Sept. 24, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF free safety Jason Venson was named the Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Week league officials announced on Monday, sharing the weekly honor with Houston's Kenneth Fontenette. Venson is the third Knight this season to earn a weekly honor from the league.
Junior Kevin Smith was named the offensive player of the week and Michael Torres was named the special teams player of the week following UCF's season-opening 25-23 win at NC State.
Venson (Marietta, Ga./Marietta) registered nine solo tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break-up from his free safety spot in UCF's 56-20 victory over Memphis on Saturday in the C-USA opener for both schools. The defense limited Memphis to four first downs and 57 yards of total offense in the first half as UCF built a 42-0 advantage at the break.
The UCF defense held the Tigers, who were second in C-USA in passing coming into the game (322 ypg), to 16 yards through the air in the first half. It was the fifth-straight game (dating back to last season) that Venson has led the Knights in tackles. He leads the team with 30 take downs this season.
Venson and Fontenette were honored along with Tulane's Matt Forte' (offense) and Houston's T.J. Lawrence (special teams).
Venson was the last UCF defender to earn the weekly honor when he earned the award following a 31-28 victory over Rice on Nov. 19, 2005. Venson registered a career-high 15 tackles in the game as the Knights clinched the C-USA East Division title. Former Knight Paul Carrington and current junior Augustus Ashley also took home weekly defensive honors during the 2005 season for UCF.
The 2007 campaign is serving as the Knights' first at Bright House Networks Stadium on campus. UCF hosts Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. Season tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 407-UCF-1000.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pics.
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