Minutemen Place 17 On CAA Football All-Conference Teams

Nov. 19, 2007

RICHMOND, Va. - CAA Champions UMass led all teams in the league with 17 All-Conference selections. Matt Austin, David Burris, Jason Hatchell, J.J. Moore, Courtney Robinson, Sean Smalls and Charles Walker were named to the first team. The second team featured Sean Calicchio, Liam Coen, Matt Lawrence and Rasheed Rancher. Brandon Collier, Nick Diana, Chris Koepplin, Jeromy Miles and Robinson (as a kick returner) were named to the third team.

Here is the complete release from the CAA.

CAA Football co-champions Massachusetts and Richmond received a bevy of post-season honors as the league announced their inaugural all-conference teams on Monday.

The awards, which were voted on by the CAA's head football coaches, were handed out after the most successful regular-season in FCS history with an NCAA record five teams making the playoffs and seven squads finishing the year with seven or more victories.

Delaware senior quarterback Joe Flacco and New Hampshire senior quarterback Ricky Santos were chosen as the CAA Co-Offensive Players of the Year, while Defensive Player of the Year honors went to James Madison senior safety Tony LeZotte and Richmond's Dave Clawson was tabbed as Coach of the Year.

The Spiders also received three other major awards as freshman Justin Rogers was named Special Teams Player of the Year, freshman wide receiver Kevin Grayson received Offensive Rookie of the Year accolades and freshman linebacker Eric McBride was selected as Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Massachusetts led all conference schools with seven players selected to the All-CAA first team. Delaware was close behind with six first-team picks and New Hampshire had four. Hofstra, James Madison and Richmond all placed three players on the first team.

Flacco completed 251-of-370 passes for a conference-best 3,185 yards this season. He also led the league and ranked seventh in the nation in total offense (294.2 ypg). The senior from Audobon, N.J. completed 67.8 percent of his passes and threw 17 touchdowns with only five interceptions. Flacco had two 400-yard passing games and three games with more than 300 yards in the air, highlighted by a 434-yard, four-touchdown performance in the Blue Hens' 59-52 win over FBS foe Navy. Delaware, which is 8-3 overall and headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2004, averaged a league-high 38.1 points per game.

Santos received Offensive Player of the Year honors for the third year in a row, becoming the first player in league history to accomplish that feat. He earned Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2005 and shared the award with Massachusetts' Steve Baylark in 2006. The senior quarterback from Bellingham, Mass., completed 73 percent of his passes (230-of-315) for 2,721 yards to achieve a league-leading pass efficiency rating of 164.2. Santos threw for 22 touchdowns and also rushed for nine touchdowns, leading New Hampshire to a 7-4 record and the Wildcats' fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

LeZotte earned CAA Football Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second time in his career and became the only player in league history to earn first-team all-conference honors in all four seasons. The senior safety from Augusta, Ga. was second on James Madison's defense with 88 tackles, including four tackles for loss. A Buck Buchanan Award Finalist, LeZotte also had two interceptions and a league-high eight pass breakups this season. It is the fifth time that a JMU player has been named league Defensive Player of the Year since Mickey Matthews took over the program in 1999, including each of the past three seasons.

Clawson was named CAA Football Coach of the Year for the second time in the past three seasons. He guided the Spiders to a 9-2 overall record and a share of the CAA championship with a 7-1 mark after being picked to finish fourth in the South Division in pre-season polls. The fourth-year head coach has amassed a 27-19 record, earning two conference championships and a pair of NCAA FCS Championship appearances during his tenure.

Rogers electrified special teams for Richmond all season, leading the CAA and ranking third in the nation in kickoff returns by averaging 32.5 yards with two touchdowns. The red-shirt freshman from Baton Rouge, La. had a 93-yard return for a score in the Spiders' season-opener at Vanderbilt and also had an 85-yard TD return against New Hampshire. Rogers recorded the two highest single-game return performances in the CAA this season with 222 yards against UNH and 201 yards versus Vanderbilt.

Grayson became the second Spider in as many seasons to win CAA Football Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after quarterback Eric Ward earned it in 2006. The freshman wide receiver from Richmond, Va., who was also a second-team all-conference selection, led the Spiders with 49 receptions for 695 yards and four touchdowns. Two of his touchdown receptions came in the Spiders' five-overtime victory at Delaware, including one during the overtime session.

McBride is the second UR player in the last three years to win the CAA Football Defensive Rookie of the Year award. The freshman linebacker from Richmond, Va., led the Spiders with 104 tackles, including 46 solo stops. He also recorded 2.5 sacks and forced two fumbles during his rookie campaign. McBride made a season-high 16 tackles against Rhode Island with two tackles for loss and one sack. He finished the season eighth in the conference with his 104 tackles, registering as the only freshman among the league's Top-15.

CAA CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Joe Flacco, Delaware and Ricky Santos, New Hampshire CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tony LeZotte, James Madison CAA COACH OF THE YEAR: Dave Clawson, Richmond CAA SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Justin Rogers, Richmond CAA OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kevin Grayson, Richmond CAA DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Eric McBride, Richmond

br>CAA CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Joe Flacco, Delaware and Ricky Santos, New Hampshire
CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tony LeZotte, James Madison
CAA COACH OF THE YEAR: Dave Clawson, Richmond
CAA SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Justin Rogers, Richmond
CAA OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kevin Grayson, Richmond
CAA DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Eric McBride, Richmond

2007 ALL-CAA FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM
(as voted on by the head coaches)
OFFENSE
Position	Player	School	Class
QB	Joe Flacco	Delaware	Senior
QB	Ricky Santos	New Hampshire	Senior
RB	Omar Cuff	Delaware	Senior
RB	Tim Hightower	Richmond	Senior
RB	Maurice Murray	Northeastern	Senior
FB/HB	Joe Casey	Rhode Island	Junior
WR	Keith Levan	New Hampshire	Senior
WR	Aaron Love	Delaware	Junior
WR	JJ Moore	Massachusetts	Senior
WR	Charles Sullivan	Hofstra	Senior
TE	Matt Sherry	Villanova	Senior
OL	Matt Austin	Massachusetts	Senior
OL	Mike Byrne	Delaware	Senior
OL	Nick Couturier	New Hampshire	Senior
OL	Kheon Hendricks	Delaware	Junior
OL	Scott Lemn	James Madison	Junior
PK	Jon Striefsky	Delaware	Junior
KR	Justin Rogers	Richmond	Freshman
PR	Anthony Nelson	Hofstra	Freshman

DEFENSE
Position	Player	School	Class
DL	John Baranowsky	James Madison	Senior
DL	Jovan Belcher	Maine	Junior
DL	David Burris	Massachusetts	Senior
DL	Lawrence Sidbury	Richmond	Junior
LB	Brian Bradford	Towson	Senior
LB	Jason Hatchell	Massachusetts	Senior
LB	Gian Villante	Hofstra	Senior
LB	Charles Walker	Massachusetts	Senior
CB	Courtney Robinson	Massachusetts	Junior
CB	Sean Smalls	Massachusetts	Junior
S	Tony LeZotte	James Madison	Senior
S	Jeff Pammer	New Hampshire	Senior
P	Bryan Giannecchini	Rhode Island	Senior

2007 ALL-CAA FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM
(as voted on by the head coaches)
OFFENSE
Position	Player	School	Class
QB	Liam Coen	Massachusetts	Junior
QB	Rodney Landers	James Madison	Junior
RB	Kareem Huggins	Hofstra	Senior
RB	Matt Lawrence	Massachusetts	Senior
FB/HB	John Crone	Richmond	Junior
WR	Kevin Grayson	Richmond	Freshman
WR	Marcus Lee	Towson	Junior
WR	Rasheed Rancher	Massachusetts	Senior
TE	Brian Mandeville	Northeastern	Junior
OL	Sean Calicchio	Massachusetts	Junior
OL	Ryan Canary	Maine	Junior
OL	Matt McCracken	Richmond	Sophomore
OL	Kevin Newhall	Northeastern	Sophomore
OL	Mark Stolte	Rhode Island	Senior
PK	David Stannard	James Madison	Junior
KR	Kareem Huggins	Hofstra	Senior
PR	Derek Hatcher	Richmond	Sophomore

DEFENSE
Position	Player	School	Class
DL	Hassan Abdul-Wahid	James Madison	Junior
DL	Tim Kukucka	Villanova	Sophomore
DL	Shemiah LeGrande	Hofstra	Senior
DL	Ken Sussman	Hofstra	Senior
LB	Justin Barnes	James Madison	Senior
LB	Andrew Downey	Maine	Junior
LB	Husain Karim	New Hampshire	Senior
LB	Eric McBride	Richmond	Freshman
CB	John Clements	New Hampshire	Junior
CB	Ki'Ameer Johnson	Rhode Island	Junior
CB	Evan McCollough	James Madison	Junior
S	David Darby	Hofstra	Senior
S	Stephen Howell	Richmond	Senior
P	Tom Bishop	New Hampshire	Junior

2007 ALL-CAA FOOTBALL THIRD TEAM
(as voted on by the head coaches)
OFFENSE
Position	Player	School	Class
QB	Jake Phillips	William and Mary	Junior
RB	Matt Dicken	Villanova	Senior
RB	Jhamal Fluellen	Maine	Junior
WR	LC Baker	James Madison	Senior
WR	Elliott Mack	William and Mary	Junior
WR	Kervin Michaud	Delaware	Junior
TE	Scott Sicko	New Hampshire	Sophomore
OL	Terrence Apted	James Madison	Junior
OL	Rich Beverley	Delaware	Senior
OL	Shawn Demaray	Maine	Senior
OL	Nick Diana	Massachusetts	Senior
OL	Brad Stewart	William and Mary	Senior
PK	Chris Koepplin	Massachusetts	Senior
KR	Courtney Robinson	Massachusetts	Junior
PR	LC Baker	James Madison	Senior

DEFENSE
Position	Player	School	Class
DL	Brandon Collier	Massachusetts	Sophomore
DL	Bruno Dorismond	Maine	Senior
DL	Matt Marcorelle	Delaware	Sophomore
DL	Marvin Wright	New Hampshire	Senior
LB	Stanley Gutierrez	Hofstra	Senior
LB	Collin McConaghy	Richmond	Sophomore
LB	Joe Mele	Northeastern	Senior
LB	Osayi Osunde	Villanova	Sophomore
CB	Derek Cox	William and Mary	Junior
CB	Seth Williams	Richmond	Sophomore
S	Drew Mack	Towson	Junior
S	Jeromy Miles	Massachusetts	Sophomore
P	Jason Pritchard	James Madison	Junior

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics

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