CINCINNATI —UTSA's Josiah Tauaefa and Lorenzo Dantzler have been named to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) All-Conference USA Football Team, the service announced Tuesday.
Tauaefa was chosen as one of two linebackers on the PFF Conference USA Team of the Year, while Dantzler collected second-team honors as an edge defender.
According to PFF, Tauaefa finished the season with 21 total QB pressures on just 68 pass-rushing snaps, while he also finished second among all linebackers with 57 defensive stops. The junior from Corinth, Texas, officially led UTSA with 113 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries this season. One of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, which recognizes the nation's top linebacker, the Lake Dallas High School product also tallied 62 solo stops and a pair of forced fumbles. Tauaefa, who earlier today was named honorable mention by the C-USA head coaches, registered double-digit tackles in six contests, including five of the last six weeks, and his 113 stops stand as the second-best season in program history behind the 115 he posted in 13 games as a freshman in 2016.
Dantzler posted 27 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. The sophomore from Starkville, Miss., had a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage, including a strip-sack, against Baylor and a sack against both Rice and Louisiana Tech. Dantzler also scooped up a fumble caused by Tauaefa and returned in 27 yards for a touchdown in the 25-21 victory over Texas State. He totaled a season-high six stops, including a half-sack, at Marshall and had four and three tackles, respectively, versus FIU and North Texas.
The all-conference selections were made by each of PFF's leading conference analyst based mainly on PFF's play-by-play grading process for the entire season as well as cumulative grades, game grades against quality opposition, other PFF advanced statistics and playing time.
For the complete PFF All-Conference USA Team, please click here.
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