University of Massachusets Athletics
Six Minutemen Earn All-MAC Postseason Accolades
December 03, 2014 | Football
AMHERST, Mass. - After posting a dramatic turn-around on the field in 2014, a school-record total of six UMass football student-athletes earned All Mid-American Conference honors as announced by the league office on Wednesday morning. UMass was tied for second-most with four players earning first team honors. The Minutemen won three of their final six games of the season to finish 5th in the MAC East Division.
The overall record of 3-9 marked an improvement from the previous two seasons at the Football Bowl Subdivision level for UMass. Five of those losses, however, came by seven points or fewer. UMass will be considered one of the top returning teams in 2015 with the bulk of its roster returning.
Earning first team All-MAC honors were quarterback Blake Frohnapfel, wide receiver Tajae Sharpe, tight end Jean Sifrin, and linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox. Cornerback Randall Jette was named to the second team, while linebacker Stanley Andre was named to the third team. All but Andre have eligibility remaining for the 2015 season.
In 2012, UMass' first season at the FBS level, the Minutemen had three players earn All-MAC honors, while in 2013, just one player was honored on a postseason squad.
For Frohnapfel, the first team honor marked his second major post-season accolade as the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston recently named him the recipient of the Bulger Lowe Award which is given annual to the top offensive and defensive players in New England. Frohnapfel, who missed the last two games of the season due to injury, led the MAC in passing yards (3,345) and passing yards per game (334.5) while ranking second in passing touchdowns (23) and passing yards per completion (13.88). His passing yards ranked as the second-most in UMass' program history, while his 23 touchdowns were the sixth-most. His per game average ranked as the No. 1 mark for a single-season eclipsing the previous top mark by just over 70 yards. For a single-game performance, he threw for 589 yards against Bowling Green which stands as a UMass single-game record, a MAC single-game record and as the 20th-best single-game total in NCAA history.
Sharpe excelled thanks to Frohnapfel's passing and turned in career-best totals of 1,281 receiving yards and 85 receptions. Those totals were both the best in the MAC and stand as the second-most in program history for a single season. Nationally, he ranked fifth in receiving yardage, 8th in receiving yards per game (106.8) and 12th in receptions per game (7.1). He tied the UMass single-game record for receptions twice with 13 and had 239 yards receiving against Ball State which stands as the second-most for a single-game. On four occasions this year, he eclipsed the 100-yard mark receiving for a game.
One of the newest members of the team was Sifrin who burst onto the scene against Colorado with a pair of touchdown receptions in his first career game for the Minutemen. The junior college transfer had the fifth-most receiving yards for any tight end in the nation with 637 yards on 41 catches. His six touchdown catches also stand as the second-most on the team this past season. Sifrin's play, bolstered by his touchdown receptions against Colorado being featured among ESPN SportsCenters Top 10 Plays of the Day, was named to the Mackey Award Mid-Season Watch List before being named one of eight semifinalist at the end of the season. The junior posted a pair of 100-yard receiving games with 135 yards against Bowling Green and 185 yards at Toledo.
One of the break-out performers of year on defense was Santos-Knox who posted 143 total tackles on defense. The junior ranked fourth nationally in tackles per game with 11.9 which also ranked second in the MAC. The 143 tackles were the eighth-most for a single-season at UMass and were the third most for any defensive player in the country. On eight different occasions he hit double-figures in tackles with a career-best 19 at Akron. He also led the Minutemen with 8.5 tackles for loss while also registering two sacks, three forced fumbles and six pass break-ups. In comparison to his 143 tackles in 2014, he previously had 32 tackles in both 2012 and 2013.
On the second team, Jette posted 67 total tackles, had a team-best four interceptions and 18 total pass break-ups. He ranked third in the MAC in pass break-ups and fifth nationally. The 18 pass break-ups are the most in UMass program history for a single-season, while his 36 career break-ups are second most for a career at UMass.
One of the veteran leaders of the team this season, Andre was honored with a selection to the third team after ranking second in tackles for the Minutemen. With a career-best 128 total tackles this year, Andre ranked 11th nationally in tackles per game (10.7) which also ranked fourth in the MAC. He had five games with 10+ tackles including a career-best 19 against Bowling Green. Among all active players in the NCAA, Andre's 190 career assisted tackles were the fifth most. Those 190 assisted tackles also rank as the seventh-most for a career at UMass.
