DALLAS — UTSA senior Hunter Duplessis has been named to the Conference USA Football All-Academic Team, the league office announced Thursday.
The San Antonio Cole High School product is one of 11 players from the league to earn a spot on the squad for excelling both on and off the field this season. He is the fifth Roadrunner to make the C-USA All-Academic Team since UTSA joined the conference in 2013, joining Brady Jones (2017), Nate Leonard (2013-14), Yannis Routsas (2018) and Eric Soza (2013).
Duplessis, one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, earned his bachelor's degree as a double major in information systems and cyber security in August 2020. He owns a 3.77 GPA while currently continuing coursework in technology management. A four-time member of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, he has made the UTSA President's List (4.0 semester GPA), Dean's List (3.75) and Honor Roll (3.5) twice apiece.
A two-time member of the football team's Leadership Council, Duplessis is a member of the Society for Collegiate Leadership & Achievement, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and "The Banquet Table" student group. He has volunteered his time with the San Antonio Food Bank, Haven for Hope (local homeless shelter) and UTSA's Rowdy Readers program that visits local elementary schools.
Duplessis, who also was a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist, has made 16 of 18 field goals and 37 of 38 extra points. His 16 field goals lead C-USA and rank seventh among all FBS kickers, while he stands second in the league and 10th in the country in field-goal percentage (.889) and second in the conference and 23rd nationally in field goals per game (1.45). He has scored a UTSA single-season-record 85 total points in 2020, good for second in C-USA and 14th in the nation.
A Burlsworth Trophy nominee, Duplessis made his first 14 field-goal attempts this season and his final nine in 2019, carrying an FBS-best streak of consecutive field goals made for five weeks this fall before it was snapped at 23 with a block against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 24. He made all three field goals he attempted, including the game winner from 29 yards in the second overtime of the Roadrunners' 51-48 season-opening victory over Texas State, and he was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. He also went 3 for 3 on field goals, including a 35-yarder in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference in UTSA's 37-35 win over Middle Tennessee.
Duplessis is a perfect 11 for 11 on field goals from 20-39 yards and 5 of 7 from 40 or more yards. He made a career-long 50-yarder against Army and split the uprights from 49 yards in back-to-back games versus Florida Atlantic and UTEP. He also has handled kickoff duties and owns 15 touchbacks on 46 kicks this fall.
Besides setting the school record for points in a season, Duplessis is second on UTSA's single-season lists with 16 field goals and 37 extra points and his 62 career PATs place him second on the program's career chart. He ranks third all-time with 25 field goals, 76 kickoffs and 137 points and fourth with 23 touchbacks.
Duplessis and the Roadrunners will make the program's second bowl appearance next Saturday, Dec. 26, when they play in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl against an opponent to be named in the coming days. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.
2020 C-USA Football All-Academic Team
Blaze Alldredge, Rice, Sr., LB, 3.396, Political Science
Swayze Bozeman, Southern Miss, Sr., LB, 4.0 GPA Kinesiology
Abraham Delfin, Louisiana Tech, R-Jr., OL, 3.915 GPA, Construction Engineering Technology
Hunter Duplessis, UTSA, R-Sr., K, 3.77, Information Systems/Cyber Security
Jacob Fuqua, UAB, R-Sr., LS, 4.0 GPA in Masters of Education
Tyriq Harris, Charlotte, R-Sr., DE, 3.87, Pre-Business Administration
Matt Hayball, Florida Atlantic, R-So., P, 3.940 GPA, Business Finance
Crews Holt, Middle Tennessee, R-Sr., K, 4.0 GPA, Marketing
Juwuan Jones, WKU, R-Jr., DE, 3.75 GPA, Sport Management Major
Kody Russey, Louisiana Tech, R-Sr., OL, 4.0 GPA, Master's in Business Administration
Dion Novil, North Texas, Sr., DT, 3.514 GPA, Integrative Studies
-UTSA-
