STEPHENVILLE — In one of the most successful seasons posted by a reclassifying program, it’s only fitting that Tarleton State Football earned numerous awards, announced by the United Athletic Conference on Friday.
Head coach Todd Whitten was named the United Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and nine Texan football players made All-Conference first or second team. Four Texans were UAC First Team All-Conference, two on offense and two on defense. Running back Kayvon Britten and center Tuli Teuhema were on First Team Offense, joined by linebacker Qua’Shawn Washington and defensive back Patrick Jones on First Team Defense.
On All-Conference Second Team, there were three on offense, one on defense and one on special teams. Wide receiver Darius Cooper, offensive lineman Layton Ernst and offensive lineman Hunter Smith made Second Team Offense. Defensive lineman Josh Griffis was named Second Team Defense, and running back Deangelo Rosemond made Second Team Specialists as a returner.
Overall, Tarleton’s nine All-Conference players were the second most among all nine conference programs, only behind Austin Peay. Only the Texans and Governors had multiple first team offensive players and first team defensive players. Tarleton also had the most second team offensive players (three).
As for Whitten, he was one of five to earn a superlative award in the conference. It marks his seventh all-time Coach of the Year award, his sixth coming straight from the conference itself. It’s his second time being named the conference Coach of the Year over the past five seasons. Whitten led the Texans to second place in the inaugural United Athletic Conference season, taking his team 8-3 overall, 4-2 in conference play. The Texans finished four spots better than predicted by the UAC head coaches entering 2023, as they were voted to finish sixth in the 2023 Preseason UAC Coaches Poll.
The Texans had the complete package this year across all three areas; offense, defense and special teams. On offense, the Texans finished in the top-two in every important category, taking second (13th FCS) in points per game (33.3), second (14th FCS) in yards per game (430.5) and first (11th FCS) in yards per play (6.4). Defensively, the Texans proved to be explosive, finishing first in the conference (tied-fourth FCS) in defensive touchdowns (four), first (tied-ninth) in fumble recoveries (11), first (tied-28th FCS) in sacks and first (17th FCS) in yards per play (4.76). On special teams, the Texans led the conference (eighth FCS) in average kickoff return (24.3 yards), had no blocked kicks nor blocked punts, and were second (fourth FCS) in average punt return (18.2).
Whitten’s Texans opened the year 2-0 with back-to-back 52-point games, winning at McNeese to start the season before beating conference opponent North Alabama by three touchdowns at home. After a loss at Texas Tech, the Texans cruised over Southwest Baptist, then Whitten earned his 100th career victory at Tarleton State with a 14-13 win at preseason Southland Conference favorite Southeastern Louisiana. The Texans had consecutive losses after that, coming in the last moments of the game in each, a one-point loss to Southern Utah and a double overtime loss at Eastern Kentucky. After that, the Texans rolled, winning four straight to end the year, a 42-0 shutout of Morehead State, a 25-23 road win at No. 18 ranked Central Arkansas, a 59-17 drilling of Stephen F. Austin, and a come-from-behind 31-30 win at Abilene Christian in the season finale.
Whitten, who is already the winningest coach in Tarleton Football history, now has a 104-53 (.662) all-time record for the Purple and White across 14 seasons, and a 129-81 .614) spot all-time as an NCAA head coach (19 seasons). His eight wins this year marked the most by the Texans at the NCAA Division I level. Since 2018, the Texans have the highest winning percentage among all Texas D1 and D2 programs (.727, 48-18). They also have the longest active streak of winning seasons in the state at six.
Britten earned his second straight First Team All-Conference award, following First Teamm All-SWAC honors playing for Arkansas-Pine Bluff last season. In 2023, he was one of the best running backs in the nation, finishing with 1,150 yards on 183 carries (6.3 yards per rush) and 16 rushing touchdowns. He scored in 10 of Tarleton’s 11 games, averaging 104.6 rushing yards per contest. He added 106 receiving yards and a touchdown on 11 catches, finishing with 17 total touchdowns on the season. Conference-wise, Britten was first in rushing touchdowns (16, third in the FCS) and total touchdowns (17, tied-fifth in FCS). The next closest in rushing touchdowns was at 10, and total at 14. He was second in total rushing yards (1,150, ninth in FCS), rushing yards per game (104.6, tied-11th FCS) and yards per rush (6.3, 21st in FCS). In conference play, Britten led with 10 rushing touchdowns (next closest was at six) and was second at 744 rushing yards. In program history, Britten had the sixth most rushing yards in a single-season and the eighth most rushing yards per game in a single-season. Since 1977, Britten finished with the tied-third most rushing touchdowns in a single-season in program history, tied with Gaylon Bowser’s 16 rushing scores in 1987, only behind Xavier Turner’s 22 touchdowns in 2018 and Derrick Ross’ 22 touchdowns in 2004. Britten scored three touchdowns in a game twice, once in the season opener and another in the season finale. He capped off the year and Tarleton’s comeback victory with three rushing touchdowns and 176 yards on 22 carries. He had four 100-plus rushing yards on the season, all over the last five games, rushing for a season-high 187 yards at Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 14, doing so on 18 carries (10.4 YPC).
Teuhema started all 11 games at center for the Texans in his first year on the team. He was part of an offensive line that provided the best rushing attack in the United Athletic Conference, with the Texans posting 201.7 rushing yards per game, most in the UAC and 12th most in the FCS. They averaged 5.2 yards per rush (second in the UAC, 17th FCS) and went for 25 rushing touchdowns (most in the UAC, 16th FCS). Overall, the Texans averaged 33.3 points per game (second in UAC, 13th FCS), 430.5 yards per game (second UAC, 14th FCS) and 6.4 yards per play (first UAC, 11th FCS). Teuhema and the Texan offensive line allowed just 14 sacks all season, the tied-third fewest in the UAC and the tied-18th fewest in the FCS. They allowed just 3.91 tackles for loss per game as well, the second fewest in the UAC, 10th fewest in the FCS.
Washington wrapped up his Tarleton career with First Team honors after being named Second Team All-WAC last season. A UAC Preseason All-Conference selection, Washington finished the year with 68 total tackles (42 solo), three fumble recoveries, 3.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries and two pass breakups in 10 games. His three fumble recoveries were the tied-most in the conference (tied-third most in the FCS), while his 6.8 tackles per game were tied-16th most in the UAC. He was the UAC Defensive Player of the Week after Tarleton’s Nov. 4 win over Stephen F. Austin, where he recorded two fumble recoveries, 10 total tackles and two pass breakups. He logged a season-high 12 tackles, with one fumble recovery, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry in Tarleton’s conference-opening win over North Alabama on Sept. 9.
After earning Second Team All-WAC honors at linebacker last year, Jones made the switch to DB this season and got the UAC First Team All-Conference nod. Jones finished with the most tackles on the team at 73 (49 solo). He also logged the third most pass breakups (six), had an interception return for a touchdown in the season opener, added a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry in 11 games. Jones posted a season-high 11 tackles in the conference opening win over North Alabama on Sept. 9, finishing with 11 tackles and a pass breakup. He opened the year with a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal a win over McNeese. In the season finale, he had a pivotal forced fumble that helped boost Tarleton to a comeback win over Abilene Christian. He had three games with 10-plus tackles on the season.
Despite missing four games due to injury, Cooper still finished with the tied-most receiving touchdowns on the team (five), the second most receiving yards (622) and the second most receptions (28). His 88.9 receiving yards per game was best on the Texans, the best in the United Athletic Conference, and the 11th most in the FCS. He had the tied-10th most receiving touchdowns in the conference. Preseason All-UAC and Preseason All-American this year after taking All-WAC First Team honors a season ago, Cooper had two multi-touchdown games, which coincided with his two 100-plus receiving yard games. He had a season-high 168 yards on five receptions and two scores against Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 4. At Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 14, he finished with 149 yards on six catches and two touchdowns, coming down with a 30-yard TD in overtime on 4th and 15 to keep the game alive. In conference-play, Cooper led the UAC with 91.4 receiving yards per game. He had the tied-third most receiving touchdowns (four) and the third most receiving yards (457).
Last year’s Second Team All-WAC offensive lineman had another exceptional year for the Texans. Ernst started nine games for the Texans on the offensive line and shined alongside Teuhema and Smith. Smith got the starting nod this year and had a breakout campaign as he started all 11 games. Mentioned before, the Texan offensive line provided the best rushing attack in the United Athletic Conference and allowed just 14 sacks all season, the tied-third fewest in the UAC and the tied-18th fewest in the FCS. They allowed just 3.91 tackles for loss per game as well, the second fewest in the UAC, 10th fewest in the FCS.
Griffis exploded at the end of the season, especially in conference play, finishing with five sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, eight quarterback hurries, 12 total tackles and a pass breakup. Over his past four games, he had a sack in each contest, including a forced fumble in each of the last three games. His best game of the season came in Tarleton’s season finale win against Abilene Christian, where he a strip sack fumble, two tackles for loss and three solo tackles. Griffis led the Texans in sacks, tackles for loss, forced fumbles and quarterback hurries. In the UAC, Griffis was second in forced fumbles (three), third in sacks (five) and tied-10th in tackles for loss (8.5). In conference play, Griffis had the most forced fumbles (three), the tied-third most sacks (three) and the tied-11th most tackles for loss (4.5).
Rosemond served as Tarleton’s primary kick returner all season, averaging 25.7 yards across 18 returns (462 total yards). He had three returns go for 50-plus yards, two for 60-plus yards, with a season-long kick return of 65 yards against North Alabama on Sept. 9. He had the most total kickoff return yardage in the UAC and averaged the second most. Only one other player in the UAC had a kickoff return go for 60-plus yards, and he posted two of them.
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