ECU freshman RB named AAC Rookie of the Year; three other Pirates recognized

IRVING, TEXAS — East Carolina running back Rahjai Harris has been named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection the league office announced Tuesday.

Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian and receiver/return specialist Tyler Snead earned second-team all-conference accolades, while linebacker Xavier Smith earned honorable mention status.

Harris, who is the first ECU true freshman to be named a first-teamer since Travis Williams in 2004, rushed for 624 yards with four touchdowns in eight games where he averaged 4.9 yards per carry and stood third in The American in rushing per game (78.0 ypg). The Duncan, S.C. native ran for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games (115/USF, 172/Navy, 118/Tulsa), becoming the first Pirate running back since Tay Cooper (2012) to reach that standard. His 172 yards against the Midshipmen were the most in a game since Breon Allen racked up 211 yards against North Carolina in 2014, and it was the second-highest ever turned in by an ECU freshman following Scott Harley’s 175-yard outing against Temple in 1995. Harris also caught six passes out of the backfield for 31 yards and one score.

McMillian, a two-year starter, picked off a team-best four passes while booking 33 tackles (27 solo) during his sophomore campaign. It marked the second-straight season he led the unit in picks (three in 2019) with his pass thefts against Georgia State, Tulane and his two in the fourth quarter during the Pirates’ 52-38 win against SMU. The Winston-Salem, N.C. native booked multiple tackles in eight of nine games in 2020, which included a season-high five on three occasions.

Snead, who earned all-conference honors as a receiver and return specialist, led the team in receptions (53), punt returns and yards (12 for 144), kickoff returns and yards (18 for 409) and all-purpose yards 1,145. He reached the endzone seven times on the year (5/rcv, 1/rush, 1/KOR) and threw for a score in the season finale against SMU. The Raleigh, N.C. native authored a pair of 100-yard receiving games (105/Georgia State, 108/Tulsa) and topped 100-plus all-purpose yards four times, including 231 at Georgia State and 244 at Temple. Snead’s lone special teams touchdown came during the second quarter against the Owls when he returned his second career kickoff 95 yards earning him AAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week accolades.

For the second-straight season, Smith was the top tackler on the team by booking 72 stops, an average of 8.0 per contest to stand fifth in The American. He also led the unit in TFLs (8.0/-30 yards) and pass breakups (six), while ranking second in sacks (2.5/-22 yards). The Stafford, Va. native closed out the season with six stops against SMU, which pushed his current streak to 21-straight games with multiple tackles. Against Navy, he logged a personal-best 15 tackles, marking the fourth time in his career with double-digit stops.

2020 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa *

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Chris Naggar, K, SMU

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

Rahjai Harris, RB, East Carolina

Ulysses Bentley IV, RB, SMU

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM

Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown
WR	Jaylon Robinson	UCF	So.	5-9	163	Fort Worth, Texas
WR	Marlon Williams	UCF	Sr.	6-0	215	Mobile, Ala.
WR	Calvin Austin III	Memphis	Jr.	5-9	162	Memphis, Tenn.
OT	James Hudson	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-5	310	Toledo, Ohio
OT	Tyler Smith	Tulsa	RFr.	6-5	332	Fort Worth, Texas
OG	Cole Schneider ^{1 2}	UCF	Jr.	6-4	312	Fort Myers, Fla.
OG	Peter Nestrowitz	Navy	Sr.	6-3	282	Washington, N.J.
C	Matthew Lee	UCF	RFr.	6-4	290	Oviedo, Fla.
TE	Kylen Granson ²	SMU	Sr.	6-3	235	Austin, Texas
QB	Desmond Ridder	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-4	215	Louisville, Ky.
RB	Gerrid Doaks	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-0	230	Indianapolis, Ind.
RB	Rahjai Harris	East Carolina	Fr.	5-10	228	Duncan, S.C.
RB	Ulysses Bentley IV	SMU	RFr.	5-10	184	Houston, Texas
DL	Myjai Sanders	Cincinnati	Jr.	6-5	258	Jacksonville, Fla.
DL	O’Bryan Goodson ^H	Memphis	Sr.	6-1	297	Batesville, Miss.
DL	Cameron Sample	Tulane	Sr.	6-3	280	Snellville, Ga.
DL	Jaxon Player	Tulsa	Jr.	6-0	290	Waco, Texas
LB	Jarell White	Cincinnati	Sr.	5-10	205	Cincinnati, Ohio
LB	Grant Stuard ²	Houston	Sr.	6-1	225	Conroe, Texas
LB	Patrick Johnson ^{2 2}	Tulane	Sr.	6-3	255	Chattanooga, Tenn.
LB	Zaven Collins *	Tulsa	Jr.	6-4	260	Hominy, Okla.
CB	Ahmad Gardner ¹	Cincinnati	So.	6-2	188	Detroit, Mich.
CB	Coby Bryant	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-1	198	Cleveland, Ohio
S	Richie Grant * ^{1 1}	UCF	Sr.	6-0	194	Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
S	James Wiggins ²	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-0	205	Miami, Fla.
K	Chris Naggar	SMU	Sr.	6-1	195	Arlington, Texas
P	Ryan Wright	Tulane	Jr.	6-3	245	San Ramon, Calif.
RS	Marcus Jones	Houston	Jr.	5-8	185	Enterprise, Ala.

* unanimous selection

ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM

Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown
WR	Michael Young Jr.	Cincinnati	Jr.	5-10	190	Saint Rose, La.
WR	Tyler Snead	East Carolina	So.	5-7	169	Raleigh, N.C.
WR	Keylon Stokes	Tulsa	Sr.	6-0	194	Manvel, Texas
OT	Jaylon Thomas ²	SMU	Jr.	6-3	312	Lubbock, Texas
OT	Chris Paul	Tulsa	Jr.	6-4	331	Houston, Texas
OG	Hayden Howerton	SMU	Sr.	6-3	300	Katy, Texas
OG	Corey Dublin ^H	Tulane	Sr.	6-4	312	New Orleans, La.
C	Sincere Haynesworth	Tulane	So.	6-1	310	Pearland, Texas
TE	Josh Whyle	Cincinnati	So.	6-6	235	Cincinnati, Ohio
QB	Dillon Gabriel	UCF	So.	6-0	186	Mililani, Hawaii
RB	Otis Anderson ^H	UCF	So.	6-0	195	Grapevine, Texas
RB	Stephon Huderson	Tulane	Sr.	5-9	200	Petal, Miss.
DL	Marcus Brown	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-2	297	Naples, Fla.
DL	Elijah Ponder ¹	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-3	275	Atlanta, Ga.
DL	Payton Turner	Houston	Sr.	6-6	270	Houston, Texas
DL	Arnold Ebiketie	Temple	Jr.	6-4	240	Silver Spring, Md.
LB	Darrian Beavers	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-3	242	Cincinnati, Ohio
LB	Diego Fagot ¹	Navy	Jr.	6-3	240	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
LB	Antonio Grier	USF	Jr.	6-1	222	Atlanta, Ga.
LB	Dorian Williams	Tulane	So.	6-1	220	Fort Mill, S.C.
LB	Justin Wright	Tulsa	So.	6-2	234	Abilene, Texas
CB	Aaron Robinson ²	UCF	Sr.	6-1	193	Deerfield Beach, Fla.
CB	Ja’Quan McMillian	East Carolina	So.	5-10	161	Winston-Salem, N.C.
S	Quindell Johnson	Memphis	So.	6-1	195	New Orleans, La.
S	Cristian Williams	Tulsa	Sr.	6-0	180	Dallas, Texas
K	Zack Long	Tulsa	Sr.	5-10	172	Pacific, Mo.
P	James Smith ^{1 1 2}	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-5	235	Wangaratta, Australia
RS	Tre Tucker	Cincinnati	So.	5-9	172	Akron, Ohio
RS	Tyler Snead	East Carolina	So.	5-7	169	Raleigh, N.C.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION

Pos.	Player	School	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown
OG	Lokahi Pauole	UCF	So.	6-4	320	Kapolei, Hawaii
S	Darrick Forrest ¹	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-0	200	Columbus, Ohio
OT	Darius Harper	Cincinnati	Sr.	6-7	308	Springfield, Ohio
LB	Xavier Smith	East Carolina	Jr.	6-0	246	Stafford, Va.
OG	Braylon Jones	Houston	Sr.	6-4	315	Tyler, Texas
CB	Damarion Williams	Houston	Sr.	5-11	180	Atlanta, Ga.
TE	Sean Dykes	Memphis	Sr.	6-2	224	Houston, Texas
DL	Morris Joesph	Memphis	Jr.	6-2	275	Orange, Texas
LB	Richard McBryde	SMU	Sr.	6-1	232	Troy, Ala.
WR	Jadan Blue ²	Temple	Jr.	6-0	185	Randallstown, Md.
OT	Joey Claybrook	Tulane	Jr.	6-6	295	Starkville, Miss.
OG	Dante Bivens	Tulsa	Jr.	6-3	324	Spring, Texas
OG	Dylan Couch	Tulsa	Sr.	6-3	299	Pryor, Okla.
CB	Allie Green IV	Tulsa	Sr.	6-3	206	Austin, Texas
S	Kendarin Ray	Tulsa	So.	6-4	200	Brenham, Texas
C	Gerard Wheeler	Tulsa	Jr.	6-3	331	Plano, Texas