Four Named D3football.com All-Americans
Four Empire 8 football players were named
2015 D3football.com All-Americans in a release by the D3football.com staff.
Utica senior Thomas Woodburn, a kicker, was named a second team specialist, while junior Nick Woodman earned third team status as a defensive end. The College at Brockport senior Tarik Bennett was named to the 2015 D3football.com All-America Third Team as a defensive tackle. Junior Dan Andrews was placed on the D3football.com Honorable Mention list for his performance in 2015.
This is the 17th annual D3football.com All-America team, one of two recognized by the NCAA for inclusion in their record book (along with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America team).
The award marks the third organization to name
Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) an All-American after his incredible senior campaign for the Pioneers. He was also named an Associated Press Little All-American and an AFCA All-American. Woodburn, who also earned the Empire 8 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year Award, led the team in scoring with 90 points from 22 of 26 field goals and 24 of 26 PAT's. He led Division III with 2.2 field goals per game this past season. His 22 field goals this year rank second in Division III history and his 41 career field goals rank 18th all-time in Division III. His 90 points tied for the program's season-high. Woodburn, a two-time all-conference pick, will graduate as the school's all-time leading scorer with 232 career points. This past season he was also named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week after his five field goal performance, including the game-tying and game-winning field goals against Brockport on Oct. 10
th.
Woodman, who is also a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award presented to the top defensive player in small college football, recently made his third straight Empire 8 All-Conference appearance and his second straight all-conference first team selection. He also made his first appearance on the D3football.com All-Region first team after being selected to the second team in 2014. He will graduate ranked first all-time at UC in career sacks (29.5), second in career forced fumbles (six), fifth all-time in career tackles for a loss (114), and he is tied for first in single season tackles for a loss (20.0). He also broke his own school-record with 13.0 sacks this past season. He ranked first in the conference and fifth in DIII in sacks per game (1.30) and first in the conference and eighth in DIII in tackles for a loss per game (2.0). He finished the season with 66 total tackles, two forced fumbles, two blocked kicks, and one touchdown.
Bennett was selected as the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year for his outstanding play in 2015. Bennett was 13th in the nation in tackles for loss with a 1.9 average, and was ranked 33 in sacks. Bennett accounted for 66 tackles on the year, including 18.5 tackles for a loss of 80 yards. He also picked up eight sacks over the course of the season, for a loss of 56 yards and forced a fumble and had a broken up pass. The Mt. Vernon, N.Y. native also set a new Brockport record in career sacks, with 25.5.
Andrews had a standout year in route to a Empire8 Offensive Player of the Year selection, including breaking several school records in the process, and finishing the season as the national scoring leader with a 15.6 points per game average. The junior rushed for 1390 yard in 2015, and picked up an impressive 24 rushing TDs (second in Division III) and two receiving. The Rochester, N.Y native also shattered several records along the way, including career rushing touchdowns with 44, season touchdowns at 26, and moved to second on the career rushing list with 3,732 total yards.