East Carolina senior wide receiver Zay Jones and Mmephis kicker Jake Elliott have been named among the 10 finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition.
Jones' remarkable accomplishments rank him among the most decorated student-athletes in East Carolina history. One of only three Pirates ever with more than 3,000 receiving yards, he was named a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame on Nov. 1, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
A two-year team captain, Jones already ranks second in NCAA FBS history with 355 career receptions and second in Pirates' history with 3,627 yards, while his 19 career receiving touchdowns are also in the top five at East Carolina.
This season, Jones currently leads the FBS with 114 receptions (14.2 rpg) while his 136.8 receiving yards per game average and 1,094 total reception yards stand second nationally. In eight games, he has caught four touchdown passes and registered six double-triples (catches-yards), which include a career-best 22 receptions for 190 yards at South Carolina on Sept. 17. His 22 grabs against the Gamecocks are the most by an NCAA FBS receiver in a game this season and was one shy of an all-time NCAA FBS record.
Jones has devoted more than 75 hours of community service during his career, including work with Aces for Autism, SportWorks Ministries, Ronald McDonald House, Maynard Children's Hospital, National Food Bank, Dwayne Harris Football Camp and ECU Ladies Football Clinic. He has also participated in on-campus trash pick-ups, blood drives and elementary school visits, and he served as co-master of ceremonies for the 2015 ECU Goldspys (ECU's version of the ESPYs).
Elliott converted his 71st career field goal in Memphis most recent game, becoming the Tigers' all-time leader in that category, surpassing the record held by current New England Patriot Stephen Gostkowski. Elliott also passed Gostkowski and Pittsburgh Steelers' running back DeAngelo Williams to become Memphis' all-time leading scorer earlier this season in a win over Temple and has scored 391 points in the blue and gray.
A number of those points have come on PATs. Elliott holds the current NCAA FBS consecutive PATs made mark with a perfect 178-for-178 on PAT attempts over his four-year Memphis career. Already this season, he has gone 11-for-14 in field goals with two makes from 50 yards or further and eight-of-nine for attempts at 40 yards or more.
A senior marketing management major, Elliott was named a Walter Camp second team All-American after last season and is the two-time, defending American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. He is also a three-time, first-team all-conference place-kicker.