Mid-American Conference

All-MAC Football Selections and Specialty Awards Announced

CLEVELAND -- Buoyed by his third consecutive Mid-American Conference rushing title, Northern Illinois senior tailback Garrett Wolfe today was honored with the league’s top individual honor as he was named the 2006 Vern Smith Leadership Award winner. As well, Wolfe copped honors as the league’s Offensive Player of the Year and was tabbed as a first-team All-MAC selection for the third consecutive season.

Wolfe, a native of Chicago, was joined in the specialty award honors by MAC Defensive Player of the Year Ameer Ismail, linebacker of Western Michigan; MAC Special Teams Player of the Year in placekicker Brian Jackson of Ball State; MAC Freshman of the Year in quarterback Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan. Ohio’s Frank Solich was honored as the MAC Coach of the Year.

Wolfe, at 5-feet, 7-inches tall, garnered his third straight MAC rushing title with 1,900 yards in 12 games for an average of 158.3 yards per game, which also leads the nation. Wolfe also leads the nation in all-purpose yards per game at 178.9 and is fourth in scoring at 9.7 points per game. Wolfe joins Miami’s Travis Prentice (1997-99) and Western Michigan’s Jerome Persell (1976-78) as the only three-time MAC rushing champions. His 5,136 career rushing yards ranks second all-time in league history to Prentice’s 5,596 yards. Wolfe joins quarterback Tim Tyrell (1983) as the only Huskies to win the prestigious Vern Smith Leadership Award.

Ismail, a senior linebacker from Holland, Mich., set a MAC record with 17 sacks on the season and tied an NCAA single game record with six sacks in a game Oct. 21 versus Ball State. Ismail also leads the nation in sacks at 1.36 per game and has 25.5 tackles for a loss this season, which ranks 11th all-time in MAC history. Ismail helped the Broncos to an 8-4 record, the programs most wins in a season since 2000. He joins Bob Rowe (1965 and 1966), John Offerdahl (1985), Mark Garalczyk (1986), Sean Mulhearn (1990) and Jason Babin (2002 and 2003) as previous WMU players to win the honor.

Jackson, a senior from Dothan, Ala., was a Lou Groza semifinalist for the Cardinals, whose 5-3 MAC record was the program’s best since winning the MAC in 1996. Jackson led the MAC in field goal percentage at 89.5 percent, making 17-of-19 attempts, and in PAT percentage at 97.4 percent, connecting on 37-of-38 tries. His 1.42 field goals per game is tied for 12th nationally. Jackson is the first Ball State player honored with the award that was started in 1998.

LeFevour stepped into the starting lineup and responded by leading the Chippewas to a MAC West Division title with a 7-1 record and also an 8-4 overall record. A native of Downers Grove, Ill., LeFevour tossed a MAC-high 22 touchdown passes, completing 209-of-332 pass attempts for 2,555 yards and a conference-leading 63.0 percent pass completion percentage. LeFevour joins Jeff Bender (1988), Silas Massey III (1995) and Jerry Seymour (2003) as CMU players to win the award.

Solich becomes the third head coach in Ohio history to win the award, joining Bill Hess (1968) and Jim Grobe (1996). Solich leads the Bobcats into their first-ever MAC Championship game by winning the East Division with a 7-1 conference record and a 9-3 overall slate in his second year with the program. With a 2-3 record at the end of September, the Bobcats reeled off seven consecutive wins and have a chance to win the school’s first MAC football crown since 1968. Ohio’s victims this year included both teams that played in last years MAC Championship game (Northern Illinois and Akron) as well as a triumph over Big Ten foe Illinois. Two of the Bobcats losses were to bowl bound teams Rutgers (10-1) and Missouri (8-4). Solich previously had been named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2001 while head coach at Nebraska. He becomes the first coach in NCAA history to take teams to a league’s championship game in two different conferences - Ohio this year and the Cornhuskers in 1999.

A total of 16 all-conference selections were repeat from 2005. Wolfe, placekicker Andrew Wellock from Eastern Michigan and defensive lineman Dan Bazuin from Central Michigan were third time first-team honorees. Repeating from last year’s first-team all-MAC were Ohio running back Kalvin McRae and inside linebacker Matt Muncy, Toledo offensive lineman John Greco and outside linebacker Mike Alston, offensive lineman Doug Free of Northern Illinois and Miami defensive back Joey Card.

Those named first-team this season after a second-team listing in 2005 are center Kory Lichtensteiger of Bowling Green, tight end Chris Hopkins of Toledo, wide receiver Ryne Robinson of Miami, inside linebacker Red Keith from Central Michigan and defensive lineman Dan Muir of Kent State.

First Team All-MAC Offense

Center ? Kory Lichtensteiger, Bowling Green, Jr., Van Wert, Ohio #!

Lineman ? Joe Staley, Central Michigan, Sr., Rockford, Mich.

Lineman ? Doug Free, Northern Illinois, Sr., Manitowoc, Wis. ^

Lineman ? Matt Coppage, Ohio, Sr., Walton, Ky.

Lineman - John Greco, Toledo, Jr., Youngstown, Ohio ^

Tight End ? Chris Hopkins, Toledo, Sr., Chicago, Ill. !

Wide Receiver ? Ryne Robinson, Miami, Sr., Toledo, Ohio !

Wide Receiver ? Bryan Anderson, Central Michigan, Fr., Rockford, Mich.

Wide Receiver ? Eric Deslauriers, Eastern Michigan, Sr., Gatineau, Quebec, Canada #

Quarterback ? Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan, Fr., Downers Grove, Ill.

Runningback ? Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois, Sr., Chicago, Ill. ^*

Runningback ? Kalvin McRae, Ohio, Jr., Decatur, Ga. ^

Runningback ? Jalen Parmele, Toledo, Jr., Midland, Mich.

Placekicker ? Andrew Wellock, Eastern Michigan, Sr., Canton, Ohio ^*

Outside Linebacker ? Mike Alston, Toledo, Sr., Columbus, Ohio ^

Outside Linebacker ? Ameer Ismail, Western Michigan, Sr., Holland, Mich.

Inside Linebacker ? Matt Muncy, Ohio, Sr., Miamisburg, Ohio ^

Inside Linebacker ? Red Keith, Central Michigan, Sr., Franklin, Ga. !

Down Lineman ? Devon Parks, Bowling Green,Sr., Libertyville, Ill.

Down Lineman ? Dan Bazuin, Central Michigan, Sr., McBain, Mich. ^*

Down Lineman ? Dan Muir, Kent State, Sr., Lanham, Md. !

Down Lineman ? Larry English, Northern Illinois, So., Aurora, Ill.

Defensive Back ? Joey Card, Miami, Sr., Canton, Ohio ^

Defensive Back ? T.J. Wright, Ohio, Sr., Beaumont, Texas

Defensive Back ? Barry Church, Toledo, Fr., Pittsbrugh, Pa.

Defensive Back ? Londen Fryar, Western Michigan, Jr., Jobstown, N.J

Punter ? Chris Miller, Ball State, Jr., Libertyville, Ill.

Center ? Drew Mormino, Central Michigan, Sr., Buffalo Grove, Ill.

Lineman ? Chris Kemme, Akron, So., Upper Arlington, Ohio

Lineman ? Andrew Hartline, Central Michigan, Jr., Baroda, Mich.

Lineman ? Eric Tunney, Central Michigan, Sr., Alger, Mich.

Lineman ? Dominic Moran, Western Michigan, Sr., Rochester Hills, Mich.

Tight End ? Brandon Ledbetter, Western Michigan, Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Wide Receiver ? David Harvey, Akron, Fr., Penn Hills, Pa.

Wide Receiver ? Dante Love, Ball State, So., Cincinnati, Ohio

Wide Receiver ? Najah Pruden, Kent State, Sr., Burlington, N.J.

Quarterback ? Julian Edelman, Kent State, So., Redwood City, Calif.

Running Backs ? Dennis Kennedy, Akron, So., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Runningback ? James Starks, Buffalo, Fr., Niagar Falls, N.Y.

Running Backs ? Mark Bonds, Western Michigan, Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.

Placekicker ? Brian Jackson, Ball State, Sr., Dothan, Ala.

Outside Linebacker ? Cortlan Booker, Ball State, Sr., West Lafayette, Ind.

Outside Linebacker - Tyler Russ, Ohio, Sr., Stetsonville, Wis.

Inside Linebacker ? Terrel White, Bowling Green, Sr., Wooster, Ohio

Inside Linebacker ? Joey Hudson, Miami, So., Piqua, Ohio

Lineman ? Steven Friend, Central Michigan, Jr., Grand Rapids, Mich.

Lineman ? Jason Jones, Eastern Michigan, Jr., Southfield, Mich.

Lineman ? Landon Cohen, Ohio, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C.

Lineman ? Jameson Hartke, Ohio, So., Centerville, Ohio

Defensive Back ? Erik Keys, Ball State, Sr., Indianapolis, Ind.

Defensive Back ? Usama Young, Kent State, Sr., Largo, Md.

Defensive Back ? Andre Kirkland, Kent State, Sr., Upper Marlboro, Md.

Defensive Back ? Dustin Utschig, Northern Illinois, Sr., Winneconne, Wis.

Punter ? Tony Mikulec, Central Michigan, Sr., Highland, Mich.

Tight End - Darius Hill, Ball State, So., Blue Spring, Mo.

Placekicker - Chris Nendick, Northern Illinois, Jr., Naperville, Ill. %

Quarterback - Luke Getsy, Akron, Sr., Munhall, Pa.

Inside Linebacker - Doug Kress, Central Michigan, Sr., Lapeer, Mich.

Wide Receiver - Britt Davis, Northern Illinois, So., Broadview, Ill.

Inside Linebacker - Tim McCarthey, Northern Illinois, So., Neenah, Wis.

^ 2005 first-team all-MAC selection

* a 2004 first-team all-MAC selection

! a 2005 second-team all-MAC selection

# a 2004 second-team all-MAC selection

% a 2004 Honorable Mention all-MAC selection

Coach of the Year ? Frank Solich, Ohio

Offensive Player of the Year ? Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois

Defensive Player of the Year ? Ameer Ismail, Western Michigan

Freshman of the Year ? Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan

Special Teams Player of the Year ? Brian Jackson, Ball State

Vern Smith Leadership Award Winner - Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois

Note ? The All-MAC team was voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. The specialty awards were voted on by the MAC News Media Association. The first-team and second team offense are comprised of 28 selections, the first-team and second team defense 26 selections, and honorable mention six selections for a total of 60 all-MAC student-athletes. Ties resulted in two tight ends and two placekickers on second team. The Vern Smith Leadership Award was voted by a panel comprised of league head coaches and a select group of media representatives.

Vern Smith Leadership Award: Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois (15); Dan Bazuin, Central Michigan (8); Jeff Bublavi, Buffalo (2); Ryne Robinson, Miami (2); Tyler Russ, Ohio (1).

(only those with a minimum of 5 votes listed. 39 total votes)

Coach of the Year: Frank Solich, Ohio (21); Brian Kelly, Central Michigan (17).

Offensive Player of the Year: Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois (33).

Defensive Player of the Year: Ameer Ismail, Western Michigan (35).

Freshman of the Year: Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan (15); Nate Davis, Ball State (11); Barry Church, Toledo (7).

Special Teams Player of the Year: Brian Jackson, Ball State (12); Matt Lasher, Ohio (5).