A sixth Eastern Washington University player – senior wide receiver
Kendrick Bourne -- has been selected as a NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-American, joining four other Eagles to be honored by Hero Sports on Friday (Dec. 30).
In earning his initial All-America honor of the 2016 post-season, Bourne was selected to the third team. Fellow senior wide receivers
Cooper Kupp and
Shaq Hill were selected to the first and second teams, respectively. Sophomore quarterback
Gage Gubrud earned first team All-America honors from Hero Sports, while senior defensive end
Samson Ebukam was picked for the third team. The sixth Eastern player to be honored this year with All-America honors was center
Spencer Blackburn, who was named to Hero Sports Sophomore All-America squad on Thursday (Dec. 29), along with Gubrud.
With the selection of Bourne, a total of six Eagles from their 2016 squad have earned All-America recognition, including Kupp as a consensus All-American for the fourth-straight season. Kupp has earned first team All-America honors on all seven teams announced, including recognition as the FCS Athletic Director's Association Wide Receiver of the Year. He was previously honored for the fourth-straight year on teams selected by the American Football Coaches Association, STATS and Associated Press, and for the third time by the Walter Camp Football Foundation (2013-2015-2016). He was also honored by College Sports Madness.
Gubrud has been honored on six teams, and will be either a first team or second team All-America choice by STATS, pending the outcome the announcement of voting totals on Jan. 6 for the Walter Payton Award. Gubrud and Kupp finished in the top three in the voting for that award, presented this year by STATS to the top offensive player in FCS. Besides being honored by STATS and as a first team selection by Hero Sports, Gubrud was a second team selection by the American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press and College Sports Madness. Hero Sports also selected him to its Sophomore All-America squad.
Ebukam has earned four honors, earning earned first team accolades from the AFCA and third team from AP, STATS and Hero Sports. In addition, Hill was on the second team by Hero Sports and third team by College Sports Madness, and Blackburn was picked for the Hero Sports Sophomore All-America squad.
Bourne finished the 2016 season with 79 catches for 1,201 yards and seven touchdowns, and combined with Kupp and Hill for totals of 273 receptions for 4,058 yards and 41 scores. All three went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Kupp finished with a Big Sky Conference record 117 catches for 1,700 yards and 17 scores, and Hill also had 17 TD catches to go along with 77 receptions for 1,157 yards.
Kupp missed 1 1/2 games earlier in the season and almost a half at both Portland State on Nov. 18 and Central Arkansas on Dec. 3 with shoulder injuries. But he led FCS in receiving yards per game (130.8), was second in receptions per game (9.0), and joined
Shaq Hill as the FCS leader in receiving touchdowns (17). Bourne was 32nd in receptions per game (5.6) and 26th in receiving yards per game (85.8), and Hill was 37th in average receptions (5.5) and 32nd in average yards (82.6). That trio was 1-2-3 in the Big Sky in total receiving yards, 1-4-6 in receiving yards per game, 1-6-7 in receptions per game, and 1-1-9 in touchdown receptions (Bourne had seven).
With 211 career receptions for 3,130 yards and 27 touchdowns, Bourne finished his career ranked in the top seven in all three categories in school history. A second team All-Big Sky selection in 2016, his touchdowns and receptions are both seventh, with Tony Davis (213 from 2006-09) and his wide receivers coach
Nicholas Edwards (215 from 2009-12) ranking just ahead him on the lists. Bourne finished fifth in yards, moving past the total of 2,634 by Edwards against Montana on Oct. 29), then moved into fifth in his final career game and past the 3,013 yards of Tony Brooks from 1990-93.
Hill finished with 178 career catches to rank eighth in school history, good for 2,818 yards (seventh) and 32 touchdowns (fifth). The first team All-Big Sky selection and four-time all-league honoree had a school-record four touchdown day against Northern Colorado on Oct. 8 and had three more at Cal Poly on Nov. 5. Hill passed his wide receivers coach (2,634,
Nicholas Edwards, 2009-12) for yards against Portland State on Nov. 18.
In all, the trio of Hill, Bourne and Kupp combined for 817 catches for 12,412 yards and 132 touchdowns in 160 games played (109 starts).
A 2013 graduate of the Milwaukie Arts Academy in Portland, Ore., Bourne ended his career with three catches for 119 yards and an 83-yard touchdown reception from Gubrud against Youngstown State in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. In the process, Bourne ended his career with a 38-game streak of catching at least one pass. Kupp set the FCS record with 52-straight, having at least two catches in every game he played as an Eagle.
Eastern finished the year ranked second in FCS in total offense with an average of 529.6 yards per game, trailing only Sam Houston State at 547.3 per outing. For the second-straight season Eastern was the FCS leader in passing offense (401.0 yards per game), and was third in third down conversions (52.1 percent), third in completion percentage, third in scoring offense (42.4), and third in passing efficiency (168.2).
Eastern's came up just shy of breaking the school record for offense per game of 533.5 set in 2013 when EWU finished with a total of 8,002 (Eastern finished 2016 with 7,414 yards). However, the Eagles did break the previous school record for passing offense of 368.4 set in 2011 (their total of 5,614 yards also broke the Big Sky & EWU records of 5,247 set in 2013). In addition, the Eagles set Big Sky and EWU records in 2016 for passing completions (421), attempts (620), first downs passing (238), first downs overall (372), extra point kicks made (75), and Big Sky wins (8), as well as breaking a school record for completion percentage (.679).
Eastern had four of the top 22 single game offensive performances in school history during the 2016 season, including a high of 659 versus Northern Colorado on Oct. 8, 2016, to rank fifth. Eastern had at least 500 yards in nine of 14 games, with performances of 596 against Montana State (22nd all-time at EWU), 606 versus Washington State (19th) and 627 against UC Davis (10th). Eastern had at least 381 yards passing in 10 outings, including a high of 520 against Montana State to come six away from the school record.
The 2012 graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash., broke one all-division collegiate record, 15 FCS records, 11 Big Sky marks and 26 EWU records during his illustrious 52-game career (all as a starter). He and Gubrud finished in the top three in the voting for the Walter Payton Award presented this year by STATS, and the winner will be presented on Jan. 6, 2017. That duo were also co-MVPs of the Big Sky Conference.
Kupp led FCS in receiving yards per game (130.8), was second in receptions per game (9.0), and tied teammate
Shaq Hill for the FCS lead in receiving touchdowns (17). Kupp had a Big Sky record 117 catches (sixth in FCS history) for 1,700 yards (fourth in FCS history) in just 13 games played this season, already ranking first and second, respectively, in school history. He finishes his career with the 1-2-3-5 season marks in receptions, and 2-3-4-6 in yards.
His all-division record of 6,464 career receiving yards was set after a pair of early catches in the first quarter against Richmond on Dec. 10. He surpassed the NAIA record of 6,177 by Chris George of Glenville State from 1991-94 after surpassing NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III records earlier this season. His yardage, 428 receptions, 73 touchdown catches, 124.3 average yards per game and 1.40 average TDs per game were all FCS records.
Kupp averaged a TD reception for every 5.9 catches in his career. He scored at least once in 43 of 52 games he played, with 30 performances of at least eight catches (16 with 10 or more) and a FCS record of 31 with at least 100 receiving yards.
Gubrud, a 2014 graduate of McMinnville (Ore.) High School, joined Kupp as co-Offensive MVP of the league and has already gone on to win four All-America honors. His debut season saw him break three NCAA Football Championship Subdivision records, seven league marks and 15 EWU records.
Gubrud passed for 5,160 yards, 48 touchdowns and a .677 completion percentage, and also rushed for a team-leading and EWU quarterback record 606 yards (4.5 per carry) and five more scores. He finished as the FCS leader in total offense at 411.9 per game, passing yards (5,160) and passing yards per game (368.6), and was second in points responsible per game (22.9), total points responsible for (320) and passing touchdowns (48). He was also third in completion percentage (.677) and third in passing efficiency (166.6).
Besides his FCS record for passing yards, his 11 games with at least 300 yards passing and 12 with at least 300 yards of total offense are also FCS records. Gubrud broke EWU and Big Sky Conference single season records set by Vernon Adams Jr. in 2013 for passing yards, as well as for total yards of offense, with Gubrud finishing with a total of 5,766. His average of 411.9 yards of offense per game was also a league and school record.
Gubrud has just 13 career starts (11-2 record), but he already owns six of the top eight single game total offense performances in school history (1-2-3-5-6-8) and five of the top 14 passing performances (1-3-6-13-14). In addition, he had an impressive string of 222 passes without an interception, going four full games from Sept. 24 to Oct. 22 without a pick. He had a school-record 551 yards of total offense in the first start of his career, a 45-42 season-opening victory over Washington State of the Pac-12 Conference.
Hill, a 2011 graduate of Brookside Christian High School in Stockton, Calif., started his career in 2012 when the Eagles finished 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Sky in the first year of a three-peat as league champs and FCS Playoffs participant. Hill redshirted in 2015, thus, he is the first player to see action in four years to win Big Sky titles each year, with a collective record of 46-11 overall and 30-2 in the league. He was also the second Eastern player in school history to letter in four playoff years, joining kicker Kevin Miller (2009-10-12-13).
Hill broke the school record for career kickoff return yards, with a total of 2,280 yards to pass the 2,176 of Craig Richardson from 1983-86. With 94 career returns, Hill previously broke Richardson's record of 80. Hill's average of 24.3 yards per return was ninth in school history, as he has had returns of 99, 93, 90 and 80 yards in his career (two of them for touchdowns). His 5,234 all-purpose yards were the third-most in school history.
Ebukam had a team-high 9 1/2 sacks this season to go along with totals of 71 tackles, 14 1/2 total tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, eight quarterback hurries, two passes broken up and an interception. He is a 2013 graduate of David Douglas High School in Portland, Ore.
He had 24 sacks in his career to rank sixth in school history, and 188 total tackles total in 53 games (38 as a starter). One of six Eagle co-captains for the 2016 season, he received second-team All-Big Sky honors in both 2014 and 2015, and first team accolades in 2016. He was a second team Freshman All-America selection in 2013.
He had a monster game versus Richmond in the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals in which he had eight tackles, a pair of sacks, two other tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception he returned seven yards. He helped the Eagles record their first shutout in 102 games and allowed their fewest yards (205) in 28 outings. He also had a pair of sacks in EWU's season opener against Washington State and two to end the regular season versus Portland State.
