Junior cornerback earns second-team honors in first season at USF;
Record-setting tight end earns third all-conference recognition
TAMPA, Dec. 4, 2019 – A pair of local Bay area Bulls earned all-conference recognition Wednesday, as junior cornerback KJ Sails (Tampa) was named to the American Athletic Conference second team and senior tight end Mitchell Wilcox (Tarpon Springs) honorable mention as voted on by conference coaches.
Sails, who completed his first season at USF after transferring from North Carolina, was also named an honorable mention All-American by Pro Football Focus and to that organization’s All-AAC defensive team. The 5-11 cornerback led the Bulls with five takeaways and nine passes defended on the season while posting 42 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. His three pass interceptions led the team and his two fumble recoveries tied for the team lead as he started all 12 games and became a lockdown corner for the Bulls.
Wilcox earned all-conference recognition for the third time on his career after gaining first team honors in 2018 and second team honors in 2016. The 6-5, 245-pounder is projected to be one of the top tight ends selected in the 2020 NFL Draft and leaves USF owning nearly every tight end record.
He led the team with 28 receptions for 350 yards and a career-best five touchdowns in 2019 to end his career 10th on the Bulls all-time receiving yards chart, 11th in receptions and eighth in career receiving touchdowns. Wilcox’s 100 receptions for 1,326 yards and 11 touchdowns on his career are all USF records for a tight end. He set USF season tight end records with 43 catches for 540 yards in 2018 and his five touchdown catches in 2019 are the tight end record. Wilcox also logged eight catches vs. Illinois in 2018 to set the tight end game record for receptions.
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and is in its 23rd season (20th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft.USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
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