St. Louis — Led by preseason All-America selection Buster Ashley, the Western Kentucky University football team had six individuals honored at the Gateway Football Conference’s annual media day Tuesday.
Joining Ashley in earning first-team honors were Brian Claybourn, Brandon Smith and Charles Thompson, while Lerron Moore and Charlie Phillips were honorable mention selections.

A two-time first-team all-Gateway pick, Ashley is the fourth consecutive Hilltopper to earn consensus first-team All-America honors after being recognized by seven different organizations in 2003. Last fall, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior offensive lineman from Owensboro, Ky., started all 13 contests and led the Toppers with an overall grade of 95 percent and 168 pancake blocks while allowing only one sack all season. Ashley has been selected the league’s Offensive Lineman of the Week on three occasions in his first three years on the Hill.

Claybourn — a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior punter — earned first-team all-conference honors last season after ranking 19th in the country with an average of 41.2 yards per kick. His efforts helped Western stand 21st nationally in net punting, while his average was the third highest in the WKU season record books. Eighteen of his 54 punts (33.3 percent) were downed inside the 20-yard line, better than his career percentage entering the year. Coming into his final season, the Evansville, Ind., native ranks third all-time in Western history with a 40.23 average per punt.

A 6-foot-1, 205-pound Stanford, Ky., resident, Smith was selected to the Gateway’s All-Newcomer Team last season after collecting 83 total tackles, including nine sacks (which was tied for second in the league), in his first year on the Hill. The junior outside linebacker finished fifth in the GFC with 17 tackles for loss, and was tied for third in the conference with a team-best three fumble recoveries. Smith — who also added an interception and two passes defensed — posted three contests with 10 or more stops in league action.

Thompson earned second-team all-Gateway Conference accolades in 2003 after ranking third on the team with 110 total tackles (in only 10 games) — his average of 11 stops per outing ranked 18th in the nation. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior inside linebacker posted eight stops for loss including three sacks, had one fumble recovery and broke up a pass. Thompson — who hails from Louisville, Ky. — led the team in stops twice, while posting eight double-digit tackle efforts. He enters his final campaign with 312 career tackles, 31 behind the line of scrimmage.

Moore, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound, junior from Columbus, Ohio, was voted honorable mention all-Gateway and was a member of the conference’s All-Newcomer Team last year after rushing for 1,490 yards, the third-highest season total in school history. He ended his first season ranked second in the league and 17th in the country with 114.6 yards per contest, was fifth in the league in all-purpose yards and 10th in total offense. Moore ran for 100 yards or more in eight contests, including five in a row at one point, while finishing as Western’s leading rusher in 10 games.

A 6-foot-3, 250-pound junior, Phillips was a member of the Gateway All-Newcomer Team a year ago after recording 48 tackles in his first season, which ranked third on the squad among defensive linemen. He was credited with nine tackles for loss including a pair of sacks, two passes defensed and a blocked kick. The junior from Kissimmee, Fla., posted a career-best nine stops in his collegiate debut and ended his initial season with seven tackles at second-ranked Wofford.

The Hilltoppers — who have 32 letterwinners including 10 starters returning from last year’s 9-4 squad — were picked to finish third in the league race. Southern Illinois was predicted to win the championship, collecting 244 points and 25 of 32 first-place votes, while Northern Iowa was picked to finish second.

The preseason all-conference team and poll were voted on by members of the media as well as each school’s head coach and sports information director.

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