JMU WINS FOUR MAJOR CAA FOOTBALL AWARDS

Mickey Matthews Rodney Landers Scotty McGee Pat Williams

11/24/2008 5:00:00 AM | Football

From CAA Dispatches

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 24, 2008 – The James Madison football program that is seeded No. 1 for the upcoming NCAA playoffs Monday received four of the top seven awards presented by the Colonial Athletic Association for the 2008 season.

Senior quarterback Rodney Landers (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) was named conference offensive player of the year, junior cornerback Scotty McGee (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes) league special teams play of the year, redshirt freshman safety Pat Williams (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) CAA defensive co-rookie of the year, and Mickey Matthews league coach of the year.

The CAA Monday announced its individual awards and first-, second- and third-team all-conference honorees. The selections were made by the conference's 12 head coaches.

The league's other top individual awards went to Maine's Jovan Belcher as defensive player of the year, William & Mary's Jonathan Grimes as offensive rookie of the year, and New Hampshire's Brian McNally as defensive co-rookie of the year.

JMU players earned a total of 14 all-conference honors, including five first-team selections, five second-team choices and four third-team selections.

Dukes named to the first team were Landers, McGee as a punt returner, senior cornerback Evan McCollough (Springdale, Md./C.H. Flowers) and senior safety Marcus Haywood (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton).

JMU's second-team honorees were senior tailback Eugene Holloman (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside), senior offensive tackle Terrence Apted (Pago Pago, American Samoa/ Fagatuio), junior offensive guard Dorian Brooks (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), McGee as a kickoff returner, and senior defensive end Hassan Abdul-Wahid (Centreville, Va./Westfield).

JMU players named to the third team were sophomore running back Griff Yancey (Glen Allen, Va./Hermitage), sophomore offensive tackle Theo Sherman (Danville, Va./Chatham), junior defensive tackle Sam Daniels (Portsmouth, Va./Woodrow Wilson) and junior defensive end Arthur Moats (Churchland).

Massachusetts led conference teams with seven selections to the first team. Richmond had six, JMU five, and Maine, Villanova, and William & Mary three. New Hampshire had two and Delaware and Hofstra one each.

Landers led the league in per-game rushing and pass efficiency in 2008. During JMU's 10-1 regular season he ran for 1,377 yards and 14 touchdowns on 201 carries, an average of 125.2 yards per game. He also was impressive in the passing game, compiling a 171.2 efficiency rating while completing 89 of 138 attempts for 1,236 yards and 15 touchdowns. For the season Landers reached the 100-yard rushing mark eight times in 11 games while breaking his own JMU season quarterback rushing record of 1,273 yards, set last season.

Landers is 10 yards short of becoming just the fifth FCS quarterback to throw and run for 3,000 yards in a career.

Belcher received defensive player of the year honor after being recognized as the league's preseason favorite for the award. The West Babylon, N.Y., native ranked 11th in the league and first among defensive linemen with an average of 7.8 tackles a game, totaling 93 for the season. The senior, who also led his team to its first playoff berth since 2002, ranked second in the conference with 7.5 sacks, an average of 0.62 per game.

Belcher, who led the conference with 15.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, led a defense that ranked fourth in the league and currently 27th in the country in total defense, allowing 315.4 yards a game.

McGee was arguably the biggest game-changer in CAA Football this season. He led the Dukes with 518 kickoff return yards on 15 attempts and took one back 99 yards for a touchdown in JMU's 35-32 come-from-behind win over No. 1 Appalachian State in late September. McGee made his biggest contributions on the JMU punt return unit where he led the league with a 13.6-yard-per-return average and equaled CAA season and career records of three punt returns for touchdowns in 2008.

Grimes led the league with an average of 162.0 all-purpose yards, the best season mark by a freshman in conference history. The Palmyra, N.J., native had 929 rushing yards and 314 receiving yards in an offense that ranked second in the league and No. 25 in the country in total offense. The true freshman also contributed 539 yards (league-best 24.5 yards/attempt) and one touchdown to the Tribe's kick return unit. One of the most-decorated freshmen in league-history, Grimes earned first-team all-conference kick returner and second-team all-conference running back honors in addition to the offensive rookie of the year notation.

McNally and Williams shared defensive rookie honors. McNally totaled 7.5 tackles for loss in his first year of action for New Hampshire, ranking among the league leaders. The Cornwall, N.Y., native also ranked among the league's top 15 in tackles among defensive lineman with 4.1 per game. Williams was part of a JMU defensive unit that ranked second in the league and 15th in the country in total defense, allowing 296.4 yards a game. He was tops in the league with three fumble recoveries and finished his freshman regular season with 43 total tackles.

2008 ALL-CAA FIRST TEAM
(as voted on by the head coaches)
Offense
Position, Player, School, Year
QB Rodney Landers, JMU, Senior
RB Tony Nelson, Massachusetts, Junior
RB Josh Vaughan, Richmond, Senior
FB/HB Jared Turcotte, Maine, Freshman
WR Mike Boyle, New Hampshire, Senior
WR Victor Cruz, Massachusetts, Junior
WR Kevin Grayson, Richmond, Sophomore
TE Scott Sicko, New Hampshire, Junior
OL Ryan Canary, Maine, Senior
OL Vladimir Ducasse, Massachusetts, Junior
OL Ben Ijalana, Villanova, Sophomore
OL Scott Lemn, JMU, Senior
OL Matthew, McCracken Richmond, Junior
PK Brian Pate, William and Mary, Junior
KR Jonathan Grimes, William & Mary, Freshman
PR Scotty McGee, JMU, Junior

Defense
Position, Player, School, Year
DL Jovan Belcher, Maine, Senior
DL Greg Miller, Villanova, Senior
DL Lawrence Sidbury, Richmond, Senior
DL Adrian Tracy, William & Mary, Junior
LB Luke Bonus, Hofstra, Junior
LB Josh Jennings, Massachusetts, Junior
LB Eric McBride, Richmond, Sophomore
LB Osayi Osunde, Villanova, Junior
CB Evan McCollough, JMU, Senior
CB Courtney Robinson, Massachusetts, Senior
CB Justin Rogers, Richmond, Sophomore
S Charles Graves, Delaware, Junior
S Marcus Haywood, JMU, Senior
S Jeromy Miles, Massachusetts, Junior
P Brett Arnold, Massachusetts, Senior

SECOND TEAM
Offense
Position, Player, School, Year
QB Liam Coen, Massachusetts, Senior
QB R.J. Toman, New Hampshire, Sophomore
RB Aaron Ball, Villanova, Sophomore
RB Jonathan Grimes, William & Mary, Freshman
RB Eugene Holloman, JMU, Senior
FB/HB John Crone, Richmond, Senior
WR Marcus Lee, Towson, Senior
WR Matt Szczur, Villanova, Sophomore
WR Aaron Weaver, Hofstra, Sophomore
TE Brian Mandeville, Northeastern, Senior
TE Rob Varno William & Mary, Junior
OL Terrence Apted, JMU, Senior
OL Izzy Bauta, Villanova, Senior
OL Dorian Brooks, JMU, Junior
OL Josh Droesch, New Hampshire, Senior
OL Kheon Hendricks, Delaware, Senior
OL Michael Silva, Richmond, Junior
PK Andrew Howard, Richmond, Junior
KR Scotty McGee, JMU, Junior
PR Derek Hatcher, Richmond, Junior

Defense
Position, Player, School, Year
DL Hassan Abdul-Wahid, JMU, Senior
DL Tim Kukucka Villanova, Junior
DL Sherman Logan, Richmond, Senior
DL Matt Marcorelle, Delaware, Junior
LB Andrew Downey, Maine, Senior
LB Matt Hansen, Rhode Island, Sophomore
LB Marquis Kirkland, Villanova, Sophomore
LB Matt Parent, New Hampshire, Senior
CB Derek Cox, William and Mary, Senior
CB Dino Vasso, New Hampshire, Sophomore
S John Clements, New Hampshire, Senior
S Drew Mack, Towson, Senior
P Tom Bishop, New Hampshire, Senior

THIRD TEAM
Offense
Position, Player, School, Year
QB Jake Phillips, William & Mary, Senior
QB Sean Schaefer, Towson, Senior
RB Alex Broomfield, Northeastern, Senior
RB Jhamal Fluellen, Maine, Senior
FB/HB Griff Yancey, JMU, Sophomore
WR Phil Atkinson, Villanova, Senior
WR Jeremy Horne, Massachusetts, Junior
WR D.J. McAulay, William & Mary, Junior
TE Robbie Agnone, Delaware, Senior
OL Christopher Arnao, Maine, Senior
OL Brian Brannigan, Villanova, Junior
OL Sean Calicchio, Massachusetts, Senior
OL Kevin Newhall, Northeastern, Junior
OL Theo Sherman, JMU, Sophomore
PK Joe Marcoux Villanova, Senior
KR Angelo Babbaro Villanova, Sophomore
PR Brandon Johnson-Farrell, Rhode Island, Freshman

Defense
Position, Player, School, Year
DL Dave Dalessandro, Villanova, Senior
DL Sam Daniels, JMU, Junior
DL Kyle Harrington, Massachusetts, Junior
DL Arthur Moats, JMU, Junior
LB Phil Higgins, Northeastern, Junior
LB Jordan Manning, Towson, Senior
LB Collin McConaghy, Richmond, Junior
LB Josh Rutter, William & Mary, Senior
CB Salim Koroma, Villanova, Senior
CB Lionel Nixon, Maine, Senior
S Nate Thellen, Northeastern, Sophomore
S Darrel Young, Villanova, Senior
P David Miller, William & Mary, Sophomore

2008 CAA FOOTBALL MAJOR AWARDS
(as voted on by the head coaches)

Offensive Player Of The Year
Rodney Landers, JMU, Sr., QB, Virginia Beach, Va.

Defensvie Player Of The Year
Jovan Belcher, Maine, Sr., DL, West Babylon, N.Y.

Special Teams Player Of The Year
Scotty McGee, JMU, Jr., KR/PR, Virginia Beach, Va.

Offensive Rookie Of The Year
Jonathan Grimes, William & Mary, Fr., RB/KR, Palmyra, N.J.

Defensive Rookies Of The Year
Pat Williams, JMU, Fr., DB, Virginia Beach, Va.
Brian McNally, New Hampshire, Fr., DL, Cornwall, N.Y.

Coach Of The Year
Mickey Matthews, JMU, 10th Season

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