The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Eight Longhorns earn AP All-Big 12 Football honors
12.05.2012 | Football
Valero Alamo Bowl Tickets | Longhorns Gameweek | Okafor CBSSports.com Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Dec. 5, 2012
Eight Texas Longhorns were voted to the 2012 Associated Press All-Big 12 Conference football team which was released Wednesday.
Defensive end Alex Okafor was a first-team selection for the second-straight season, while safety Kenny Vaccaro and punter Alex Kingearned second-team honors from a panel of 18 sportswriters who cover the league.
Okafor ranks tied for fourth in the Big 12 in forced fumbles (0.25 per game), third in sacks (0.67 pg) and tied for fifth in tackles for loss (0.96 pg).
Vaccaro, who has a career-high 100 tackles, was a first-team choice by the AP last season. King is in his first season with the Longhorns, but was a 2011 second team All-Atlantic Coast Conference pick. He ranks second in the Big 12 in punting (45.3 ypp) and would rank ninth in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), but he also does not have enough attempts to qualify.
Wide receiver Mike Davis, linebacker Steve Edmond, offensive guard Trey Hopkins, defensive lineman Jackson Jeffcoat and offensive guard Mason Walters were honorable-mention choices.
Davis needs 91 yards to become just the sixth player in school history with 1,000 receiving yards in a season. He ranks third in the Big 12 and 15th in the FBS in yards per reception at 16.8 (minimum 40 catches).
Edmond has shown consistency in his first season as the starting middle linebacker. He leads the team in tackles (101) and has posted eight or more stops in nine games.
Hopkins and Walters have helped the Horns post the 24th-best scoring offense in the FBS (36.1 points per game), as well as allow just 4.0 tackles for loss per game (No. 3 in the nation) and 1.17 sacks (tied for 20th).
Jeffcoat missed the final six games of the regular season after suffering a ruptured pectoral muscle vs. Oklahoma. He still ranks second on the team in tackles for loss (11) and sacks (4.0), and tied for third in QB pressures (6).
The Longhorns, ranked 23rd in the final BCS standings, will play No. 13 Oregon State on Saturday, Dec. 29 (5:45 p.m. CST) in the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
