UCF lands 5 football players on American Athletic Conference first team, 4 on second team

Chris Boyle, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·1 min read

Five UCF players earned first-team American Athletic Conference honors Wednesday.

Offensive linemen Lokahi Pauole and Ryan Swoboda, defensive linemen Ricky Barber and Tre'mon Morris-Brash and linebacker Jason Johnson garnered first-team recognition from the league's 11 head coaches.

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Johnson, a key addition out of the transfer portal from Eastern Illinois, finished the regular season with the second-most tackles (114) in the AAC. He registered 62 solo tackles, 25 more than any other player on the Knights' roster.

UCF Knights defensive tackle Ricky Barber (5) reacts after a tackle for loss of Cincinnati Bearcats running back Charles McClelland (10) in the first quarter during a college football game, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The UCF Knights lead at halftime, 10-6.
UCF Knights defensive tackle Ricky Barber (5) reacts after a tackle for loss of Cincinnati Bearcats running back Charles McClelland (10) in the first quarter during a college football game, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The UCF Knights lead at halftime, 10-6.

Barber has taken his play to another level in the second half. The junior has three sacks, and 12 quarterback hurries, along with 7.5 tackles for loss and four pass breakups.

Morris-Brash leads the Knights with 12 TFLs and six sacks, and he's added two fumble recoveries — coming up a yard short of a touchdown return against Georgia Tech.

Pauole and Swoboda have started every game, playing key roles for an offense that ranks seventh in the FBS in rushing (243.7).

Running back Isaiah Bowser, wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe, guard Samuel Jackson and center Matt Lee cracked the AAC's second team.

One notable omission from the list is quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who was named the AAC's Offensive Player of the Week on three separate occasions, most recently for his record-setting rushing performance against Tulane on Nov. 12. The senior threw for 2,195 yards, ran for 848 and accounted for 24 total touchdowns, but missed one full game at Memphis and separate halves against Cincinnati and South Florida.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: 9 players selected to American Athletic Conference postseason teams