Pair Named To Preseason Conference USA First Team

IRVING, Texas - Senior inside wide receiver Dwayne Harris and junior defensive back Emanuel Davis have been named to the 2010 Conference USA Football Coaches Preseason First Team, according to an announcement from the league office Wednesday. The conference’s 12 head coaches voted for the preseason award winners and first team honorees.

Harris was the 2009 C-USA Special Teams Player-of-the-Year and was a first-team selection at wide receiver in addition to garnering second-team honors as a kick returner. Davis also earned a first-team nod at defensive back last season.

As a junior, Harris helped the Pirates claim their second consecutive Conference USA Championship and AutoZone Liberty Bowl berth with his Most Valuable Player performance in the league title game against Houston. He tallied nine catches for 123 yards and a touchdown while adding a 69-yard kickoff return versus the Cougars.

Harris hauled in 83 passes for the season, tying him with Aundrae Allison for ECU’s second-most receptions in a year. Harris’ 978 receiving yards were also good for second on the school’s all-time single-season list. The Stone Mountain, Ga., native, is the program's all-time leader in receptions with 167 while standing second in receiving yards with 1,878, just 104 behind Troy Smith (1995-98).

Davis missed much of the first three games due to a shoulder injury suffered in the season opener, but bounced back to record 69 tackles, including a team-best 51 solo hits. His 12 pass breakups also paced the Pirates. He intercepted two passes, returning one 42 yards for a touchdown to help ECU to a C-USA road win at Tulsa. In nationally-televised contests against Virginia Tech and Houston, the Manteo, N.C., native established career highs in tackles with nine. Davis turned in some of his best work late in the season, averaging 7.4 tackles per game in the final seven outings.

In East Carolina’s C-USA East Division clinching victory against Southern Miss, Davis broke up a career-best four passes, tying the program single-game record. He owns 20 career pass deflections, 114 tackles and six interceptions, totaling 100 return yards.

Houston senior quarterback Case Keenum, last season’s offensive player-of-the-year, and UCF senior defensive end Bruce Miller, the 2009 defensive player-of-the-year, were tabbed to repeat their awards this season. Houston junior kick and punt returner Tyron Carrier was selected as the special teams player-of-the year. The Cougars and Golden Hurricane led the way with five first-team selections while UCF had four preseason honorees.

The Pirates begin the 2010 season Sunday, Sept. 5 at 2:00 p.m. in Greenville against Tulsa in a nationally-televised contest on ESPN2.

2010 Conference USA Football Coaches Preseason Awards

Offensive Player-of-the-Year

Case Keenum, Sr., QB, Houston

Defensive Player-of-the-Year

Bruce Miller, Sr., DE, UCF

Special Teams Player-of-the-Year

Tyron Carrier, Jr., KR/PR, Houston

First Team Offense

QB          Case Keenum, Sr., Houston

RB          Donald Buckram, Sr., UTEP

RB          Bryan Harvey, Jr., UCF

OL          Kelvin Beachum, Jr., SMU

OL          Tyler Holmes, Jr., Tulsa

OL          Scott Mitchell, Sr., Rice

OL          Jah Reid, Sr., UCF

OL          Dominik Riley, Sr., Memphis

WR         DeAndre Brown, Jr., Southern Miss

WR         James Cleveland, Sr., Houston

WR         Dwayne Harris, Sr., East Carolina

TE           Lee Smith, Sr., Marshall

First Team Defense

DL          Cory Dorris, So., Tulsa

DL          Anthony Gray, Sr., Southern Miss

DL          Bruce Miller, Sr., UCF

DL          Scott Solomon, Sr., Rice

LB          Marcus McGraw, Jr., Houston

LB          Mario Harvey, Sr., Marshall

LB          Korey Williams, Jr., Southern Miss

DB          Hiram Atwater, Sr., UAB

DB          Emanuel Davis, Jr., East Carolina

DB          Jamal Robinson, Sr., Houston

DB          Josh Robinson, So., UCF

First Team Special Teams

K             Kevin Fitzpatrick, Jr., Tulsa

P              Michael Such, Sr., Tulsa

KR          Tyron Carrier, Jr., Houston

PR           Damaris Johnson, Jr., Tulsa