Taylor Comfort leads crew of Washington State players recognized by Pac-12 for academics

PULLMAN – Taylor Comfort, the senior defensive lineman who came to Washington State as a walk-on and earned a scholarship this spring before winning the Cougars’ starting nose tackle job, was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic first team on Monday.

Comfort, a criminal justice and psychology graduate student who carries a 3.33 GPA, was the lone WSU player to earn a spot on the 25-man first team. A fifth-year senior, Comfort has started in all 12 games for the Cougars this season and has chipped in two sacks to WSU’s conference-leading total of 35.

Four other Cougars were named to the second team: running back Clay Markoff (3.76, undeclared), defensive lineman Nick Begg (3.20, public relations), defensive lineman Karson Block (3.21, social studies) and linebacker Peyton Pelluer (3.48, Master’s in teaching).

Seven more Cougars were named All-Academic honorable mention: wide receiver Brandon Arconado, linebacker Tristan Brock, kicker Jack Crane, linebacker Cole Dubots, wide receiver Travell Harris, offensive lineman Liam Ryan and quarterback Trey Tinsley.

To earn recognition on the Pac-12 All-Academic teams, a player must have a 3.0 GPA or higher and appear in at least 50 percent of his team’s games.