MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia freshman safety Tykee Smith was named to the Football Writers’ Association of America (FWAA)-Shawn Alexander Freshman All-America Team, as announced by the organization.
Smith, an all-Big 12 Honorable Mention performer, played in all 12 games and started in eight as a true freshman. He was the Mountaineers’ fifth-leading tackler with 53, including 36 unassisted tackles, one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and four pass breakups. Smith was second on the team in interceptions with two, returning one 19 yards for a touchdown against Iowa State. His longest return of the season went for 39 yards at TCU on the opening drive of the game.
Smith registered seven tackles, including six solo stops, both season highs, at Kansas State and finished with five more tackles in seven games. He posted a season-high 1.5 tackles for loss and had his first career sack at Baylor.
Along with Smith, TCU’s Ar’Darius Washington (DB), Texas Tech’s Austin McNamara (P) and Kansas State’s Josh Youngblood (KR) represented the Big 12 Conference on the team.
Smith joins WVU safety Kerry Martin Jr., who have been named freshman All-Americans since December. Martin was named to Pro Football Focus’ All-Freshman Third Team in December. Martin was WVU’s sixth-leading tackler with 50 stops, including 35 solo, 2.5 tackles for loss and five pass breakups.
