Colorado State University Athletics
Stonehouse recognized by National Football Foundation Colo. Chapter as Special Teams Player of the Year
12/27/2018 10:12:00 AM | Football
Stonehouse, Watson and Williams first-team All-Colorado; Butler and Thomas second team
FORT COLLINS, Colo.— Colorado State sophomore punter Ryan Stonehouse was voted by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation as the All-Colorado Special Teams Player of the Year, and was one of five Rams recognized by the NFFCC as the best in college football at all levels in the state of Colorado.
Joining Stonehouse on the All-Colorado first team were senior linebacker Josh Watson and junior wide receiver Preston Williams, while sophomore tight end Cameron Butler and senior linebacker Tre Thomas earned second-team recognition. All 10 NCAA football-playing schools in the state are included in the All-Colorado honors: CSU, Colorado and Air Force at the FBS level; Northern Colorado at the FCS Level and Adams State, Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines, CSU-Pueblo, Fort Lewis and Western State of the RMAC at the Division II level.
Stonehouse and Williams were recently named second-team All-Americans by Sporting News. The most recent Ram to earn a player of the year honor from the NFF Colorado Chapter was punter Hayden Hunt in 2015 and '16, giving CSU the special teams player of the year honor—each by a punter—in three of the last four seasons.
In his second collegiate season, Stonehouse led the Mountain West and ranked second in FBS in gross punting average with a CSU-record mark of 48.3 yards per punt to earn first-team All-Mountain West honors. The 5-11, 170-pound business administration major from Santa Ana, Calif., was named to AP's mid-season All-America second team. He placed 18 of his 65 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line and had a season-long boot of 70 yards against Arkansas on Sept. 8. Nearly half of Stonehouse's punts covered 50 or more yards, and he posted five games in which he averaged 50.0 yards or better with five or more punts. Nine of his punts resulted in a fair catch.
Watson, who earned his bachelor's degree earlier this month, in communication studies, led the Rams with 131 tackles this season, averaging 10.9 per game (second in the MW, 14th in the FBS). The Blue Springs, Mo., native led or tied for the team lead in tackles in 11 of the Rams' 12 games in 2018. A team captain, he also added 8.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four pass breakups, four quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries. Watson had 10 or more tackles in eight games this year, including a career-high 17 tackles twice (Wyoming, at Air Force). He finished his career sixth in CSU history in total tackles (367).
Williams, a native of Lovejoy, Ga., turned in one of the greatest seasons in school history in 2018, earning second-team All-America from Sporting News and first-team All-Mountain West in his first season of eligibility after transferring from Tennessee. The 6-4, 201-pound theatre major caught 96 passes for 1,345 yards (14.0) and 14 touchdowns, and totaled 1,478 all-purpose yards. Williams, who recently announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft, ranked third among all FBS players in receptions, tied for third in receiving TDs, and ranked fourth in receiving yards and fifth in receiving yards per game (112.1). In CSU single-season history Williams' numbers tied for second-most for receptions and receiving touchdowns and ranked third for receiving yards.
Butler ranked fourth among all Rams in receptions in 2018 with 29 for 312 yards (10.8) as the team's starting tight end. The sophomore from Columbia, S.C., topped the 100-yard receiving mark for the first time in his career in the Sept. 8 win over Arkansas, catching four passes for 107 yards, including a career-best 53-yard reception. Butler caught a career-high five passes, for 26 yards, in the season opener against Hawai'i (Aug. 25), and had four or more receptions four times in 2018.
Thomas, who earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from CSU earlier this month, ranked second on the team in tackles with 101 (42 solo), joining Watson to give the Rams two 100-tackle defenders. The Denver native, who played in 50 games in his career, added to his senior-year performance with 2.0 sacks among 4.5 total tackles for loss, 6 QB hurries, four pass breakups and one fumble recovery. In his final game as a Ram, Nov. 22 at Air Force, Thomas posted a career-high 18 tackles (9 solo) and a tackle for lost yardage.
