CAA FOOTBALL TO BE WELL-REPRESENTED IN SATURDAY?S TEXAS VS THE NATION GAME
RICHMOND, Va. (February 2, 2010) -- CAA Football will again be represented in this weekend’s College Football All-Star game Saturday, Feb. 6, when a total of six CAA Football athletes take part in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Game. Delaware’s Brandon Gilbeaux, James Madison’s Arthur Moats, Maine’s Tyler Eastman, Massachusetts’ Chris Zardas and William and Mary’s Adrian Tracy will be part of the game’s Nation roster while William and Mary’s Sean Lissemore was a late addition this week to the game’s Texas roster. The contest is slated to kickoff at 2 p.m. (ET) and will be shown live from El Paso, Texas, on CBS College Sports Television.
Gilbeaux, a First Team All-CAA Football selection, was one of the most improved players in 2009 for the Blue Hens. Playing at both tackle and end, the second-year transfer from Syracuse, led all Blue Hen down linemen and ranked fourth on the squad with 58 tackles, including 31 solo stops.
Moats, the league’s 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and only its second Buck Buchanan National Defensive Player of the Year winner, was among the league leaders in sacks, tackles for loss and defensive linemen tackles at the end of the 2009 season. The Portsmouth, Va., native made 90 tackles in 11 games this season for a mark of 8.2 per game. His 2.14 tackles for loss per game not only led the league, but also ranked as the best mark in the nation.
Eastman earned Second Team All-CAA Football honors in 2009. The Old Town, Maine, native was part of the league’s top-rated passing offense which gained an average of more than 247 yards a game through the air. Eastman and the Black Bear offensive line limited opponents to just 1.8 sacks a game which ranked as the fourth-fewest among CAA Football squads.
Zardas was a First Team All-CAA Football selection at fullback in 2009. The Wakefield, Mass., native played all 11 games blocking for Minutemen tailbacks Tony Nelson and Jonathan Hernandez. The senior showed his versatility all season by rushing 43 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns and hauling in seven catches for 46 yards.
Tracy, another of CAA Football’s most dominant defensive ends in 2009, was a Buchanan Award candidate and a First Team All-CAA Football honoree in 2009. Recognized as an All-American by five different publications in 2009, Tracy ranked seventh nationally with 1.57 tackles for loss per game and 15th at 0.79 sacks per game. With 12 sacks, he equaled the single-season school record established by Luke Cullinane in 1996. Additionally, Tracy ranked sixth in the conference in tackles among defensive linemen with 5.6 per game.
Lissemore, a First Team All-CAA Football selection as a nose tackle in 2009, was added to the Texas roster earlier this week. The Dumont, N.J., native ranked eighth in the league with 6.5 sacks in 14 game for the Tribe. The 2009 All-America honoree was also among the league’s Top-10 in tackles for loss (14) and tackles by defensive lineman (66).
A total of seven CAA Football student-athletes will have played in two College Football All-Star games at the end of the weekend. In addition to the six athletes in this weekend’s game, Massachusetts’ Vladimir Ducasse took part in the Under Armour Senior Bowl last weekend.
Fans and members of the media can now follow CAA Football on Twitter:
twitter.com/The_CAAFootball. Logon now and “follow” the league to get the latest news and notes from one of the top College Football Conferences in the country. Fans and members of the media can also now see CAA Football’s new media efforts on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/CAAFootball. Logon now and subscribe to see the latest video productions from CAA Football. Checkout The CAA Football Pressbox located as a button on CAASports.com as well as in the menus down the left-hand side of the football page, The CAA Football Pressbox is the official source for all CAA Football information.