Michael Purcell Named To C-USA Football All-Academic Team

Nov. 27, 2006

NEW ORLEANS, La. - A standout both on the field and in the classroom, Tulane University football student-athlete Michael Purcell was named to the 2006 Conference USA Football All-Academic Team, the league announced Monday.

A senior defensive lineman from Dripping Springs, Texas, Purcell earned the honor after posting a cumulative 3.64 grade point average in finance from Tulane's prestigious A.B. Freeman School of Business. Purcell received his bachelor's degree from Tulane last spring and will complete his master's in finance in May 2007.

The academic honor is the latest in a long list of accomplishments for Purcell as he was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic District VI Team in 2005 and claimed C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition in each of the three previous seasons.

In his final collegiate season, Purcell played in 11 of Tulane's 12 games where he posted 16 tackles - including eight solo stops - one and a half tackles behind the line of scrimmage for four yards of loss, and two quarterback hurries.

Despite undergoing multiple knee surgeries during his time at Tulane, Purcell played in 39 games during his Green Wave career where he tallied 98 tackles (54 solo), 16.5 tackles for loss, two and a half sacks, forced a pair of fumbles, one fumble recovery and four quarterback hurries.

He posted a season-best three tackles vs. Rice (Oct. 7), at Marshall (Nov. 4) and vs. Southern Miss (Nov. 11). Purcell's career-high tackle total came during his redshirt-freshman season in 2003 when he had seven stops, including five solo tackles, against Navy (Nov. 1).

Purcell is joined on the C-USA Football All-Academic Team by Tulsa's Mike Mengers (Sr./Mechanical Engineering/3.74) and Paul Smith (Jr./Communication/3.80), Memphis' Rusty Clayton (Sr./Criminal Justice/3.61) and Brandon Patterson (So./Finance/3.73), East Carolina's Kevin Roach (Sr./Accounting/3.44), Houston's Wade Koehl (Sr./Accounting/3.52), SMU's Thomas Morstead (So./Mechanical Engineering/3.55), Southern Miss' Travis Cooley (Sr./Human Resource Management/3.65), UCF's Shar'eff Rashad (So./Criminal Justice/3.61) and UTEP's Reagan Schneider (Sr./Kinesiology/3.34).

2006 Conference USA Football All-Academic TeamKevin Roach - Sr. - East Carolina - 3.44/Accounting - Williamston, N.C.Wade Koehl - Sr. - Houston - 3.52/Accounting - Midland, TexasRusty Clayton - Sr. - Memphis - 3.61/Criminal Justice - Germantown, Tenn.Thomas Morstead - So. - SMU - 3.55/Mechanical Engineering - Pearland, TexasTravis Cooley - Sr.- Southern Miss - 3.65/Human Resource Management - Waynsboro, Miss.Michael Purcell - Sr. - Tulane - 3.64/Finance - Dripping Springs, TexasMike Mengers - Sr. - Tulsa - 3.74/Mechanical Engineering - Mustang, Okla.Paul Smith - Jr. - Tulsa - 3.80/Communication - Owasso, Okla.Shar'eff Rashad So. - UCF - 3.61/Criminal Justice - Jacksonville, Fla.Reagan Schneider - Sr. - UTEP - 3.34/Kinesiology - Canyon Lake, Texas

Michael Purcell Named To C-USA Football All-Academic Team

Players Mentioned

Michael Purcell

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Tulane University Athletics

Michael Purcell Named To C-USA Football All-Academic Team

Players Mentioned

Michael Purcell

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