Football: Three Make ECAC All-Star Team

By Bryan Montgomery for WVUsports.com
January 09, 2012 07:59 PM

Dustin Garrison

CENTERVILLE, Mass. - Boston College senior linebacker Luke Kuechly earned his second consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Defensive Player of the Year award to lead the 2011 ECAC Division I Football Bowl Subdivision All-Stars, announced Monday.

Temple junior running back Bernard Pierce, the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, is joined by ECAC Offensive Rookie of the Year Dustin Garrison, a freshman running back from West Virginia. Syracuse freshman linebacker Dyshawn Davis was awarded the ECAC Defensive Rookie of the Year. The All-Stars were determined by coaches or their designee within the ECAC Division I membership.

Kuechly made the most of his senior year in a Boston College uniform, collecting a slew of postseason awards including the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is given to the nation’s top college defensive player. The senior led the nation this year with 191 total tackles and 102 solo tackles, and was named to the all-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team defense as the sole unanimous decision. Ending the season with a streak of 33 straight games with at least 10 tackles, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Walter Camp All-America selection also earned the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the country, as well as the Lombardi Award, which honors the best lineman or linebacker.

Pierce, hailing from Ardmore, Pa., capped off a successful 2011 season in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) by earning a spot on the All-MAC first team. Leading the Owls to a 37-15 Gildan New Mexico Bowl win over Wyoming with 103 yards and two touchdowns, the junior finished his season with 1,381 yards and 25 touchdowns. The leading rusher for the MAC this season, Pierce found his place in the school’s career record books by notching totals for rushing touchdowns (51) and overall touchdowns (52).

Garrison fit nicely into his role as a backfield threat as the freshman rushed for 742 yards and six touchdowns this season, leading West Virginia in average yardage per game, rushing attempts and overall net rushing yardage.

Davis made an immediate impact at Syracuse, finishing the 2011 season by leading the team with 10.5 tackles for loss. He finished second on the team with four sacks and recorded 43 tackles for the Orange.

ECAC Division I Football Bowl Subdivision All-Stars

Offensive Player of the Year
Bernard Pierce, Jr., RB, Temple

Defensive Player of the Year
Luke Kuechly, Jr., LB, Boston College

Offensive Rookie of the Year
Dustin Garrison, Fr., RB, West Virginia

Defensive Rookie of the Year
Dyshawn Davis, Fr., LB, Syracuse

All-ECAC Offense

Quarterback: Geno Smith, Jr., West Virginia
Running Back: Bernard Pierce, Jr., Temple
Running Back: Ray Graham, Jr., Pittsburgh
Wide Receiver: Mohamed Sanu, Jr., Rutgers
Wide Receiver: Tavon Austin, Jr., West Virginia
Tight End: Nick Provo, Gr., Syracuse
Offensive Line: Austin Pasztor, Sr., Virginia
Offensive Line: Justin Pugh, Jr., Syracuse
Offensive Line: Brady DeMell, Sr., Navy
Offensive Line: Ryan Basford, Sr., Navy
Offensive Line: Pat Boyle, Sr., Temple

All-ECAC Defense
Defensive Line: Joe Vellano, Jr., Maryland
Defensive Line: Matt Conrath, Sr., Virginia
Defensive Line: Kendall Reyes, Sr., Connecticut
Defensive Line: Adrian Robinson, Sr., Temple
Linebacker: Luke Kuechly, Jr., Boston College
Linebacker: Kahaseem Greene, Jr., Rutgers
Linebacker: Tra'ves Bush, Jr., Navy
Defensive Back: Chase Minnifield, Sr., Virginia
Defensive Back: Matt Daniels, Sr., Duke
Defensive Back: Keith Tandy, Sr., West Virginia
Defensive Back: Duron Harmon, Jr., Rutgers

All-ECAC Special Teams
Place Kicker: Dave Teggart, Sr., Connecticut
Punter: Justin Doerner, Jr., Rutgers
Return Specialist: Tavon Austin, Jr., West Virginia

Tags
ECAC all-star football team, West Virginia Mountaineers

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