Eight Eagles headline All-SAC teams
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman saw seven athletes honored with postseason All-South Atlantic Conference honors when the league office unveiled this year’s postseason honors Wednesday afternoon.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman saw seven athletes honored with postseason All-South Atlantic Conference honors when the league office unveiled this year's postseason honors Wednesday afternoon.
Running back Andy Hibbett (Corryton, Tenn.), offensive lineman Robby Ignagni (Gallatin, Tenn.) quarterback De'Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.), return man Lonnie Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) longsnapper Dusty Nance (Lewisburg, Tenn.) and safety Jerry Miclisse (Palm Bay, Fla.) all made the first team.
Wide receiver TraShaun Ward (Miami, Fla.) and defensive end William Alderman (Homestead, Fla.) were presented second team accolades.
Carson-Newman had the second most first team selections (six) in the conference behind league champion Lenoir-Rhyne.
Andy Hibbett produced a season for the ages for the Eagles. Hibbett set a school record by rushing for more than 100 yards in eight consecutive games. His 1,394 yards on the season are the eighth highest tally in school history. Hibbett secured his spot in the Eagle record books. With 37 career rushing touchdowns, he moved past Brandon Baker and Antwon Oliver and into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time rushing TD list.
He also winds up with 3,208 career rushing yards. That mark is also the eighth best in school history. Hibbett scored multiple touchdowns in seven games, including a pair of four-touchdown days. He is a two-time SAC offensive Player of the Week, three-time Bojangles Male Athlete of the Week and earned Tennessee Sportswriters Association Offensive Player of the Week honors once.
Hibbett ranked sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game and 10th in scoring. He had 18 TDs in his senior season – 16 on the ground and two through the air.
Hibbett led C-N in rushing in six games and produced four games where he rushed for at least 180 yards. With 30 carries and 221 yards against Tusculum, Hibbett had the 14th-best single game rushing yard tally in school history and its 32nd 200-yard rushing performance.
Against Mars Hill, the senior only had 191 yards and three TDs on seven carries. His 27.3 yards per rush is the second highest total among running backs with more than five carries in a game.
Hibbett's three touchdowns all came in the second half and helped put the game out of reach.
His first score came on a 58-yard dive, his second on a 65-yard scamper and his third on a 55-yard pitch that started to the right and finished with Hibbett meandering his way back left across the field to the pylon for a score.
Robby Ignagni finishes his Carson-Newman career as the program's all-time leader in knockdowns with 45. Ignagni started 38 consecutive games at right guard for the Eagles and helped clear the way for Eagle offenses that ranked first, fourth and third in the nation in rushing in his three seasons as a starter.
Ignagni helped lead the way for three different 1,000-yard rushers. Carson-Newman averaged 38 points, 360 yards rushing and 479 yards of total offense with him starting.
The senior is also the strongest member of the team with the best squat and bench press numbers of anyone on the offense or defense.
De'Andre Thomas continued to showcase his capabilities in his junior season by rushing for 850 yards with 12 touchdowns and passing for 1,170 yards with nine scores.
Thomas' best performance came in the Eagles 35-33 win over Catawba. He earned both SAC and TSWA offensive player of the week honors after passing for 173 yards and a score while rushing for four more touchdowns and 104 yards.
He passed for a season-high 208 yards against Mars Hill.
Lonnie Williams led the nation in yards per kickoff return with 34.1 a touch and one was of ten players in the country to bring to kickoffs back for touchdowns. Williams' 34.1 yards per return is the third highest single season mark in Carson-Newman school history behind Kendall James (39.7) and Ques Rumph (34.7).
Williams was the fourth Carson-Newman player to return multiple kickoffs for scores in a single season.
He set the Carson-Newman single game record for kickoff return yards against Brevard – his first game returning kicks. Williams set a school record for kickoff return yards with 215. His first career kickoff return went 100 yards for a touchdown on the opening play of the game. The 100-yard kickoff return is the fourth in school history and the first since 1992.
Dusty Nance continued his exceptional performance as the Eagles' longsnapper. Carson-Newman has never had an extra point, punt or field goal blocked in his three seasons as the program's longsnapper.
That's 172 extra points, 50 field goals and 98 punts without a block.
Jerry Miclisse was Carson-Newman's leading tackler in three games. The safety produced a career high 15 tackles against Brevard. That tally was the third best tally by a Carson-Newman defensive back in school history and the 20th most among all players.
Miclisse led the team in breakups with seven. His 62 tackles were second on the team and he produced four tackles for loss to boot.
He had eight tackles or more in three games and had two tackles for loss against Newberry.
TraShaun Ward was Carson-Newman's second leading receiver in 2014. The junior grabbed 14 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns.
The four scores were the seventh most in the South Atlantic Conference. He had a team best four catches in the Eagles win against Catawba and set a career high with 96 yards receiving against Mars Hill.
His long reception of the year came on a 68-yard score at Brevard.
William Alderman is a NFF William Campbell Trophy Semifinalist, AFCA Good Works Team nominee and CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. Alderman produced two eight-tackle games this season. Returned a fumble 78 yards for a score against Lenoir-Rhyne.
Alderman had 47 tackles, five tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The five tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks are both the second highest tallies on the team.
