SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Following the first winning season in the program's history, the University of the Incarnate Word football team had 11 players recognized by College Sports Madness on their Independent All-Conference teams.

The Cardinals, 6-5 in their first year at the NCAA FCS level, had five players earned second team honors and six players earn third team honors.  Five members of the offense, four members of the defense and two members of special teams earned the post season awards.

Junior wide receiver Casey Jennings (Fremont, CA/Washington HS), junior left guard Devin Threat (Mexia/Mexia HS), senior defensive tackle Robby Horton (Beeville/Jones HS), sophomore cornerback Kobie Douglas (Plano/Plano HS) and senior punter Emmanuel Nunez (Dallas/Seguin HS) were all named to the second team.

Jennings had a record-setting season for the Cardinals with 54 receptions for 738 yards which are both school records.  He added five touchdown receptions and had two games with over 100 yards receiving and five games with at least 85 yards receiving.

Threat was an honorable mention all-Lone Star Conference selection in 2012 and played a big part on the UIW offense in 2013.  The squad set school records for most rushing yards, passing yards and total offense in a season.

Horton led a defense that recorded a pair of shutouts and held four opponents to a touchdown or less.  He finished third on the team with 47 tackles and led the unit with 10.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks while also breaking up four passes.  He finished his career with a school record for most sacks and tied for the school record for most tackles for loss.

Douglas earned a starting spot in training camp and continued to improve throughout the season.  He finished the year with 33 tackles, 27 solo, and recorded all three of his interceptions in the last two games.

Nunez had another strong season for the Cardinals averaging 42.5 yards per punt, just 0.3 yards off his school record set in 2012.  He averaged at least 40.0 yards per kick in nine of 11 games and placed 17 of his 57 kicks inside the 20-yard line.  His lofty hang time helped limit opponents to only 2.8 yards per punt return.

The members of the Cardinals to earn Madness Independent Third Team honors are freshman running back Broderick Reeves (Mexia/Mexia HS), sophomore tight end Cole Wick (Hallettsville/Sacred Heart Catholic HS), sophomore center Matt McCarthy (San Antonio/Reagan HS), senior safety Devin Haywood (San Antonio/Roosevelt HS), sophomore safety Brandon Tanksley (Katy/Morton Ranch HS) and freshman punt returner Chase Ragusa (Cypress/Cypress Woods HS).

Reeves was the backup for most of the season, but finished the year leading the team with 616 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.  He rushed for over 100 yards on two occasions and set a school record with 244 yards and six touchdowns at McMurry.  He also had 18 catches for 80 yards and finished with 717 all-purpose yards.

Wick and McCarthy were both crucial to the success of the offense, especially in the run game with their strong blocking.  Wick added 11 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown in the pass attack while McCarthy was the signal caller for the offensive line.

Haywood and Tanksley were the top two tacklers on the team.  Tanksley finished with 58 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries despite not taking a starting job until the fifth week of the season.  Haywood had 56 tackles, including a team high 37 solo stops.  He led the team with five pass breakups, had two fumble recoveries and an interception.  He finished his career with a school record nine interceptions.

Ragusa proved to be a sure-handed return man who averaged 6.2 yards per punt return and 22.7 yards per kick return.
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