University of North Texas Athletics
Photo by: Manny Flores
Shorter, LeBlanc, Wood Earn All-Freshman Honors
12/10/2019 1:01:00 PM | Football
DALLAS - North Texas wide receiver Jyaire Shorter, defensive lineman Dayton LeBlanc and linebacker Kevin Wood earned Conference USA All-Freshman honors, the league announced Tuesday. The three selections, made by the league's 14 head coaches, are the highest during Seth Littrell's tenure.
Shorter burst onto the scene in 2019, ranking second in Conference USA in receiving touchdowns, with nine. That tied 27th nationally and he also finished with 24 receptions for 473 yards to go along with those nine scores. His 19.71 yards per reception ranked 17th in the country and was third in C-USA. The physical receiver carried several defensive backs into the end zone in a series of highlight plays and scored a touchdown on an eye-popping 37.5% of his catches. Shorter is one of three Mean Green receivers with three receiving scores in a single game (at Charlotte) during the 2019 season.
LeBlanc earned his way into the defensive line rotation with a strong fall camp and the redshirt freshman didn't disappointed, tallying 30 tackles (13 solo) with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack in 12 appearances. LeBlanc is versatile along the defensive line, getting time at both at nose tackle to spell Dion Novil, but at times was effective at defensive end as well. LeBlanc earned a grade of 73 (sixth-highest rating among Mean Green defenders) from Pro Football Focus during his first season of significant playing time.
Wood, a true freshman, has filled in very nicely for the Mean Green at mike linebacker, recording 17 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a pair of fumble recoveries in 12 appearances. He also earned one start during his freshman campaign, on 11/23 at Rice.
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Shorter burst onto the scene in 2019, ranking second in Conference USA in receiving touchdowns, with nine. That tied 27th nationally and he also finished with 24 receptions for 473 yards to go along with those nine scores. His 19.71 yards per reception ranked 17th in the country and was third in C-USA. The physical receiver carried several defensive backs into the end zone in a series of highlight plays and scored a touchdown on an eye-popping 37.5% of his catches. Shorter is one of three Mean Green receivers with three receiving scores in a single game (at Charlotte) during the 2019 season.
LeBlanc earned his way into the defensive line rotation with a strong fall camp and the redshirt freshman didn't disappointed, tallying 30 tackles (13 solo) with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack in 12 appearances. LeBlanc is versatile along the defensive line, getting time at both at nose tackle to spell Dion Novil, but at times was effective at defensive end as well. LeBlanc earned a grade of 73 (sixth-highest rating among Mean Green defenders) from Pro Football Focus during his first season of significant playing time.
Wood, a true freshman, has filled in very nicely for the Mean Green at mike linebacker, recording 17 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a pair of fumble recoveries in 12 appearances. He also earned one start during his freshman campaign, on 11/23 at Rice.
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Players Mentioned
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