Phil Steele Names Four Eagles to Postseason All-MAC Team

CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — Phil Steele and Phil Steele's College Football Preview named four Eastern Michigan University football players to its postseason All-Mid-American Conference teams, Dec. 19. Junior defensive lineman Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Rita) earned first team honors, redshirt-junior linebacker Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade-Concordia) claimed a spot on the second team, while senior tight end Tyreese Russell (Chicago, Ill.-Walther Lutheran) and Anthony Zappone (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake) were named Third Team All-MAC.

O'Connor, Ibe and Russell earned all-conference postseason recognition for the second time this year after being named All-MAC by the league at the end of the regular season, while Zappone found himself as an All-MAC selection for the first time in 2014.

As a defensive team captain, O'Connor gobbled up the opposition behind the line of scrimmage this season. The team co-captain led the Mid-American Conference in sacks as well as ranking fourth in tackles-for-loss, pushing opponents back a combined 73 yards on 14 tackles-for-loss.

O'Connor was among the top-50 sack leaders throughout the country, sitting at No. 44 with 7.5 sacks. The Windy City native also becomes just the second EMU player to lead the conference in sacks, joining Troy Campbell who turned in eight quarterback takedowns during the 1998 campaign.

Right in the middle of the Eastern defense, Ibe showed his versatility between rushing the quarterback and dropping back into coverage. Finding the ball carrier from all over the field, Ibe's 133 stops paced EMU by a substantial margin as the next closest Eagle recorded 97 tackles this season. The linebacker's total is the third-most by an individual MAC defender as well as ranking ninth in the nation. Overall, Ibe's total ranks 13th in the EMU record book for a single-season while his 69 solo tackles are the eighth-most.

In total, the Hanover, Md. native finished nine contests with double-digit tackles. Against UMass, Oct. 18, Ibe recorded a career-high 21 tackles, the most by any Eagle since 2001. The mark was also the highest by an individual defender in the MAC since the 2011 season.

Throughout his senior season, Russell proved why he was named to the John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List, especially over the last half of the year. The Chicago, Ill. native led the team in receiving with 39 catches for 523 yards, more than double the amount of yardage of his nearest teammate. The next closest Eagle in the receiving category was Dustin Creel, who had 227 yards on 23 receptions. Russell was the Green and White's leading receiver in four of the last six games of his career. He hauled in 24 catches for 372 yards during the six-game stretch, including a career-best 113-yard game against Ball State, Nov. 22, where he made a spectacular one-handed catch to land a spot on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays.

The Chicago, Ill. native finished his career with 101 catches for 1,417 yards and 11 touchdowns. Russell's 11 touchdown receptions is tied for sixth-most in EMU history while his receiving yardage total ranks 10th.

Zappone was a catalyst for the Eastern defense throughout the year alongside Ibe in the linebacker corps. He registered 90 tackles and nine tackles for loss in 2014 for the third-most on the team in both categories. The EMU linebacker also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, broke up three passes and tallied four hurries on the quarterback.

The Westlake, Ohio native earned MAC West Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 11 after he recorded a career-best 13 tackles in the 37-27 Homecoming victory over the Buffalo Bulls. Zappone also added a career high three tackles for loss in the win at The Factory.

The Eagles finished the regular season ranked nationally in the top-60 in nine statistical categories to go along with six top-five rankings in the MAC standings. Nationally, EMU finished the year tied with Georgia Tech, Northwestern and Oklahoma State for most blocked kicks with six. The six rejections were the most since the 2009 season when the Green and White also blocked six kicks.

The defense improved from a season prior, as the squad recorded more tackles-for-loss (63), pass breakups (36), fumbles forced (9), fumbles recovered (6), and kicks blocked (6) than it did in all of 2013. Meanwhile, EMU's offense racked up 1,654 yards on the ground and 1,821 yards though the air.

Individually, senior Tyler Allen (Lansing, Mich.-Eastern) saw his name etched into both EMU and MAC record books, becoming the leader in career kick returns with 131, surpassing former Eagle Trumaine Riley for the top spot on both charts. Allen ends his career as not only the career kick return leader, but also the EMU career kick return yardage leader with 2,664 yards, which also ranks second all-time in the conference.

Redshirt-freshman quarterback Reginald Bell Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.-Susan Miller Dorsey) also burst on the national scene, as he was one of just eight quarterbacks nationally to lead his team in both passing and rushing yardage. Bell finished the year with the 19th-most total yards of offense in EMU single-season history, while posting the second-most yardage by one individual in program history when he piled up 510 yards of total offense at Ball State, Nov. 22.

2014 All-MAC First Team Offense
Quarterback – Blake Frohnapfel, UMass
Offensive Linemen – Greg Mancz, Toledo
Offensive Linemen – Andy Phillips, Central Michigan
Offensive Linemen – Andrew Ness, Northern Illinois
Offensive Lineman – Tyler Loos, Northern Illinois
Center – Greg Mancz, Toledo
Tight End – Jean Sifrin, UMass
Wide Receiver – Tajae Sharpe, UMass
Wide Receiver – Titus Davis, Central Michigan
Wide Receiver – Corey Davis, Western Michigan
Running Back – Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan
Running Back – Kareem Hunt, Toledo

2014 All-MAC First Team Defense
Linebacker – Gabe Martin, Bowling Green
Linebacker – Junior Sylvestre, Toledo
Linebacker – Justin Cherocci, Central Michigan
Linebacker – Jovan Santos-Knox, UMass
Down Lineman – Jason Meehan, Northern Illinois
Down Lineman – Joe Ostman, Central Michigan
Down Lineman – Pat O'Connor, Eastern Michigan
Down Lineman – Nordly Capi, Akron
Defensive Back – Quinten Rollins, Miami
Defensive Back – Nate Holley, Kent State
Defensive Back – Donald Celiscar, Western Michigan
Defensive Back – Paris Logan, Northern Illinois

2014 All-MAC First Team Specialists
Placekicker – Scott Secor, Ball State
Punter – Anthony Melchiori, Kent State
Kickoff Return Specialist – Darius Phillips, Western Michigan
Punt Return Specialist –Ryan Burbrink, Bowling Green

2014 All-MAC Second Team Offense
Quarterback – Zach Terrell, Western Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Alex Huettel, Bowling Green
Offensive Lineman – Willie Beavers, Western Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Jake Silas, Buffalo
Offensive Lineman – Jeff Myers, Toledo
Center – Nick Beamish, Central Michigan
Tight End – Casey Pierce, Kent State
Wide Receiver – Da'Ron Brown, Northern Illinois
Wide Receiver – David Frazier, Miami
Wide Receiver – Roger Lewis, Bowling Green
Running Back – Anthone Taylor, Buffalo
Running Back – Thomas Rawls, Central Michigan

2014 All-MAC Second Team Defense
Linebacker – Gabe Martin, Bowling Green
Linebacker – Adam Redden, Buffalo
Linebacker – Boomer Mays, Northern Illinois
Linebacker – Great Ibe, Eastern Michigan
Down Lineman – Bryan Thomas, Bowling Green
Down Lineman – Trent Voss, Toledo
Down Lineman – Cody Grice, Akron
Down Lineman – Perez Ford, Northern Illinois
Defensive Back – Randall Jette, UMass
Defensive Back – Adam Redden, Buffalo
Defensive Back – Jordan Haden, Toledo
Defensive Back – Dechane Durante, Northern Illinois

2014 All-MAC Second Team Specialists
Placekicker – Tyler Tate, Bowling Green
Punter – J Schroeder, Western Michigan
Kickoff Return Specialist – Eric Patterson, Ball State
Punt Return Specialist – Daz Patterson, Ohio

2014 All-MAC Third Team Offense
Quarterback – Drew Hare, Northern Illinois
Offensive Lineman – James Kristof, Western Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Lucas Powell, Ohio
Offensive Lineman – Andre Davis, Buffalo
Offensive Lineman – Zach Lewis, Miami
Center – Jake Richard, Ball State
Tight End – Tyreese Russell, Eastern Michigan
Wide Receiver – Daniel Braverman, Western Michigan
Wide Receiver – Alonzo Russell, Toledo
Wide Receiver – Ron Willoughby, Buffalo
Running Back – Cameron Stingily, Northern Illinois
Running Back – Jahwan Edwards, Ball State

2014 All-MAC Third Team Defense
Linebacker – Quentin Poling, Ohio
Linebacker – Rasheen Lemon, Northern Illinois
Linebacker – Stanley Andre, UMass
Linebacker – Anthony Zappone, Eastern Michigan
Down Lineman – Orion Jones, Toledo
Down Lineman – Tarrell Basham, Ohio
Down Lineman – Leterrius Walton, Central Michigan
Down Lineman – Bryson Albright, Miami
Defensive Back – Nick Johnson, Bowling Green
Defensive Back – Tony Annese, Central Michigan
Defensive Back – Ronald Zamort, Western Michigan
Defensive Back – Justin Currie, Western Michigan

2014 All-MAC Third Team Specialists
Placekicker – Jeremiah Detmer, Toledo
Punter – Tyler Wedel, Northern Illinois
Kickoff Return Specialist – Devin Campbell, Buffalo
Punt Return Specialist – Chad Beebe, Northern Illinois

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tyler Allen

Reginald Bell

Dustin Creel

Great Ibe

Pat O'Connor

Tyreese Russell

Anthony Zappone

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