University of North Texas Athletics
UNT Lands Five on C-USA First Team, Others Honored
12/6/2022 1:30:00 PM | Football
DALLAS - With the Mean Green football team set to wrap up its season on Dec. 17 against Boise State in the Frisco Bowl, several student-athletes were honored on Tuesday with the release of the All-Conference USA teams.
UNT landed five players on the First Team, in senior linebacker KD Davis, freshman tight end Var'Keyes Gumms, junior kick returner Kaylon Horton, senior center Manase Mose and sophomore cornerback Ridge Texada.
With one game left in his Mean Green career, Davis has already established himself as one of the most decorated players in program history after becoming the all-time tackles leader in last week's C-USA Championship Game. His 132 tackles is tops on the team by nearly 40 stops and he's the first player in program history to lead the team in tackles for four straight seasons. He also has three tackles for-loss, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble to go with four quarterback hurries. It's Davis' second straight first-team nod.
Gumms burst on to the scene as a part of the Mean Green's potent 1-2 tight end punch along with Jake Roberts, but Gumms quickly became one of the focal points of UNT's high-octane passing attack. Gumms' 451 receiving yards set a new program record for receiving yards by a tight end. His five touchdown catches tie him for second on the program's single-season list for touchdown catches by a tight end - one behind Marcus Smith (2014).
Horton, a transfer from Tarleton State, was a Jack-of-all-trades this year and was selected as a kick returner after averaging better than 25 yards per return on his 23 returns and becoming the first UNT player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since 2019 when he notched a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown earlier this season against UNLV. He also has a receiving touchdown and two rushing touchdowns this season, bringing his career total to seven touchdowns (two kickoff returns, two receiving, two rushing and one punt return).
Mose, a senior stalwart on the offensive line, is in his fifth year as a starter and has started every game of his five-year playing career to bring his career starts total to 61 games with one left to play in the upcoming Frisco Bowl. Assuming he plays then, he'll move into third all-time in FBS football history for career games played. He's led a unit that has blocked for one of the top offenses in C-USA. It's Mose's first first-team selection after a second-team nod last year.
Texada was called upon early in the year after John Davis, Jr., suffered a season-ending injury in the team's season-opening win at UTEP. The undersized cornerback didn't take long to seize the job and leave his mark. Through 13 games, Texada has 40 tackles, two tackles for-loss, a team-high three interceptions, and a team leading 15 pass breakups. Two more passes defended (interceptions + pass breakups) would give him the program record for a season, previously set by Kemon Hall in 2018 with 19. His three interceptions are the most for a UNT player since 2018. He enters the Frisco Bowl tied for fourth in FBS in total passes defended this season.
Junior linebacker Mazin Richards earned Second-Team honors after proving himself on the FBS level this year by finishing fourth on the team in tackles through 13 games (77.0) and leading the team with 12.5 tackles for-loss and 7.5 sacks. His 12.5 tackles for-loss ties him for 45th in FBS.
Earning honorable mention honors from the conference were: junior quarterback Austin Aune, junior defensive back DeShawn Gaddie, junior long snapper JP Hadley, senior kicker Ethan Mooney, junior wide receiver Jyaire Shorter, sophomore tight end Jake Roberts and sophomore defensive back Logan Wilson.
The conference also released its All-Freshman team, which included Gumms, wide receiver Ja'Mori Maclin, offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu, defensive lineman Cam Robertson and defensive lineman Fatafehi Vailea.
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UNT landed five players on the First Team, in senior linebacker KD Davis, freshman tight end Var'Keyes Gumms, junior kick returner Kaylon Horton, senior center Manase Mose and sophomore cornerback Ridge Texada.
With one game left in his Mean Green career, Davis has already established himself as one of the most decorated players in program history after becoming the all-time tackles leader in last week's C-USA Championship Game. His 132 tackles is tops on the team by nearly 40 stops and he's the first player in program history to lead the team in tackles for four straight seasons. He also has three tackles for-loss, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble to go with four quarterback hurries. It's Davis' second straight first-team nod.
Gumms burst on to the scene as a part of the Mean Green's potent 1-2 tight end punch along with Jake Roberts, but Gumms quickly became one of the focal points of UNT's high-octane passing attack. Gumms' 451 receiving yards set a new program record for receiving yards by a tight end. His five touchdown catches tie him for second on the program's single-season list for touchdown catches by a tight end - one behind Marcus Smith (2014).
Horton, a transfer from Tarleton State, was a Jack-of-all-trades this year and was selected as a kick returner after averaging better than 25 yards per return on his 23 returns and becoming the first UNT player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since 2019 when he notched a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown earlier this season against UNLV. He also has a receiving touchdown and two rushing touchdowns this season, bringing his career total to seven touchdowns (two kickoff returns, two receiving, two rushing and one punt return).
Mose, a senior stalwart on the offensive line, is in his fifth year as a starter and has started every game of his five-year playing career to bring his career starts total to 61 games with one left to play in the upcoming Frisco Bowl. Assuming he plays then, he'll move into third all-time in FBS football history for career games played. He's led a unit that has blocked for one of the top offenses in C-USA. It's Mose's first first-team selection after a second-team nod last year.
Texada was called upon early in the year after John Davis, Jr., suffered a season-ending injury in the team's season-opening win at UTEP. The undersized cornerback didn't take long to seize the job and leave his mark. Through 13 games, Texada has 40 tackles, two tackles for-loss, a team-high three interceptions, and a team leading 15 pass breakups. Two more passes defended (interceptions + pass breakups) would give him the program record for a season, previously set by Kemon Hall in 2018 with 19. His three interceptions are the most for a UNT player since 2018. He enters the Frisco Bowl tied for fourth in FBS in total passes defended this season.
Junior linebacker Mazin Richards earned Second-Team honors after proving himself on the FBS level this year by finishing fourth on the team in tackles through 13 games (77.0) and leading the team with 12.5 tackles for-loss and 7.5 sacks. His 12.5 tackles for-loss ties him for 45th in FBS.
Earning honorable mention honors from the conference were: junior quarterback Austin Aune, junior defensive back DeShawn Gaddie, junior long snapper JP Hadley, senior kicker Ethan Mooney, junior wide receiver Jyaire Shorter, sophomore tight end Jake Roberts and sophomore defensive back Logan Wilson.
The conference also released its All-Freshman team, which included Gumms, wide receiver Ja'Mori Maclin, offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu, defensive lineman Cam Robertson and defensive lineman Fatafehi Vailea.
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