Aggie News

Update 06/15/06

KAYS NAMED NO. 3 TOP RETURNING RECEIVER BY THE SPORTS NETWORK

DAVIS, Calif. -- Tony Kays, who last season posted a school-record 93 receptions for UC Davis, was named the No. 3 top returning wide receiver in Division I-AA football by Matt Dougherty, Executive Director of I-AA football for The Sports Network. TSN conducts the primary weekly media top 25 poll and administers the major Division I-AA postseason player awards.

Kays, from nearby Elk Grove, is the second Aggie mentioned by The Sports Network during the preseason, joining quarterback Jon Grant who was earlier named the No. 4 returning I-AA quarterback by Dougherty.

Kays, set school records of 93 receptions and 1,213 regular-season receiving yards last fall, helping UC Davis football achieve its 36th consecutive winning season. Had the program been eligible to officially rank among the NCAA statistical leaders, Kays would have led all Division I-AA players in total receptions and receptions per game (8.45).

He set a school record with 15 catches against Portland State in the second week of the season after tying the previous mark of 12 in the season opener against New Hampshire. Five times he had at least 10 catches in a game and seven times he eclipsed 115 receiving yards, including a career-high 212 against Cal Poly.

The Aggie co-captain earned either second- or third-team All-America status from the Associated Press, The Sports Network and Football Gazette; and added an All-Great West Football Conference first-team nod in 2005.

Kays, who was named the Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award winner as the top male athlete at UC Davis for the 2005-06 year, is the only Great West Football Conference receiver on The Sports Network's top 10. Andy Birkel of Northern Colorado (50 rec., 907 yds, 10 TD's) is No. 15 on the list.

David Ball of New Hampshire (87 rec., 1,551 yds, 24 TD's) was selected by Dougherty as the top returning receiver while Laurent Robinson of Illinois State (86 rec., 1,465 yds, 12 TD's) are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

UC Davis opens the 2006 season on Sept. 2 at Northern Colorado.

Information courtesy UC Davis ICA/Media Relations