Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Reveals 2010s All-Decade Football Team
8/22/2019 12:19:00 PM | Football
EMU continues its celebration of Rynearson Stadium's 50th season
Full Roster and Bios: 2010s
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - In celebration of the 150th-year of college football and the 50th season Eastern Michigan University's football team has called Rynearson Stadium home, the EMU department of athletics is unveiling the best to don the Green and White decade-by-decade over a five-week span. Below is the 25-man team comprised of the best players from the 2010s.
The 2010s All-Decade team includes Brogan Roback, Darius Jackson, Sergio Bailey, Dustin Creel, Blake Banham, Tyreese Russel, Andrew Wylie, Campbell Allison, Corey Watman, Cole Gardner, Andrew Sorgatz, Pat O'Connor, Maxx Crosby, Jeremiah Harris, Brad Ohrman, Andy Mulumba, Great Ibe, Kyle Rachwal, DaQuan Pace, Ross Williams, Pudge Cotton, Justin Moody, Jay Karutz, Dylan Mulder, and Tyler Allen.
The only era in the all-decade celebration that is yet to conclude, the 2010s have brought forth the resurgence of EMU football, and will go down as one of the best decades in program history. The 2016 campaign saw one of the best turnarounds in all of college football as the Eagles, 1-11 the season prior, racked-up seven wins and earned their first appearance in a postseason bowl game since the 1987 California Bowl, playing in the Bahamas Bowl. The Eagles again played postseason football at the 2018 Camellia Bowl, in Montgomery, Ala. While the 2010s have been home to historic full-team performances, many individuals have also left their mark on the program.
Leading the way on the offensive side of the ball is Brogran Roback, starting quarterback turned reality television star as part of HBO's Hard Knocks. Roback, one of the best to ever don the Green and White, owns program records for career touchdown passes (57) and total offense (8,876 yards). His 745 pass completions and 8,653 yards passing both rank second all-time at EMU. 2017 was a season to remember for Roback, where he finished with 2,843 total yards and 19 touchdown passes, numbers that both rank fifth in single-season history. A Third Team All-MAC selection in 2017, Roback's 1,459 snaps-played are good for second all-time in the EMU record books, while his 509 yards of total offense against Ball State University in a game played Nov. 8, 2016, ranks third-best at EMU. The Maumee, Ohio native led the offense that helped bring the Eagles to their first bowl game since 1987, when they made an appearance in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl.
On the defensive side of the ball, it is "Mad Maxx," Crosby (nicknamed by Super Bowl winning Head Coach Jon Gruden) who sets the tone for the 2010s era. Crosby's 20.0 career sacks are tied with fellow all-decade honoree Pat O'Connor for second-most all time at EMU. The Colleyville, Texas native had 41.0 career tackles-for-loss, the second-most in EMU history. In 2017, Crosby posted 11 sacks on the year to tie the EMU single-season record set by Avery Brown in 1996. For the season, Crosby ranked fourth in the conference and sixth in the country in sacks, while coming in 15th nationally in tackles-for-loss. Overall, he finished with 57 tackles (31 solo, 26 assist) to go along with 16.5 tackles for a loss of 105 yards. Additionally, Crosby became the first EMU player in the modern statistical era (since 1998) to rack up three sacks in back-to-back games. The standout was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
A show-stopping returner, and one of the very best in EMU history, its Tyler Allen who gets the nod as the 2010s all-decade return man. Allen averaged 94.2 all-purpose yards-per-game in 2012, and on Oct.13, of the same year, against Toledo, tallied a season-high 166 yards on seven kick returns. Allen entered the 2013 season as the team's primary returner, playing in all 12 games. That year, he set a school record with 51 kickoff returns in a single season, and his 1,014 total return yards rank second in a single season by an Eagle. On Oct. 18, 2013, Allen earned MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week honors after returning the opening kickoff 90-yards for a touchdown, tying the longest kickoff return by an Eagle in Rynearson Stadium history. Allen holds the all-time EMU record with 2,664-career return yards and also holds the EMU single-season return yardage record, with 1,036 in 2012.
The team selections were made through a list of criteria including: all-americans, all-conference student-athletes, Hall of Fame recipients, and statistical leaders from the decade. Personal and legal considerations were also taken into account when selecting honorees. No current student-athletes were considered .
Full bios for each of the 25 players named to the 2010s All-Decade Team can be found via the link at the top of the story. For a look at all five installments of the EMU Football All-Decade Team project, visit EMUEagles.com or follow @EMUAthletics on Twitter for the latest news about Eastern Michigan Athletics.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - In celebration of the 150th-year of college football and the 50th season Eastern Michigan University's football team has called Rynearson Stadium home, the EMU department of athletics is unveiling the best to don the Green and White decade-by-decade over a five-week span. Below is the 25-man team comprised of the best players from the 2010s.
The 2010s All-Decade team includes Brogan Roback, Darius Jackson, Sergio Bailey, Dustin Creel, Blake Banham, Tyreese Russel, Andrew Wylie, Campbell Allison, Corey Watman, Cole Gardner, Andrew Sorgatz, Pat O'Connor, Maxx Crosby, Jeremiah Harris, Brad Ohrman, Andy Mulumba, Great Ibe, Kyle Rachwal, DaQuan Pace, Ross Williams, Pudge Cotton, Justin Moody, Jay Karutz, Dylan Mulder, and Tyler Allen.
The only era in the all-decade celebration that is yet to conclude, the 2010s have brought forth the resurgence of EMU football, and will go down as one of the best decades in program history. The 2016 campaign saw one of the best turnarounds in all of college football as the Eagles, 1-11 the season prior, racked-up seven wins and earned their first appearance in a postseason bowl game since the 1987 California Bowl, playing in the Bahamas Bowl. The Eagles again played postseason football at the 2018 Camellia Bowl, in Montgomery, Ala. While the 2010s have been home to historic full-team performances, many individuals have also left their mark on the program.
Leading the way on the offensive side of the ball is Brogran Roback, starting quarterback turned reality television star as part of HBO's Hard Knocks. Roback, one of the best to ever don the Green and White, owns program records for career touchdown passes (57) and total offense (8,876 yards). His 745 pass completions and 8,653 yards passing both rank second all-time at EMU. 2017 was a season to remember for Roback, where he finished with 2,843 total yards and 19 touchdown passes, numbers that both rank fifth in single-season history. A Third Team All-MAC selection in 2017, Roback's 1,459 snaps-played are good for second all-time in the EMU record books, while his 509 yards of total offense against Ball State University in a game played Nov. 8, 2016, ranks third-best at EMU. The Maumee, Ohio native led the offense that helped bring the Eagles to their first bowl game since 1987, when they made an appearance in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl.
On the defensive side of the ball, it is "Mad Maxx," Crosby (nicknamed by Super Bowl winning Head Coach Jon Gruden) who sets the tone for the 2010s era. Crosby's 20.0 career sacks are tied with fellow all-decade honoree Pat O'Connor for second-most all time at EMU. The Colleyville, Texas native had 41.0 career tackles-for-loss, the second-most in EMU history. In 2017, Crosby posted 11 sacks on the year to tie the EMU single-season record set by Avery Brown in 1996. For the season, Crosby ranked fourth in the conference and sixth in the country in sacks, while coming in 15th nationally in tackles-for-loss. Overall, he finished with 57 tackles (31 solo, 26 assist) to go along with 16.5 tackles for a loss of 105 yards. Additionally, Crosby became the first EMU player in the modern statistical era (since 1998) to rack up three sacks in back-to-back games. The standout was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
A show-stopping returner, and one of the very best in EMU history, its Tyler Allen who gets the nod as the 2010s all-decade return man. Allen averaged 94.2 all-purpose yards-per-game in 2012, and on Oct.13, of the same year, against Toledo, tallied a season-high 166 yards on seven kick returns. Allen entered the 2013 season as the team's primary returner, playing in all 12 games. That year, he set a school record with 51 kickoff returns in a single season, and his 1,014 total return yards rank second in a single season by an Eagle. On Oct. 18, 2013, Allen earned MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week honors after returning the opening kickoff 90-yards for a touchdown, tying the longest kickoff return by an Eagle in Rynearson Stadium history. Allen holds the all-time EMU record with 2,664-career return yards and also holds the EMU single-season return yardage record, with 1,036 in 2012.
The team selections were made through a list of criteria including: all-americans, all-conference student-athletes, Hall of Fame recipients, and statistical leaders from the decade. Personal and legal considerations were also taken into account when selecting honorees. No current student-athletes were considered .
Full bios for each of the 25 players named to the 2010s All-Decade Team can be found via the link at the top of the story. For a look at all five installments of the EMU Football All-Decade Team project, visit EMUEagles.com or follow @EMUAthletics on Twitter for the latest news about Eastern Michigan Athletics.
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