Two Gridders Named as Senior CLASS Candidates
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 13, 2016) – West Virginia University football seniors Skyler Howard and Tyler Orlosky were selected as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award.
WVU is one of three schools with two candidates on the list of 30; OIe Miss and Pitt also have two candidates. Howard and Orlosky are two of four candidates from Big 12 Conference schools, including Oklahoma’s Jordan Evans, and Kansas’ Fish Smithson.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Howard is a second-year starting quarterback for WVU and has led the Mountaineers to a 13-6 record and two bowl games. In 2016, he has completed 98-of-149 passes for 1,272 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has run for 106 yards and a touchdown. He is currently ranked No. 9 nationally in total offense, No. 11 in completions per game, No. 14 in passing yards per game, No. 19 in completion percentage and No. 29 in passing yards per attempt.
As a junior in 2015, he threw for 3,269 yards and 26 touchdowns and was named the Cactus Bowl offensive MVP after setting season and career highs in completions (28), attempts (51), yards (532) and touchdowns (five).
Howard graduated with his bachelor’s degree in communications in 2015 and is currently working on a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications. He has been a member of the All-Big 12 Academic team and the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
He is active in WVU Football’s community service initiatives such as “Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer” program, where current players and former players who are in the NFL come back and have a day for kids to encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle and to be active (similar to the NFL’s Play60). He has visited patients at the WVU Medicine Children’s, has made numerous trips to the hospital for visits with teammates and on his own, served as a “Big Brother” to a local boy and joined with one of his teammates to give food to homeless people around Morgantown.
Orlosky has started at center for the past three years and is regarded as one of the best in the nation. He was a 2015 and 2016 preseason All-American and was an All-Big 12 first team honoree in 2015 by ESPN.com and second team by the league coaches. In 2016, ProFootball Focus has listed Orlosky as the best center in the Big 12 and one of the top in the nation.
In 2016, he is one of the main cogs on the offensive line that is leading the way for the Mountaineer offense to rank No. 9 nationally in fewest tackles for loss allowed, No. 14 in fewest sacks allowed, No. 16 in total offense and No. 17 in passing offense.
Orlosky graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sport and exercise psychology in August and is currently working on a master’s degree in corporate communications. He is a three-time All-Big 12 Academic team member and a mainstay on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Orlosky is active in the Mountaineers’ community initiatives as well. In June, he and teammates visited with a woman dying of cancer and helped her live her dream of seeing Milan Puskar Stadium one more time before she died and made her and her family feel part of the Mountaineer family. He was involved in “Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer Program, has visited patients at the WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, served as a guest speaker at a WVU donor dinner, worked several WVU camps as a counselor and also worked the Football 101 football clinic for women.
To determine the final Senior CLASS Award winner, the 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Along with the winner, the 10 finalists will be awarded Senior CLASS Award first- or second-team honors.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the football bowl season in early January.
For more information on the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 13, 2016) – West Virginia University football seniors Skyler Howard and Tyler Orlosky were selected as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award.
WVU is one of three schools with two candidates on the list of 30; OIe Miss and Pitt also have two candidates. Howard and Orlosky are two of four candidates from Big 12 Conference schools, including Oklahoma’s Jordan Evans, and Kansas’ Fish Smithson.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Howard is a second-year starting quarterback for WVU and has led the Mountaineers to a 13-6 record and two bowl games. In 2016, he has completed 98-of-149 passes for 1,272 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has run for 106 yards and a touchdown. He is currently ranked No. 9 nationally in total offense, No. 11 in completions per game, No. 14 in passing yards per game, No. 19 in completion percentage and No. 29 in passing yards per attempt.
As a junior in 2015, he threw for 3,269 yards and 26 touchdowns and was named the Cactus Bowl offensive MVP after setting season and career highs in completions (28), attempts (51), yards (532) and touchdowns (five).
Howard graduated with his bachelor’s degree in communications in 2015 and is currently working on a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications. He has been a member of the All-Big 12 Academic team and the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
He is active in WVU Football’s community service initiatives such as “Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer” program, where current players and former players who are in the NFL come back and have a day for kids to encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle and to be active (similar to the NFL’s Play60). He has visited patients at the WVU Medicine Children’s, has made numerous trips to the hospital for visits with teammates and on his own, served as a “Big Brother” to a local boy and joined with one of his teammates to give food to homeless people around Morgantown.
Orlosky has started at center for the past three years and is regarded as one of the best in the nation. He was a 2015 and 2016 preseason All-American and was an All-Big 12 first team honoree in 2015 by ESPN.com and second team by the league coaches. In 2016, ProFootball Focus has listed Orlosky as the best center in the Big 12 and one of the top in the nation.
In 2016, he is one of the main cogs on the offensive line that is leading the way for the Mountaineer offense to rank No. 9 nationally in fewest tackles for loss allowed, No. 14 in fewest sacks allowed, No. 16 in total offense and No. 17 in passing offense.
Orlosky graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sport and exercise psychology in August and is currently working on a master’s degree in corporate communications. He is a three-time All-Big 12 Academic team member and a mainstay on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Orlosky is active in the Mountaineers’ community initiatives as well. In June, he and teammates visited with a woman dying of cancer and helped her live her dream of seeing Milan Puskar Stadium one more time before she died and made her and her family feel part of the Mountaineer family. He was involved in “Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer Program, has visited patients at the WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, served as a guest speaker at a WVU donor dinner, worked several WVU camps as a counselor and also worked the Football 101 football clinic for women.
To determine the final Senior CLASS Award winner, the 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Along with the winner, the 10 finalists will be awarded Senior CLASS Award first- or second-team honors.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the football bowl season in early January.
For more information on the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com