BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Dec. 10, 2019) – Florida Atlantic University football earned five First Team All-Conference USA honors, tied for the most for any team on offense and defense, added a Second Team recognition, and had 10 players pick up 11 honorable mention nods as well. The balloting was released by C-USA on Tuesday, with voting coming from the 14 league head coaches.
Quarterback Chris Robison, tight end Harrison Bryant and offensive linemen Junior Diaz and Brandon Walton were all recognized as First Team on offense, and that quartet was joined as such on the defensive side by Meiko Dotson. Linebacker Akileis Leroy earned Second Team honors.
Here is more on the group of First and Second teamers:
Quarterback Chris Robison
Robison, the 2019 C-USA Co-Freshman of the Year, has improved to even greater heights as a sophomore, with 3,416 passing yards and 26 touchdown passes to just six interceptions (after a 12:12 ratio a year ago). That yardage number tops all C-USA signalcallers and the touchdown total is second. He is also fifth in the league in total offense, while captaining the Owls’ league-leading scoring offense – that also ranks 16th in the nation – while slotting 33rd in FBS at 443.0 yards per game as well.
Tight End Harrison Bryant
Bryant has tallied 1,004 yards receiving on 65 catches, both tops among all FBS tight ends, and has scored all seven of his touchdowns in the last six games. That touchdown number ranks fourth nationally for tight ends, and all three totals pace tight ends in C-USA. He is second among league passcatchers – regardless of position – in yards, and is listed fifth in receptions. On his third reception in the C-USA title game, he went over 1,000 yards, becoming only the third C-USA tight end to ever reach that plateau in the league’s 25 years, as well as the just third Owl in FAU’s all-time history.
Center Junior Diaz
Diaz, a sixth-year player, has started every game at center in both of his two years with the Owls. At the time of the nomination period, he was the team’s highest graded offensive lineman this season, at a tick under 89%, and at that point also, he had played 97.5 percent of possible snaps at the center position. He tied for the team lead with 37 pancake blocks and had not committed a penalty since Week 2, while opening holes for a team that surpassed 2,000 yards in a season for just the fifth time ever.
Left Tackle Brandon Walton
Walton moved this year to the all-important left tackle position, and has started every game each of the last three years, 39 consecutive starts and counting. At the time of nomination, he had played all but 23 snaps this year. He also led the team with 37 knockdowns and rated as the second-highest graded lineman on the team, at 87.8%. Through 11 games, he had only had one penalty called against him all year. In addition to the team’s rushing yardage total milestone, the average of 241.8 per game leads C-USA.
Cornerback Meiko Dotson
Dotson leads the entire nation with nine interceptions, towards an FAU single-season record of 21 as a team (and towards an FBS-high 31 total takeaways and leading turnover margin of +20). He had two each in back-to-back league wins against Charlotte and Middle Tennessee, added two more in the East Division-clinching victory over Southern Miss, and recorded his ninth in the C-USA title game win vs. UAB. He is also fifth in the league with 11 passes defended, tops on the squad.
Linebacker Akileis Leroy – Second Team
Leroy has been a standout performer as he leads the entire FAU defense with 101 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He has also recorded three interceptions while forcing five fumbles. In the league ledger for all defenders, he ranks sixth in tackles and TFL, and seventh in sacks, and those numbers rise to fifth, fourth and second among only linebackers. He tops all defenders in C-USA with his five forced fumbles, third-most in all of FBS.
Those six honorees join honorable mention recognition for Deangelo Antoine at both wide receiver and kick returner, alongside fellow offensive members in left guard Desmond Noel and tight end John Raine. Defensive tackle Ray Ellis and defensive end Tim Bonner, linebacker Rashad Smith, and a trio of defensive backs – safety Zyon Gilbert and corners James Pierre and Chris Tooley – were also recognized, as was long snapper Jonathan Sullivan.
The Owls will soon return to the practice field to begin game prep for the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl and their opponent, SMU. That matchup will take place at FAU Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 3:30 p.m.
– FAUSports.com –
Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
