Ramsey Headlines Phil Steele Honors for ACU
12/15/2023 2:16:00 PM | Football
ABILENE, Texas – Abilene Christian standout placekicker Kyle Ramsey was recognized by Phil Steele as First-Team FCS All-America.
The award was the top ACU honor among 16 Wildcats recognized by Phil Steele on Friday.
Ramsey also was named the United Athletic Conference Specialist of the Year and placed on the Phil Steele All-UAC first team along with center Tay Yanta, cornerback Patrick Jolly and punter Grant Nickel.
Making the second team were tight end Jed Castles, offensive lineman Alan Hatten and defensive back Elijah Moffett.
On the third team are offensive lineman Reese Moore, linebacker Darius Moore and Cirby Coheley and kick returner Marcayll Jones.
Fourth-team honorees are running back Jay'Veon Sunday, wide receiver Blayne Taylor, offensive lineman Jacob Thielen, linebacker Reese Young and long-snapper Dustin Inness.
It was the second All-America honor for Ramsey. He received the distinction of being the storied football program's first Associated Press FCS All-American, the AP announced on Tuesday.
Ramsey, a sophomore athletically, was named to the third team and became the first Wildcat in the Division I era to earn the AP award. The accolade comes on the heels of his Specialist of the Year award from the United Athletic Conference last week.
Ramsey had three field goals in the FCS top four in terms of distance with a 55-yarder (against Prairie View A&M) and two 54-yarders (against North Texas and North Alabama). He also had a 51-yard field goal against Incarnate Word. He is just the second ACU kicker with four field goals of 50-plus yards in a season.
Ramsey was four of five from beyond 50 yards and converted all 10 of attempts from inside 50 yards. He was second in the FCS with 93.3 percent of his field goals made and was 33 of 34 in extra point attempts.
He is the first football All-America selection at ACU from any organization since 2019 when Jeremiah Chambers made the STATS Perform second team and HERO Sports and Phil Steele third team as a linebacker.
Nickel, a sophomore from Spring, also was first-team All-UAC as selected by the league coaches after he led the league and was 16th in the FCS with 43 yards per punt. He had a long of 60 yards and 14 punts for 50 or more yards. He also placed 23 of his 59 punts inside the 20.
Jolly, a senior from Tampa, Fla., was a second-team All-UAC pick after he finished ninth nationally with four interceptions and sixth in the FCS with 14 passes defended. He led the United Athletic Conference in both categories and interceptions per game.
ACU put four offensive linemen on the Phil Steele honor roll. Yanta, a sophomore from Falls City; Hatten, a junior from Great Meadow, N.J., Reese Moore, a senior from Seminole and Thielen, a junior from Broomfield, Colo., proved themselves throughout the season. Hatten additionally was selected by the UAC coaches for second-team All-Conference.
Castles, a sophomore from Wichita Falls, also was picked as a second-team All-UAC tight end by the league coaches. He had 25 receptions for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 9.64 yards per reception and 21.9 receiving yards per game.
Moffett, a junior safety from Selma, was second on the team with 75 tackles and led the squad with 53 solo tackles. He also forced two fumbles, broke up seven passes and shared the team lead with eight tackles for loss.
Darius Moore, a junior linebacker from El Reno, Texas, led the team with 78 tackles and 44 assisted tackles. He also had two hurries, six tackles for loss and forced one fumble.
Coheley, a junior from Iowa Park, had 61 tackles and led the team with 5.5 quarterback sacks while sharing the team lead with eight tackles for loss.
Jones, a sophomore returner from Warner Robbins, Ga., led the team with a 25.31 yards per return average. He was 17th in the FCS.
Sunday, a sophomore running back from Waco, led the Wildcats with 677 yards rushing and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He had three rushing touchdowns.
Taylor, a junior receiver from Saginaw, led the Cats with 41 receptions, 620 yards, seven touchdowns and 15.12 yards per reception.
Young, a sophomore linebacker from Stephenville, had 57 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a quarterback sack and two pass breakups.
Inness, a senior long-snapper from Phoenix, Ariz., played every game and ACU had no blocked punts or kicks from its two All-Conference kickers.
The award was the top ACU honor among 16 Wildcats recognized by Phil Steele on Friday.
Ramsey also was named the United Athletic Conference Specialist of the Year and placed on the Phil Steele All-UAC first team along with center Tay Yanta, cornerback Patrick Jolly and punter Grant Nickel.
Making the second team were tight end Jed Castles, offensive lineman Alan Hatten and defensive back Elijah Moffett.
On the third team are offensive lineman Reese Moore, linebacker Darius Moore and Cirby Coheley and kick returner Marcayll Jones.
Fourth-team honorees are running back Jay'Veon Sunday, wide receiver Blayne Taylor, offensive lineman Jacob Thielen, linebacker Reese Young and long-snapper Dustin Inness.
It was the second All-America honor for Ramsey. He received the distinction of being the storied football program's first Associated Press FCS All-American, the AP announced on Tuesday.
Ramsey, a sophomore athletically, was named to the third team and became the first Wildcat in the Division I era to earn the AP award. The accolade comes on the heels of his Specialist of the Year award from the United Athletic Conference last week.
Ramsey had three field goals in the FCS top four in terms of distance with a 55-yarder (against Prairie View A&M) and two 54-yarders (against North Texas and North Alabama). He also had a 51-yard field goal against Incarnate Word. He is just the second ACU kicker with four field goals of 50-plus yards in a season.
Ramsey was four of five from beyond 50 yards and converted all 10 of attempts from inside 50 yards. He was second in the FCS with 93.3 percent of his field goals made and was 33 of 34 in extra point attempts.
He is the first football All-America selection at ACU from any organization since 2019 when Jeremiah Chambers made the STATS Perform second team and HERO Sports and Phil Steele third team as a linebacker.
Nickel, a sophomore from Spring, also was first-team All-UAC as selected by the league coaches after he led the league and was 16th in the FCS with 43 yards per punt. He had a long of 60 yards and 14 punts for 50 or more yards. He also placed 23 of his 59 punts inside the 20.
Jolly, a senior from Tampa, Fla., was a second-team All-UAC pick after he finished ninth nationally with four interceptions and sixth in the FCS with 14 passes defended. He led the United Athletic Conference in both categories and interceptions per game.
ACU put four offensive linemen on the Phil Steele honor roll. Yanta, a sophomore from Falls City; Hatten, a junior from Great Meadow, N.J., Reese Moore, a senior from Seminole and Thielen, a junior from Broomfield, Colo., proved themselves throughout the season. Hatten additionally was selected by the UAC coaches for second-team All-Conference.
Castles, a sophomore from Wichita Falls, also was picked as a second-team All-UAC tight end by the league coaches. He had 25 receptions for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 9.64 yards per reception and 21.9 receiving yards per game.
Moffett, a junior safety from Selma, was second on the team with 75 tackles and led the squad with 53 solo tackles. He also forced two fumbles, broke up seven passes and shared the team lead with eight tackles for loss.
Darius Moore, a junior linebacker from El Reno, Texas, led the team with 78 tackles and 44 assisted tackles. He also had two hurries, six tackles for loss and forced one fumble.
Coheley, a junior from Iowa Park, had 61 tackles and led the team with 5.5 quarterback sacks while sharing the team lead with eight tackles for loss.
Jones, a sophomore returner from Warner Robbins, Ga., led the team with a 25.31 yards per return average. He was 17th in the FCS.
Sunday, a sophomore running back from Waco, led the Wildcats with 677 yards rushing and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He had three rushing touchdowns.
Taylor, a junior receiver from Saginaw, led the Cats with 41 receptions, 620 yards, seven touchdowns and 15.12 yards per reception.
Young, a sophomore linebacker from Stephenville, had 57 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a quarterback sack and two pass breakups.
Inness, a senior long-snapper from Phoenix, Ariz., played every game and ACU had no blocked punts or kicks from its two All-Conference kickers.
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