Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Lands 10 on Phil Steele’s MAC All-Conference List
12/18/2023 3:08:00 PM | Football
Steve Bird leads the way with first-team accolades at long snapper
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Ten members of the Eastern Michigan University football team were named to the 2023 Phil Steele Mid-American Conference All-Conference Team, the publication announced today, Dec. 18. The Eagles, who have placed double-digit honorees on the list in back-to-back seasons and four times in the last five campaigns, earned placements in special teams/returns (five), defense (three), and offense (two).
Leading the way for Eastern was senior long snapper Steve Bird (Phoenix, Ariz./Sandra Day O'Connor), who earned first-team honors, while the second team featured senior offensive lineman Brian Dooley (Bowling Green, Ohio/Toledo St. John's Jesuit), junior punter Mitchell Tomasek (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), and senior punt returner Hamze El-Zayat (Dearborn, Mich./Fordson/Fordham). Third-team honors were collected by senior wide receiver Tanner Knue (Mason, Ohio/Mason), senior linebackers Joe Sparacio (Naples, Fla./First Baptist Academy/Boston College) and Chase Kline (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon/Michigan State), and senior running back/returner Jaylon Jackson (Burleson, Texas/Centennial/Lamar). The accolades were rounded out by fourth-team honors for junior defensive lineman Peyton Price (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) and junior kicker Jesús Gómez (Puebla, Mexico/Prepa Tec Puebla).
Bird, who garnered his first postseason honor, has now helped Eastern kickers and punters collect seven MAC honors, including Tomasek, who was previously named the All-MAC First Team following the 2023 regular season. Additionally, the list of kickers and punters features all-MAC award winners Gómez (2022); Chad Ryland (2020 and 2021); and Jake Julien (2020 and 2021). Bird has been a part of 403 special teams snaps since 2020 according to Pro Football Focus, recording the highest rating of his career in 2023 at 77.2.
A special teams weapon, Tomasek ranked second in the MAC and 20th in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with an average of 45.3 yards per boot. The tally sits second-best in EMU annals, just behind Julien's 2021 standard of 45.9. Additionally, the Columbus, Ohio, native is third in the FBS with 24 punts inside the 20 while his 2,764 yards of accumulated punts yardage, stands fifth nationally and eighth in EMU single-season history.
All told, Tomasek, who earned third-team honors from Phil Steele in 2022, collected MAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors three times in 2023. Tomasek closed the regular season as the only punter in the FBS to record multiple punts of 70-yards or more, including his 72-yarder at Jacksonville State, Sept. 23, and a 70-yarder against Ball State, Oct. 7. Tomasek has amassed 4,923 total yards on 110 career punts for an average of 44.8 per boot. Tomasek became the 15th EMU player to record 4,000+ punting yards in a career when he totaled 186 punting yards against NIU, Oct. 21. Overall, his career average ranks first, just ahead of Julien, who averaged 44.0 per punt (2017-21).
A cornerstone of Eastern Michigan football since the 2018 season, Dooley again led the Eagles offensive line in the 2023 campaign. Dooley, who recently was named second-team All-MAC, which goes down as the third of the graduate student's career as he earned third-team honors in 2021 before garnering a second-team accolade in 2022, is now a three-time honoree from Steele after being named to the third team in both 2021 and 2022.
The 'Iron Man' of EMU football, Dooley holds the school record in both games played and started, with 59 starts and 61 games played, figures that also rank in the top-three on the national scale among active players. On the field for 3,991 career snaps, the Bowling Green, Ohio, product has allowed quarterback pressures on just four percent of his all-time offensive snaps.
As one of the MAC's most prolific tackles, Dooley has earned nominations to many prestigious college football awards including the Wuerffel Trophy, an award presented to college football's top community servant, and the Witten Award, an honor bestowed upon an individual who has demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity, and sportsmanship both on and off the field. Recently, Dooley was honored with the 2023 Disney Spirit Award, which has been presented since 1996 and is awarded to the most inspirational figures in college football. The award was created to honor people like Dooley who demonstrate an indomitable spirit and a willingness to help others.
Having not played in a collegiate game since the 2021 season, El-Zayat made a big splash as he ran a kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown against Howard, Sept. 1, his first action since playing for Fordham. The MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 4), El-Zayat led the Eagles with 12.0 yards per punt return, which ranked second in the league. Overall, El-Zayat was a big part of a specialists group that ranked first in the MAC in kick returns and second in punt returns while ranking 36th and 19th, respectively, in the FBS.
El-Zayat also was a solid presence in the receiving game as he set a season-high with six receptions and 74 receiving yards at Northern Illinois, Oct. 21. El-Zayat totaled five receptions for 81 yards in Eastern's first three games of the season. In EMU's contests, Oct. 7-21, the Fordham transfer rose to the occasion, hauling in 11 catches for 166 yards, both marking the most of any EMU pass catcher in that span.
In his sixth season with the Eagles, Knue took the reins as the team's number one receiving threat. The wideout's second-team selection from the MAC marked the second all-conference honor in his career, as he was selected to the third team last season, while this year's honor is his second from Steele after being named to the fourth-team last year. Knue paced the Eagles in every receiving stat throughout the 2023 season, totaling 50 receptions for 479 yards and three touchdowns. The receiver's 50 receptions go down as the most in his collegiate football career, and rank as the fifth most regular season catches in the MAC. Meanwhile, his 479 receiving yards are the second most in his career, ranking 13th in the conference. Moreover, Knue's consistency shined throughout the season as he currently has a streak of at least one reception in 35 consecutive games, the 17th-best figure in the nation.
A former walk-on, Knue was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, an award annually presented to the most outstanding college football player who began his career as a walk-on. As it currently stands, Knue has compiled 154 receptions and 1,866 yards, and 17 touchdowns in his EMU career, ranking sixth, eighth, and third all-time, respectively in the EMU football record book.
A tackling machine, Sparacio earned All-MAC honors for the first time in 2023 and added his second award from Steele after being named fourth-team in 2022. The Naples, Fla., native ranks second in the MAC and seventh in the FBS with an average of 11.2 tackles per game. Sparacio finished the regular season with 131 tackles (57 solo, 74 assist) to go along with a team-best 6.5 tackles for a loss of 35 yards. The total ranks 16th-most in EMU single-season history. He also notched 2.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, and three forced fumbles.
The 22 tackles recorded by Sparacio against Western Michigan, Oct. 28, rank as the second-most in an FBS game this season. That contest also saw him record 17 assisted tackles, the sixth most in a game this year. Overall, he posted seven games with double digit tackles. Twice this season he collected MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Earning all-conference honors for the first time, both from the MAC and Steele, Kline led the Eagles with 143 tackles and 10 quarterback hurries. The Chardon, Ohio, native led the MAC while ranking second in the FBS with an average of 12.7 stops per contest. Kline's tackles in 2023 are tied for 10th-best in a single season at EMU, while he needs just 11 more assisted stops to tie Alvin Sanders' 1974 record of 103. He posted nine contests with double-figure tackles, including a pair of 20+ games. Against Akron, Kline finished with 23 stops, the most by any FBS student-athlete and best outing by a MAC player since 2018. He also outpaced his 21-tackle performance two weeks earlier against Western Michigan, Oct. 28, when he posted 21.
For the first time since the 2019 campaign, EMU boasts a pair of tacklers that have exceeded the century mark. In the modern statistical era (since 1999), the feat has been accomplished just 12 times. Collectively, the duo has accounted for 28.7 percent of the team's tackles in 2023 (274-of-955). Furthermore, the duo of Kline and Sparacio makes EMU the only school with two players in the top five and one of two in the top 15 with Old Dominion.
Jackson grabbed All-MAC accolades for the second time after a first-team nod a season ago in the MAC while earning his second honor from Steele after being named a first-team kick returner in 2022. The Burleson, Texas, product was one of just five MAC players to record a kick return for a touchdown this season and one of just 36 nationwide to do so. Jackson ranked 39th nationally with an average of 21.4 yards per kick return.
Jackson has proved himself versatile on the gridiron week-in and week-out for the Eagles as he has reached 100+ all-purpose yards in 12-of-24 (50%) games played donning the Block E, including the 122 yards he most recently accumulated at Buffalo, Nov. 21. Against the Bulls, he rushed for 72 yards, added 32 yards on kick returns, and picked up 18 yards receiving. Prior to arriving in Ypsilanti, Jackson notched just one contest where he reached 100+ all-purpose yards in his time with Lamar. This occurrence coincidentally came against Jacksonville State, who Eastern played this year on the road, where Jackson totaled 127 yards in the tilt against the Gamecocks, Nov. 13, 2021.
Price, who earned his first all-conference honor from Steele, was among the top defensive linemen for the Eagles all season as he tied for the lead amongst linemen with 44 tackles. Additionally, he tallied 4.5 tackles-for-loss with 4.0 sacks, totaling 28 yards in losses for the opposing offense. Trailing the team lead by 0.5 sacks, Price was third on the team with seven quarterback hurries and one of 10 Eagles to recover at least one fumble on the year.
Gómez, the team's second-leading scorer with 53 points tallied in 2023, connected on 11 field goals and was 20-of-23 in extra point attempts. Of those 11 field goals, he twice let loose for kicks over 50 yards, including a 53-yard make at home against Ball State, Oct. 7, and 55-yarder one week earlier, Sept. 30, at Central Michigan. Gómez has connected on two, 50-yarders in back-to-back years and is tied with Chad Ryland (2018-21) for the most 50+ yard field goals in program history as the current New England Patriot hit four during his time in Ypsilanti.
EMU finished with a 6-6 overall record, including a 4-4 record in MAC play during the 2023 regular season. With victory at Buffalo, Nov. 21, Eastern Michigan has posted three consecutive seasons with a .500-or-better MAC record for the first time since 1986-89.
Eastern is set to play in the 68 Ventures Bowl, Dec. 23, when it takes on the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., in the program's seventh all-time bowl appearance and third in a row. EMU is tied with Toledo and Ohio for the most bowl appearances at six in the MAC since 2016 and will look to make history as a win over the Jaguars would give the Eagles back-to-back bowl victories for the first time in program history.
2023 Phil Steele MAC All-Conference Selections
First Team
Steve Bird - LS
Second Team
Brian Dooley - OL
Mitchell Tomasek - P
Hamze El-Zayat - PR
Third Team
Tanner Knue - WR
Chase Kline - LB
Joe Sparacio - LB
Jaylon Jackson - KR
Fourth Team
Peyton Price - DT
Jesús Gómez - K
Leading the way for Eastern was senior long snapper Steve Bird (Phoenix, Ariz./Sandra Day O'Connor), who earned first-team honors, while the second team featured senior offensive lineman Brian Dooley (Bowling Green, Ohio/Toledo St. John's Jesuit), junior punter Mitchell Tomasek (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), and senior punt returner Hamze El-Zayat (Dearborn, Mich./Fordson/Fordham). Third-team honors were collected by senior wide receiver Tanner Knue (Mason, Ohio/Mason), senior linebackers Joe Sparacio (Naples, Fla./First Baptist Academy/Boston College) and Chase Kline (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon/Michigan State), and senior running back/returner Jaylon Jackson (Burleson, Texas/Centennial/Lamar). The accolades were rounded out by fourth-team honors for junior defensive lineman Peyton Price (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson) and junior kicker Jesús Gómez (Puebla, Mexico/Prepa Tec Puebla).
Bird, who garnered his first postseason honor, has now helped Eastern kickers and punters collect seven MAC honors, including Tomasek, who was previously named the All-MAC First Team following the 2023 regular season. Additionally, the list of kickers and punters features all-MAC award winners Gómez (2022); Chad Ryland (2020 and 2021); and Jake Julien (2020 and 2021). Bird has been a part of 403 special teams snaps since 2020 according to Pro Football Focus, recording the highest rating of his career in 2023 at 77.2.
A special teams weapon, Tomasek ranked second in the MAC and 20th in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with an average of 45.3 yards per boot. The tally sits second-best in EMU annals, just behind Julien's 2021 standard of 45.9. Additionally, the Columbus, Ohio, native is third in the FBS with 24 punts inside the 20 while his 2,764 yards of accumulated punts yardage, stands fifth nationally and eighth in EMU single-season history.
All told, Tomasek, who earned third-team honors from Phil Steele in 2022, collected MAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors three times in 2023. Tomasek closed the regular season as the only punter in the FBS to record multiple punts of 70-yards or more, including his 72-yarder at Jacksonville State, Sept. 23, and a 70-yarder against Ball State, Oct. 7. Tomasek has amassed 4,923 total yards on 110 career punts for an average of 44.8 per boot. Tomasek became the 15th EMU player to record 4,000+ punting yards in a career when he totaled 186 punting yards against NIU, Oct. 21. Overall, his career average ranks first, just ahead of Julien, who averaged 44.0 per punt (2017-21).
A cornerstone of Eastern Michigan football since the 2018 season, Dooley again led the Eagles offensive line in the 2023 campaign. Dooley, who recently was named second-team All-MAC, which goes down as the third of the graduate student's career as he earned third-team honors in 2021 before garnering a second-team accolade in 2022, is now a three-time honoree from Steele after being named to the third team in both 2021 and 2022.
The 'Iron Man' of EMU football, Dooley holds the school record in both games played and started, with 59 starts and 61 games played, figures that also rank in the top-three on the national scale among active players. On the field for 3,991 career snaps, the Bowling Green, Ohio, product has allowed quarterback pressures on just four percent of his all-time offensive snaps.
As one of the MAC's most prolific tackles, Dooley has earned nominations to many prestigious college football awards including the Wuerffel Trophy, an award presented to college football's top community servant, and the Witten Award, an honor bestowed upon an individual who has demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity, and sportsmanship both on and off the field. Recently, Dooley was honored with the 2023 Disney Spirit Award, which has been presented since 1996 and is awarded to the most inspirational figures in college football. The award was created to honor people like Dooley who demonstrate an indomitable spirit and a willingness to help others.
Having not played in a collegiate game since the 2021 season, El-Zayat made a big splash as he ran a kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown against Howard, Sept. 1, his first action since playing for Fordham. The MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 4), El-Zayat led the Eagles with 12.0 yards per punt return, which ranked second in the league. Overall, El-Zayat was a big part of a specialists group that ranked first in the MAC in kick returns and second in punt returns while ranking 36th and 19th, respectively, in the FBS.
El-Zayat also was a solid presence in the receiving game as he set a season-high with six receptions and 74 receiving yards at Northern Illinois, Oct. 21. El-Zayat totaled five receptions for 81 yards in Eastern's first three games of the season. In EMU's contests, Oct. 7-21, the Fordham transfer rose to the occasion, hauling in 11 catches for 166 yards, both marking the most of any EMU pass catcher in that span.
In his sixth season with the Eagles, Knue took the reins as the team's number one receiving threat. The wideout's second-team selection from the MAC marked the second all-conference honor in his career, as he was selected to the third team last season, while this year's honor is his second from Steele after being named to the fourth-team last year. Knue paced the Eagles in every receiving stat throughout the 2023 season, totaling 50 receptions for 479 yards and three touchdowns. The receiver's 50 receptions go down as the most in his collegiate football career, and rank as the fifth most regular season catches in the MAC. Meanwhile, his 479 receiving yards are the second most in his career, ranking 13th in the conference. Moreover, Knue's consistency shined throughout the season as he currently has a streak of at least one reception in 35 consecutive games, the 17th-best figure in the nation.
A former walk-on, Knue was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, an award annually presented to the most outstanding college football player who began his career as a walk-on. As it currently stands, Knue has compiled 154 receptions and 1,866 yards, and 17 touchdowns in his EMU career, ranking sixth, eighth, and third all-time, respectively in the EMU football record book.
A tackling machine, Sparacio earned All-MAC honors for the first time in 2023 and added his second award from Steele after being named fourth-team in 2022. The Naples, Fla., native ranks second in the MAC and seventh in the FBS with an average of 11.2 tackles per game. Sparacio finished the regular season with 131 tackles (57 solo, 74 assist) to go along with a team-best 6.5 tackles for a loss of 35 yards. The total ranks 16th-most in EMU single-season history. He also notched 2.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, and three forced fumbles.
The 22 tackles recorded by Sparacio against Western Michigan, Oct. 28, rank as the second-most in an FBS game this season. That contest also saw him record 17 assisted tackles, the sixth most in a game this year. Overall, he posted seven games with double digit tackles. Twice this season he collected MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Earning all-conference honors for the first time, both from the MAC and Steele, Kline led the Eagles with 143 tackles and 10 quarterback hurries. The Chardon, Ohio, native led the MAC while ranking second in the FBS with an average of 12.7 stops per contest. Kline's tackles in 2023 are tied for 10th-best in a single season at EMU, while he needs just 11 more assisted stops to tie Alvin Sanders' 1974 record of 103. He posted nine contests with double-figure tackles, including a pair of 20+ games. Against Akron, Kline finished with 23 stops, the most by any FBS student-athlete and best outing by a MAC player since 2018. He also outpaced his 21-tackle performance two weeks earlier against Western Michigan, Oct. 28, when he posted 21.
For the first time since the 2019 campaign, EMU boasts a pair of tacklers that have exceeded the century mark. In the modern statistical era (since 1999), the feat has been accomplished just 12 times. Collectively, the duo has accounted for 28.7 percent of the team's tackles in 2023 (274-of-955). Furthermore, the duo of Kline and Sparacio makes EMU the only school with two players in the top five and one of two in the top 15 with Old Dominion.
Jackson grabbed All-MAC accolades for the second time after a first-team nod a season ago in the MAC while earning his second honor from Steele after being named a first-team kick returner in 2022. The Burleson, Texas, product was one of just five MAC players to record a kick return for a touchdown this season and one of just 36 nationwide to do so. Jackson ranked 39th nationally with an average of 21.4 yards per kick return.
Jackson has proved himself versatile on the gridiron week-in and week-out for the Eagles as he has reached 100+ all-purpose yards in 12-of-24 (50%) games played donning the Block E, including the 122 yards he most recently accumulated at Buffalo, Nov. 21. Against the Bulls, he rushed for 72 yards, added 32 yards on kick returns, and picked up 18 yards receiving. Prior to arriving in Ypsilanti, Jackson notched just one contest where he reached 100+ all-purpose yards in his time with Lamar. This occurrence coincidentally came against Jacksonville State, who Eastern played this year on the road, where Jackson totaled 127 yards in the tilt against the Gamecocks, Nov. 13, 2021.
Price, who earned his first all-conference honor from Steele, was among the top defensive linemen for the Eagles all season as he tied for the lead amongst linemen with 44 tackles. Additionally, he tallied 4.5 tackles-for-loss with 4.0 sacks, totaling 28 yards in losses for the opposing offense. Trailing the team lead by 0.5 sacks, Price was third on the team with seven quarterback hurries and one of 10 Eagles to recover at least one fumble on the year.
Gómez, the team's second-leading scorer with 53 points tallied in 2023, connected on 11 field goals and was 20-of-23 in extra point attempts. Of those 11 field goals, he twice let loose for kicks over 50 yards, including a 53-yard make at home against Ball State, Oct. 7, and 55-yarder one week earlier, Sept. 30, at Central Michigan. Gómez has connected on two, 50-yarders in back-to-back years and is tied with Chad Ryland (2018-21) for the most 50+ yard field goals in program history as the current New England Patriot hit four during his time in Ypsilanti.
EMU finished with a 6-6 overall record, including a 4-4 record in MAC play during the 2023 regular season. With victory at Buffalo, Nov. 21, Eastern Michigan has posted three consecutive seasons with a .500-or-better MAC record for the first time since 1986-89.
Eastern is set to play in the 68 Ventures Bowl, Dec. 23, when it takes on the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., in the program's seventh all-time bowl appearance and third in a row. EMU is tied with Toledo and Ohio for the most bowl appearances at six in the MAC since 2016 and will look to make history as a win over the Jaguars would give the Eagles back-to-back bowl victories for the first time in program history.
2023 Phil Steele MAC All-Conference Selections
First Team
Steve Bird - LS
Second Team
Brian Dooley - OL
Mitchell Tomasek - P
Hamze El-Zayat - PR
Third Team
Tanner Knue - WR
Chase Kline - LB
Joe Sparacio - LB
Jaylon Jackson - KR
Fourth Team
Peyton Price - DT
Jesús Gómez - K
Players Mentioned
LS
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
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WR
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DL
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LB
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P
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