Garcia Leads Group of 11 Owls Honored by C-USA

HOUSTON — Elijah Garcia was named to the All-Conference USA first team by the league's coaches, highlighting a group of 11 Owls who were honored by the conference on Tuesday.

Jake Bailey, Shea Baker, Ikenna Enechukwu, Jordan Myers, Naeem Smith, Gabe Taylor and Jovaun Woolford earned honorable mention while Jordan Dunbar, Sean Fresch and Aidan Siano were named to the all-freshman team.

Garcia led the team with career-highs of five sacks and 67 tackles, the most for any interior defender in the conference. He totaled 190 career tackles in 51 games, the most of any active interior defender in C-USA. His 67 stops were the most by an Owls defensive lineman since Dwain Turner had 90 in 1986. Garcia led the team with 33 total quarterback pressures (sacks, hits & hurries) according to Pro Football Focus, as well as the Owls defense with 791 snaps and the team with 51 games (46 consecutive) and 27 consecutive starts.

Dunbar led the team with nine pass breakups on the season and all freshmen C-USA corners with seven breakups in conference action. He was credited with a career-best seven tackles and added his first career breakup against Houston.

Fresch was second on the team with seven pass breakups. Led all C-USA freshmen with 14 kickoff returns, 317 return yards, and a 22.6 average. His total yards and average per return are the best since 2018 when Austin Walter ended the year with 491 yards and a 27.3 average. He picked off his first career pass in the opener at Arkansas and recorded a career-high five tackles against WKU.

Siano is a true freshman who found immediate playing time on special teams before moving into the starting lineup over the final three games. He made his starting debut against WKU and was credited with three tackles. He followed that with five stops and a shared sack at UTEP.

Bailey earns honorable mention for the second straight season. He led the team with 56 receptions and 714 yards and caught at least one pass in 15 consecutive games. In conference games, he had 40 receptions for 565 yards, which tied for ninth in C-USA. Against North Texas, Bailey set career highs with 10 catches and 143 yards and matched his yardage total at Charlotte the following week… Fell 20 yards shy of joining Jarett Dillard as the only Owls to post three consecutive 100-yard receiving days in C-USA action.

Enechukwu led the team with 20 quarterback hurries according to PFF and was second with 32 total pressures, eight tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks, all career bests. He recorded a TFL in seven of his last eight games while establishing a new career-best with 2.5 against Southern Miss.

Myers earned all-conference honors for the second straight season. Although listed at tight end, Myers made his biggest impact at running back. He led the Owls in rushing touchdowns (8) and scoring (54 points), was second in all-purpose yards (646), and third in rushing yards (338), and fourth with 25 receptions.

Smith started at strong and free safety this year due to injuries and was the only Owl defensive back to have started all 12 games. He was second in Conference USA with four interceptions, the most by an Owls since Prudy Calderon also had four in 2018. All four picks came in C-USA action. The four interceptions were a career-high and raised his career total to seven. Smith was second on the team with a career-high 65 tackles and 32 solo tackles while recording five pass breakups.

Taylor led the team with 44 unassisted tackles and took over as the starter with a standout effort at UAB where he was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance with a career-high 10 tackles, a forced fumble, and break up a last gasp pass attempt by UAB. He forced a fumble on the Blazers' first play of the game after Rice had taken a 7-0 lead, setting the Owls up for their second touchdown of the opening minutes. Two of his 10 tackles forced Blazer punts at the end of the second and start of the third quarter with Rice holding a 20-14 lead… Also recorded five pass breakups and three interceptions, including a game-winning pick in the season finale against Louisiana Tech that clinched the victory.

Baker and Woolford earned all-conference honors for the second straight year. Baker opened the season at guard but moved back to his original position of center after an injury to Isaac Klarkowski. He led the team with 849 snaps this season and 42 career starts. Woolford was a Super Senior who returned for a seventh season of college football and started seven of eight games, missing one start because of injury. He was fourth on the offense with 699 snaps.

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