SAN FRANCISCO – Ten Washington State football student-athletes received Pac-12 Conference All-Academic honors, conference commissioner Larry Scott announced Thursday.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point-average and appear in at least 50 percent of their team’s games. The 10 selections are tied for the most in program history (2009) and the Cougars have had at least five players earn all-academic recognition every season under head coach Mike Leach.
Redshirt-sophomore wideout Brandon Arconado and redshirt-senior linebacker Peyton Pelluer were both named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team, the first career honor of Arconado and fourth career accolade for Pelluer who has earned his third straight second-team honor.
Eight Cougars received honorable mention; Nick Begg, Tristan Brock, Kyle Celli, Taylor Comfort, Isaac Dotson, Luke Falk, Dezmon Patmon and Trey Tinsley.
Arconado earns his first career academic accolade after posting a 3.38 GPA and has yet to declare a major. Arconado has appeared in 10 games this season, earning his first career start and finished the regular season with three catches for 66 yards including his first career touchdown, an 18-yard catch against Colorado. The Chino Hills, Calif. native also played on special teams.
Pelluer earns his fourth straight all-academic honor after earning first team honors as a freshman and second team honors the last three seasons. Pelluer has also earned CoSIDA All-District VIII first team accolades the last two seasons. The Sammamish, Wash. native owns a 3.36 cumulative grade-point-average while majoring in humanities and history. Pelluer is just the third Cougar in program history to be a four-time all-academic selection, joining Riley Fitt-Chappell (2002-05) and Matt Mullennix (2004-05, 2007-08). Pelluer was limited to three games but a was a significant contributor on defense, tallying 21 tackles and earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after tallying 14 tackles and returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown in the comeback win over Boise State.
Begg earns his first career all-academic honor after producing a 3.18 GPA while majoring in marketing. The redshirt-junior defensive lineman recorded five tackles while appearing in all 12 regular season, recording his first career sack at Washington.
Brock earned his second career all-academic honor after receiving honorable mention last season. The redshirt-sophomore defensive lineman owns a 3.09 GPA and has not declared a major. Brock recorded one tackle while appearing on special teams in 11 games.
Celli earns his first career all-academic honor after posting a 3.02 GPA while majoring in strategic communication. The redshirt-junior longsnapper has started all 12 games and recorded five special teams tackles.
Comfort earns his first career all-academic honor after posting a 3.24 GPA while majoring in criminal justice and criminology. The redshirt-junior defensive lineman appeared in all 12 games, mostly on special teams and recorded one tackle.
Dotson earns his third all-academic honor after receiving honorable mention the last two seasons. The Bellevue, Wash. native owns a 3.11 grade-point-average while majoring in humanities. Dotson has started all nine games he has appeared in and recorded 41 tackles with 2.5 for loss.
Falk also earns his third all-academic honor after receiving honorable mention the last two seasons. The Logan, Utah native owns a 3.22 GPA while majoring in humanities. Falk finished the regular season sixth in the NCAA in passing yards (3,593) and tied for ninth in passing touchdowns (30). The redshirt-senior quarterback will finish his career as the Pac-12 Conference’s all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts and total offense.
Patmon earned his first career all-academic honor after producing a 3.08 GPA and has yet to declare a major. The sophomore wideout from San Diego appeared in all 12 games and tallied 31 receptions for 341 yards.
Tinsley earned his first career all-academic honor after producing a 3.05 GPA while majoring in public relations. The redshirt-sophomore from Lake Forest, Calif. appeared in all 12 games as the field goal holder.
