Evans Highlights Six League Walter Camp All-America Selections
RICHMOND,
Va. - New Hampshire senior LB and three-time selection
Matt Evans highlights the 2012 Walter Camp Football Foundation FCS All-America
Team that features six overall CAA Football players, as announced by the
organization on Wednesday. CAA Football tied with the Southern Conference for
the most honorees on this year's team.
Evans is the third Wildcat and just the fourth player in history to be
named a three-time Walter Camp All-America selection. Joining Evans on the
illustrious list are Old Dominion sophomore QB Taylor Heinicke, Maine senior OL
Chris Howley, James Madison junior LB Stephon Robertson, Richmond senior DB
Cooper Taylor and JMU senior OL Earl Watford.
Five of CAA Football's six honorees were selected as All-Americans by the
Associated Press and The Sports Network earlier this month, while both Evans
and Watford were also designated as AFCA All-Americans.
Evans led CAA Football with 126 total tackles, which ranks 19th in the
country, while tacking on an FCS-best 87 solo tackles. The Hanover, Mass., product,
and team co-captain became UNH's all-time tackle leader on Nov. 3 against
William and Mary and capped his career with 460 stops and 266 solo tackles,
both figures ranking first among all active FCS players. The 2011 Buck Buchanan
Award winner and a recently crowned AFCA All-American, Evans closed out the
season with six straight double-digit tackle games and paced the Wildcats in
tackles nine times in 12 games this fall.
The recently-crowned Walter Payton Award Winner, Heinicke broke Steve
McNair's single-season FCS passing yards record with 5,076 yards on the season
and also set the nation's completions record with 398. The Atlanta native finished
the year 398-of-579 passing and set a new CAA Football record with 44 touchdown
tosses. His 390.5 passing yards per game led the nation and is the third
highest in FCS history, with his 44 touchdown passes also serving as the third
most in history. Heinicke ran for 11 scores this season as well and concluded
his sophomore campaign with an FCS-best 55 touchdowns. He was named the CAA
Offensive Player of the Year in November.
A two-time First Team All-CAA selection, Howley helped anchor a line
that gave up the third-least sacks in the league this season. The Black Bears
line also paved the way for top-10 rusher Rickey Stevens and a quarterback in
junior Marcus Wasilewski who finished the fall ranked second in CAA Football
with 214.9 passing yards per game. A native of Runnemede, N.J., Howley was
named to the New England Football Writers All-New England Team this week after
recently competing at the FCS Senior Scout Bowl All-Star game in Myrtle Beach.
Despite playing only two seasons at Richmond, Taylor will graduate
having made a tremendous impact for the Spiders in his short time on campus. A
First-Team All-CAA honoree and Buck Buchanan Award finalist, Taylor totaled 78
tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and four interceptions in 10 games
this fall. Taylor was also recently recognized by The Touchdown Club of
Richmond as the Division I Defensive Back of the Year in the state of Virginia.
Watford was the top-rated offensive lineman for the Dukes, starting
all 11 games while also serving as a team captain. The AFCA All-American
and First Team All-CAA selection allowed just one sack on the season while
leading an offense that ranked fourth in rushing offense in CAA Football at
209.0 yards per game and 4.6 yards per rush. Watford started in 37 of the 43
games he played in his career, including a stint as a starter in each of the
Dukes' last 35 contests.
Robertson was selected as CAA Football Defensive Player of the Year in
addition to earning first-team all-conference honors for the second-consecutive
year. A finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, he started in all 11 games this season
and 34 over his career, finishing 2012 with a team-high 101 tackles, including
48 solos, 8.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble
and five pass breakups. Robertson completed his junior campaign ranked third in
the league and tied for 43rd in the nation with 9.18 tackles per game while
leading JMU in tackles in seven of the 11 games played this year and recording
double-digit tackles in six games.
The 2012 Walter Camp All-America team was selected by the head coaches
and sports information directors comprising the nation's FCS schools. The complete
list of honorees can be found below, and the organization's full release is
available at WalterCamp.org.
CAA Football is on Twitter @CAAFootball and uses
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Football video productions can be found on our YouTube Channel as well.
2012 Walter
Camp FCS All-America Team
Offense (listed
by Pos. Name, School Hgt Wgt Class Hometown)
WR Erik Lora, Eastern Illinois 5-10 181 Jr. Miami, FL
WR Aaron Melette, Elon @ 6-2 220 Sr. Sanford, NC
TE A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State 6-4 245 Soph. Jacksonville, FL
OL Earl
Watford, James Madison 6-4 295 Sr. Philadelphia, PA
OL Mike Sellers, The Citadel 6-0 290 Jr. Summerville, SC
OL Billy Turner, North Dakota State 6-6 300 Jr. Shoreview, MN
OL Chris Howley, Maine 6-3 295 Sr. Runnemede, NJ
C Corey Howard, Central Arkansas 6-1 290 Sr. Wichita Falls, TX
QB Taylor
Heinicke, Old Dominion 6-1 295 Soph. Atlanta, GA
RB Miguel Maysonet, Stony Brook 5-10 205 Sr. Riverhead, NY
RB Zach Zenner, South Dakota State 6-0 215 Soph. Eagan, MN
PK Patrick Murray, Fordham 5-7 182 Sr. Mahwah, NJ
Defense (listed
by Pos. Name, School Hgt Wgt Class Hometown)
DL Caleb Schreibeis, Montana State 6-3 252 Sr. Billings, MT
DL Colton Underwood, Illinois State 6-4 255 Jr. Washington, IL
DL Brandon Thurmond, Arkansas Pine Bluff 6-2 260 Sr. Augusta, GA
DL Davis Tull, UT-Chattanooga 6-3 230 Soph. Knoxville, TN
DL Joseph LeBeau, Jackson State 6-1 245 Sr. New Orleans, LA
LB Jeremy Kimbrough, Appalachian State 5-11 240 Sr. Decatur, GA
LB Matt
Evans, New Hampshire # 6-0 228 Sr. Hanover, MA
LB Stephon
Robertson, James Madison 5-11 225 Jr. Alexandria, VA
DB Marcus Williams, North Dakota State @ 5-11 194 Jr. Minneapolis, MN
DB Darnell Taylor, Sam Houston State 6-0 195 Sr. Mesquite, TX
DB Cooper
Taylor, Richmond 6-5 235 Sr. Atlanta, GA
DB Jaquiski Tartt, Samford 6-1 220 Soph. Mobile, AL
P Andy Wilder, Northern Arizona 6-3 205 Jr. Scottsdale, AZ
KR Jerodis Williams, Furman 5-11 208 Sr. Prattville, AL
# - 2010 and 2011 Walter Camp All-America selection
@ - 2011 Walter Camp All-America selection