Alfred, five other Cougs earn Pac-10 plaudits

WASHINGTON STATE senior center Kenny Alfred has earned second-team all-Pac-10 honors, the conference announced Tuesday. The recognition for Alfred is especially notable in light of the fact he was playing on the lowest-scoring Cougar offense in modern history. Five other Cougars -- including true freshman Travis Long -- earned honorable mention honors.

Alfred, the Pride of Gig Harbor, started all 12 games this season and 29 consecutive going back to his sophomore year. He earned WSU's Offensive Player of the Week honor a whopping seven times this season. He has been a Rimington Award candidate the past three seasons, and he was a Pac-10 All-Academic selection last month.
br< Five Cougars were named to the honorable mention list: junior punter Reid Forrest, senior safety Xavier Hicks Jr., sophomore wide receiver Jared Karstetter, freshman defensive end Long and senior running back Dwight Tardy.

Forrest, from Ephrata, averaged 43.2 yards per punt this season, third in the Pac-10 and 22nd nationally. He registered 18 punts that were 50 yards or better, and had four punts over 60 yards. Forrest led the Pac-10 with 86 punts and 3,718 yards.

Hicks, from Fullerton, Calif., finished the season with 81 tackles, second on the team and ninth in the Pac-10. He started all 12 games and had four tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a team-best three interceptions. He finished his career with 220 tackles and six interceptions.

Karstetter, from Spokane, led all Cougar receivers with 38 receptions for 540 yards and six touchdowns this season.

Long, also from Spokane, started all 12 games as a true freshman, registering 47 tackles, including team-bests of 6.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Those marks led all Cougar defensive linemen. He had a season-high nine tackles against SMU and had six tackles against Arizona State and Arizona. His two sacks came in consecutive games against SMU and USC.
Tardy, a senior from Walnut, Calif., rushed for 417 yards and two touchdowns, adding 18 receptions for 114 yards. He became the first Cougar in school history to lead WSU in rushing four times. He finished his career seventh on WSU’s all-time rushing list with 2,241 yards and sixth with 528 carries.