Senior linebacker Solomon Elimimian has been named the Western Athletic Conference's co-Defensive Player of the Year.

He is joined on the all-WAC first team by fellow senior linebacker Adam Leonard, defensive back Ryan Mouton and center John Estes.

Named to the second team were defensive end David Veikune, defensive lineman Keala Watson and receiver Michael Washington.

The Warriors, 7-5 overall, finished tied for second in the WAC with a 5-3 record. But they beat the two teams they are tied with, Louisiana Tech and Nevada.

The awards were voted on by the WAC's nine head coaches.

Elimimian, from Los Angeles, Calif. (Crenshaw High School), is sixth in the WAC in tackles this season with 8.4 per game.

He has 101 (53 solo), including 9.5 for a loss of 33 yards (3 sacks). He has also broken up four passes, recovered a fumble and forced a fumble on the season. Earlier this year, he became Hawaii's all-time leading tackler and currently has 414 in his career with two games left.

This is Hawaii's third Defensive Player of the Year award as tackle Al Noga won it in 1986 and end Travis LaBoy earned the honor in 2003.

Nevada led the league with six first-team all-WAC honorees, while Boise State placed five on the first team and Hawaii and Louisiana Tech each placed four.

Nevada's Colin Kaepernick was named the Offensive Player of the Year, San Jose State's Jarron Gilbert shared Defensive Player of the Year honors with Elimimian, and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore was named the Freshman of the Year. Boise State's Chris Petersen was voted the WAC's Coach of the Year.

Kaepernick, a sophomore quarterback from Turlock, Calif., leads the WAC in total offense with 299.5 yards per game and is tied for the WAC lead in touchdowns scored with 16.

He has thrown for 2,479 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 1,115 yards and 16 scores to rank tied for 10th in the nation in points reponsible for with 17.5 per game.

He is the fifth different player in NCAA history to pass for more than 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in a season. Kaepernick has thrown just five interceptions and has a 132.4 passing efficiency rating. He was named the WAC's Freshman of the Year last season. This is Nevada's second Offensive Player of the Year award as running back B.J. Mitchell won it in 2005.

Gilbert, a senior defensive end from Chino, Calif., tied the WAC single-season record with 22.0 tackles for a loss and leads the nation in that category. He has 52 tackles this year (36 solo), including 9.5 sacks for a loss of 74 yards – tied for the second most in the WAC. Gilbert has also broken up three passes and forced two fumbles. This is San Jose State's first Defensive Player of the Year award.

Moore, a freshman quarterback from Prosser, Wash., began the season as the Broncos' starting quarterback and led Boise State to a 12-0 record.

He leads the WAC and is 11th in the nation in passing efficiency with a 161.5 rating. Moore has completed 70 percent of his passes (259-of-370) for 3,264 yards and 25 touchdowns. He is second in the WAC in total offense with 270.3 yards per game. This is Boise State's first Freshman of the Year award.

Petersen earned his first WAC Coach of the Year award after directing Boise State to a perfect 12-0 record and the Broncos' sixth WAC title in seven years. Petersen has racked up a record of 35-3 (23-1 WAC) in three seasons with Boise State. It is the third Coach of the Year award for a Boise State head coach as Dan Hawkins won it in both 2002 and 2004.

Repeat first team all-WAC selections from last year include Elimimian, Estest and Leoanrd, Boise State wide receiver Jeremy Childs, Nevada offensive lineman Dominic Green and Louisiana Tech defensive back Antonio Baker.

Boise State placed a WAC-high six players on the second team while Fresno State and San Jose State had five apiece.