon Addison (Oregon), Tyler Boyd (Pittsburgh), Adoree’ Jackson (USC), Christian Kirk (Texas A&M), Christian McCaffrey (Stanford)
The Louisville Sports Commission successfully launched the Paul Hornung Award in 2010 to honor its namesake and native son, and to recognize and reward high-level achievers in college football whose performances and contributions as versatile players often go unnoticed. Owen Marecic of Stanford, a two-way starter and All Pac-10 performer at fullback and linebacker, won the inaugural Paul Hornung Award in 2010; Brandon Boykin of Georgia won the award in 2011 after excelling on defense, offense and special teams; Tavon Austin of West Virginia won the award in 2012 as one of two players in the nation with more than 500 yards in three different categories (rushing, receiving and kick returns); Odell Beckham Jr. of LSU won the award in 2013 after finishing the season ranked second in the nation and first in the Southeastern Conference with 2,222 all-purpose yards and 185.2 average yards per game; and Shaq Thompson of Washington won the award in 2014 as a two-way player, earning first team All-America honors at linebacker and finishing as the Husky’s second-leading rusher at tailback.