July 30, 2012

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU's Ja'Gared Davis, Margus Hunt, Darius Johnson, Zach Line and Taylor Reed have been named preseason All-Conference USA by CBSSports.com, the news outlet announced Sunday. SMU's five selections were the most among all C-USA teams.

Davis, a two-time All-Conference USA selection, started all 13 games in 2011, notching 83 tackles, including a team-high 12 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording eight tackles, 2.5 for loss including 1.5 sacks, an interception, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble and recovery for a touchdown against UTEP and later led the team with nine stops in the BBVA Compass Bowl win.

Hunt, who was recently voted DFW's Best Athlete in a DallasNews.com poll, enters 2012 after being named the No. 1 athletic "freak" in college football by CBSSports.com. He is a three-time All-C-USA honorable mention selection and notched 28 stops and four blocked kicks in 2011. He wrapped up the season with a dominant performance in the BBVA Compass Bowl win, racking up three sacks and five total tackles.

Johnson has been named MVP in back-to-back bowl games for the Mustangs and was a first-team All-C-USA pick in 2011. He wrapped up 2011 with a seven-catch, 120-yard, one-TD performance in SMU's BBVA Compass Bowl win over Pitt. He finished the year with 79 catches for 1,188 yards and eight TDs.

Line was named first team All-C-USA in both 2010 and 2011 and led the league in rushing both years. Last season, Line suffered a foot injury and missed the last three games of the season but still ranked seventh in the nation in rushing at 122.4 yards per game. He posted eight 100-yard rushing games in 10 games played and led C-USA with 17 rushing touchdowns in 2011.

Reed, who was All-C-USA in 2011 and on the All-C-USA Freshman Team in 2009, led SMU with 101 tackles last season, including 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. It marked the second straight season he led SMU in stops.

Preseason accolades continue to roll in for the Mustangs. Line is now on the Watch Lists for the Walter Camp, Maxwell & Doak Walker Awards; Johnson is on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List and Hunt and Reed are on the Lombardi list. Additionally, Davis is on the Butkus Award list and Blake McJunkin the Rimington.

To view the complete All-C-USA team, click here.

On the heels of its third straight bowl appearance, SMU will host Texas A&M, TCU, Memphis, C-USA West rivals Houston and Tulsa and 2011 C-USA Champion Southern Miss at Ford Stadium in 2012. Ticket sales have been brisk, as SMU has already surpassed its season ticket sales totals for the rest of the June Jones era. For Mustang ticket information, call the Athletics Department Ticket Office at (214) SMU-GAME (768-4263).