MANSFIELD, Mass. – Senior CJ Miller (Clinton, Md.) of the Saint Anselm College football team headlined the release of All-Conference winners from the Northeast-10 Conference on Friday. In total, the Hawks were awarded 12 All-Conference selections, far and away the most in a single season for Saint Anselm.
LINK: Northeast-10 Football All-Conference Teams Announced
Miller was voted as the league's Defensive Player of the Year, the first in Hawks history. He joined junior Ryan Sullivan (Stoughton, Mass.) as a First Team All-Conference pick on defense. Senior Eric Fairweather (Londonderry, N.H.) was a Second Team selection on offense for the Hawks, capping a strong career on the Hilltop.
Five Hawks earned placement on the Third Team All-Conference list for offense, including senior Nicholas Fiorillo (Westford, Mass.), junior Alex Casey (Hudson, N.H.), sophomore Brian Kosicki (Franklin, Mass.) and freshman Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas), who earned placement twice, first as a wide receiver and once again as a return specialist. Junior Joey Cody (Cinnaminson, N.J.) was a Third Team defensive honoree as a punter.
A trio of Saint Anselm student-athletes was named to the All-Rookie team, including Brown, Will Cunningham (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Ryan Raybuck (Flower Mound, Texas).
Guiding Saint Anselm to its first three-game winning streak in five seasons and finishing just one victory shy of matching the team record for NE10 victories, Head Coach Joe Adam congratulated the team's first-ever Defensive Player of the Year selection on a stellar Hawks career.
"Not only was he recognized as the top defensive player in our league, but he is also a great ambassador for the College and our team's culture," said Adam. "It is even more special as his position coach, having watched his relentless work ethic throughout his career. We talked about this goal and encouraged him to 'dream big' with our full support. He is a great friend, brother and mentor to many here on the Hilltop and he embodies 'Blue Collar Mentality' in every way."
Miller and the Hawks knocked off two of the top teams in the NE10 this season, according to the league's annual Preseason Coaches' Poll. New Haven, toppled by Saint Anselm by a 37-31 score on Oct. 12, was projected to finish atop the conference standings with Assumption right behind in second place. Cumulatively, Saint Anselm defeated three of the league's top five programs in 2019.
The offense threw for over 3,200 yards in 2019, the fourth-most in team history, and the team's 23 passing touchdowns in 2019 are the third-most in single-season team annals. Averaging just shy of 300 passing yards per game, Saint Anselm scored over 300 points for just the third time in team history. The squad played an arduous schedule, including three non-conference games - all Hawks opponents combined to win 52 games in 2019, the strongest win total of any NE10 program's opponents in 2019.
"Our All-Conference selections are the byproduct of relentless work ethic meeting opportunity," remarked Adam. "We are extremely proud of our team's accomplishments this past season and these individuals led the way in so many areas. Our culture, 'Blue Collar Mentality', is evident in each one of these student-athletes. They have been a tremendous asset to our community. "
Miller led the NE10 with 9.7 tackles per game, on average, and finished with 107 to his credit in 2019. He also led the league in sacks with 10.5 to his credit, racking up a total of 93 yards lost on quarterback takedowns. He also executed 14 tackles for a combined loss of 100 yards while forcing three fumbles and logging two interceptions.
His 0.27 forced fumbles per game topped the NE10 and he also led the conference in sacks per game (0.95), the latter statistic ranking 11th in all of NCAA Division II this season. His 1.3 tackles for a loss per game is the conference's third-best figure, as was his 5.3 solo tackles per contest.
Miller recorded seven double-digit tackle games in 2019 and tabulated at least one sack in all but two games on the season. He logged at least six solo tackles in each of his final four career games and notched 30 tackles against perennial NE10-power Assumption across two games on the season.
Among active NCAA Division II student-athletes, Miller's 145 assisted tackles stand as the 16th most in the nation and his 282 career tackles place him in the top-25. In all-time Hawks history, Miller ranks third all-time in assisted tackles and fourth in total tackles. He was a Third Team All-Conference selection in 2018.
Sullivan, a Second Team All-Conference performer last season, had yet another strong defensive season for the Hawks, reaching 200 career tackles in a Hawks uniform after posting 95 across 10 games in 2019. He produced a career-high four sacks in 2019, racking up 23 lost yards while breaking up a total of four passes on the year.
His 5.4 solo tackles per game led the Northeast-10 and ranked 22nd in NCAA Division II and his 9.5 tackles per game this year were second in the league and 28th in the nation. In only 20 career games for Saint Anselm since joining the team in 2017, Sullivan has averaged 10 tackles per contest. In 2018, he ranked sixth in NCAA Division II with 11.6 tackles per game.
Under center for Saint Anselm, Fairweather averaged 212.9 passing yards per game in 2019 and threw 18 touchdowns for the Hawks, both figures ranking second in the NE10. Starting the final eight games under center for Saint Anselm, he also scored 11 rushing touchdowns, the third-most in the league, and generated exactly 250 yards of total offense per game for the Hawks this season.
Winner of the prestigious Gold Helmet Award during the final week of the season, Fairweather completed a career that saw him ranking first all-time in rushing touchdowns (34), second in rushing yards (2,225) and third in passing yards (6,110). Across 40 career games, the All-Rookie selection in 2015 had a hand in a program-record 79 touchdowns across his career (44 passing, 34 rushing, 1 receiving).
Earning his first All-Conference nod, Fiorillo had a breakout season on the Hilltop in 2019, making 63 catches for 717 yards to average nearly six yards per catch. Averaging 65.2 receiving yards per contest for Saint Anselm, he had two 100-plus yards receiving games in 2019, his first coming at Assumption and the most recent against regionally-ranked Tiffin on Oct. 5.
Fiorillo caught two touchdowns at Franklin Pierce on Oct. 19 and didn't finish with less than three catches or 37 receiving yards in any of his games in 2019. He ranked sixth in the NE10 in both receiving yards (717) and receiving yards per game (65.2). His 5.7 receptions per game was the third-most in the league and the 30th-most in NCAA Division II.
Casey and Kosicki were key members of the offensive line in 2019 and each did not miss a single contest for the Hawks. The duo helped the Hawks offensive unit rank first in the NE10 in passing (293.6/game) while seeing the offense generate 226 first downs, the most in the league. Casey has seen action in 19 games since his freshman season while Kosicki has made 18 appearances in two years.
Brown was a huge help on special teams and offense as a freshman, averaging 27.6 yards per kick return to rank in the top-20 in NCAA Division II. He also averaged just shy of five catches per game for 58.3 yards per tilt, ranking in the top-10 of the conference as a freshman. His 641 receiving yards were the second-most on the team and were the seventh-most by an NE10 receiver.
A Second Team All-Conference award winner last season, Cody ranked second in the NE10 with 39.0 yards per punt. He assumed field goal duties for the Hawks as a junior, chipping in with the third-best field goal percentage while placing fourth in field goals made per game. He opened the season with five field goals in his first two games, booting three on Sept. 14 at Assumption.
Cunningham took over as the team's starting center due to a preseason injury and was recognized by the league's coaches with a spot on the All-Rookie team. The third member of the offensive line to earn an All-League spot, Cunningham helped Saint Anselm lead the conference in passing offense while generating over 375 yards per game on offense.
Across nine games for the Hawks as a freshman, Raybuck contributed 21 total tackles and broke up three passes. A key defensive piece for Saint Anselm, his pressure on the final play for the Hawks against New Haven secured a 37-31 win for his team, sparking its first three-game winning streak in five seasons.
Against regionally-ranked Tiffin on Oct. 5, Raybuck had four tackles, including one for a loss of two yards, and totaled two pass breakups against the Dragons. He posted at least two tackles in each of his final four games, including seven against Southern Connecticut State on Oct. 26.
