Six Minutemen Collect Phil Steele Independent All-Conference Accolades

CLEVELAND – Six members of the University of Massachusetts football team have earned a total of seven Independent All-Conference awards from Phil Steele Magazine, announced by the organization on Tuesday afternoon. Senior wide receiver Andy Isabella and graduate student linebacker Bryton Barr headlined the group as first team honorees.

Additionally, senior cornerback Lee Moses, redshirt senior defensive lineman Joe Previte and senior offensive lineman Ray Thomas-Ishman, Sr. picked up second team nods. Senior Marquis Young rounded out the group with selection to the second team both at running back and kick returner.

Barr finished his seventh season of college football, and second as a starter at middle linebacker for Massachusetts, tied for third-most total tackles (147) and tied for fourth-most tackles per game (12.3) in FBS. His 21 tackles against Charlotte stand tied for the ninth-most in a single game in FBS this season and are the most in one game in the FBS history of the UMass program. Barr added 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception during the year, and did not record a game of less than eight takedowns all season.

Isabella has collected nine all-America selections and is the nation's FBS leader in receiving yards (1,698) and receiving yards per game (141.5), while he also ranks third in receptions per game (8.5) and tied for fifth in touchdown catches (13). He totaled 102 catches over his 12 starts at wide receiver, with at least four catches in every game, while also resetting the team's single-season and career receiving yards (3,526) marks with the final catch of his collegiate career, a 45-yard touchdown at No. 5 Georgia.

A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Moses was a mainstay at cornerback throughout his final two campaigns. Starting each contest for the Minutemen, he turned in 54 tackles in 2018 with eight performances of five or more stops. Moses added three interceptions on the year and led the squad with seven pass breakups.

Previte guided Massachusetts at defensive tackle as a starter for the entirety of his senior season, producing 35 tackles and 7.0 TFLs for 19 yards. In October 2018, he was nominated as a candidate for the Burlsworth Trophy. Nominees for the award represent the most outstanding football players from around FBS who began their respective careers as walk-on student-athletes and have shown outstanding performance on the field. The Brockton, Massachusetts, native spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as a walk-on before he earned a scholarship as a redshirt sophomore in 2016.

Thomas-Ishman saw time on the offensive line in all 12 games, starting at left tackle in all but one contest. He blocked for quarterbacks Ross Comis, Michael Curtis and Andrew Ford as UMass posted the 15th-best passing offense in the nation (298.1 per game) and totaled 16th in passer efficiency (153.91).

Young capped his fourth season as a contributor for the Minutemen, and third as the team's starting running back, with 791 rushing yards on 154 carries, an average of 5.1 yards gained per attempt, and nine touchdowns. The Fairport, New York, native also posted 659 kick return yards on 30 attempts (22.0 yards per return) and hauled in 22 receptions covering 173 yards.

He capped his 47-game career with 3,631 rushing yards on 685 carries, including 29 for touchdowns. He posted 5,202 all-purpose yards with the addition of 900 gained via kick returns and 671 receiving yards. Young ranks fourth in team history for all-purpose yards, fifth in rushing yards and tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns.

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Scoreboard

Six Minutemen Collect Phil Steele Independent All-Conference Accolades

Players Mentioned

Bryton Barr

Ross Comis

Michael Curtis

Andrew Ford

Andy Isabella

Lee Moses

Joe Previte

Ray Thomas-Ishman

Marquis Young

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics