Football Has Eleven Named All-HCAC

GREENWOOD, IND.  --  Eleven members of the Defiance College football team have been selected to the All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference teams for their individual efforts this season. [HCAC Release]

The Yellow Jackets had three players selected first-team in senior offensive lineman Tanner Engle (Harrod/Allen East), junior safety Andrew Feldhaus (Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner) and senior safety Josh Slayton (Fort Wayne, Ind./North Side).  Junior running back Daniel Collins (West Springfield, Va./West Springfield), junior Kyle Wilson (Wauseon), senior linebacker Eric Strickland (West Palm Beach, Fla./Seminole Ridge) and freshman safety Angello Proulx (Warren, Mich./Mott) were second-team selections and sophomore quarterback Alex Larson (Highland, Mich./Milford), sophomore running back Cody Wilson (McComb) and sophomore wide receiver Darius Harper (Jacksonville, Fla./Robert E. Lee) were all tabbed honorable mention.  In addition, sophomore safety Cody Wiggins (Howell, Mich./Howell) was selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

Engle played in nine games, with eight starts, and was an "anchor" of the offensive line.  He was part of offense that averaged 343.8 yards of total offense per game (159.4 rushing and 184.4 passing).  As a squad, the Yellow Jacket offense ranked third in the HCAC in rushing offense with 1,594 yards and was also third in rushing offense against HCAC opponents with 1,442 yards.  Engle helped lead the offense to a school-record 616 total yard effort against Earlham (Ind.) College on Oct. 25.  The team's 3,438 total yards this season were the third most in the past nine seasons.

Feldhaus earns first-team All-HCAC accolades for the second straight season following a year in which he led the team in tackles with 76 (52 solo and 24 assists), including 4.5 tackles for loss.  He was also tied for third in interceptoins with three to go along with a forced fumble and a blocked kick.  He ranked eighth in the HCAC in overall tackles (76), ninth in assisted tackles (24) and 10th in tackles per game (7.5).  Feldhaus recorded three games of 10 or more tackles this past season, including a career-high 15 stops in the matchup against Centre (Ky.) College on Sept. 13.  His three interceptions all came against HCAC opponents which placed him in a tie for second in the conference in that category.

Slayton caps a solid four-year playing career with is first All-HCAC selection.  Slayton played in all 10 games and was fourth on the team in tackles with 57 (43 solo and 14 assists) to ago along with four tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks, a pair of interceptions and two fumble recoveries.  He also led the team and was tied for second in the conference in pass breakups with 10.  His two interceptions put him in the top-15 in the HCAC.  Slayton posted a pair of games with 10 or more tackles with a career-high 12 tackles against Mount St. Joseph University on Sept. 20.

Collins showed his versatility during the season as an offensive threat and on special teams primarily as a kick returner.  Offensively, Collins was the team's third leading rusher and receiver finishing with 341 yards on the ground (3.7 yards per carry) and 306 yards receiving (11.3 yards per catch).  He found the endzone a combined eight times with a team-high five rushing TD and three TD catches.  His eight total touchdowns led the team.  Collins also had a two-point conversion to post a team-best 50 points scored.  On special teams, Collins returned 11 kicks for 229 yards and averaged a team-high 20.8 yards per return.  He also had one punt return for 19 yards.  Collins ended the season with 895 all-purpose yards to lead the Jackets and ranked 11th in the HCAC.  He set personal bests in rushing yards (308), yards in a game (83), rushing TD (five), receiving yards (294) yards in a game (106), receiving TD (three) and all-purpose yards (895).

Kyle Wilson earns his first All-HCAC award after leading the team in tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (5.5) from his defensive lineman position.  He ended the year with 44 tackles (32 solo and 12 assists) to lead all linemen.  He also had one fumble recover and two pass breakups.  Against HCAC opponents, Kyle Wilson tallied 35 total tackles, including 5.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss which ranked fourth and tied for 13th most in the conference. Kyle Wilson recorded a season-high eight tackles in season opener against Adrian (Mich.) College.

Strickland was recognized with his second All-Conference award after earning honorable mention accolades a year ago.  For the season, Strickland was third on the team in tackles with 59 (36 solo and 23 assists) in nine games played.  He was part of a three-way tie for fourth in tackles for loss with six and was tied for the team-lead in forced fumbles with two.  In addition, Strickland added three pass breakups.  His two forced fumbles tied him for third in the HCAC.  Strickland posted a pair of games this season with 10 or more tackles that included a career-high 12 stops against Manchester (Ind.) University on Oct. 11.

Proulx ends a standout "rookie" campaign with his first All-HCAC selection.  Proulx ended his first season with the program with 72 tackles (54 solo and 18 assists) which was second highest on the team overall and his 54 solo tackles were the best by any Yellow Jacket.  He also had six tackles for loss, led the team in interceptions with four, was third in pass breakups with six and added a forced fumble.  Proulx had 154 interception return yards which were the most in the HCAC and his four INTs tied him for second most.  One of his interceptions he returned 91 yards for a touchdown which came against Anderson (Ind.) University in a game that saw three total "pick-sixes" by the Jacket defense.  His 91-yard return was the longest in the HCAC and is 62.0 yard average per return also led the conference.  Proulx had three games of more than 10 tackles, including a season-best 13 tackles against Manchester (Ind.).

Larson returned from an early season injury to lead the Yellow Jackets with 1,205 passing yards while completing 104-of-173 passes (60.1 percent).  He threw 10 touchdown passes which were seventh most in the HCAC.  He also finished in the top-10 in the conference in both pass attempts and completions.  Larson was also the team's second-leading rusher wtih 362 yards on 80 carries and averaged 4.5 yards per carry with one touchdown.  He recorded season-bests of 249 passing yards against Manchester (Ind.), 124 rushing yards against Ealrham (Ind.) College, three TD passes against Anderson (Ind.) and threw for 200 yards or more in three games.

Cody Wilson was another versatile player for DC this season and earned his first All-Conference honor.  He was second on the team in receiving with 39 catches for 477 yards (12.2 yards per catch) and three touchdowns.  Cody Wilson was also a mainstay on special teams as the team's top punt returner recording team-highs in both punt returns (14) and yards (89).  He averaged 6.4 yards per return which was third best in the conference.  He also returned 11 kickoffs for 183 yards and averaged 16.6 yards per attempt.  Cody Wilson was second in all-purpose yards, and 18th in the HCAC, with 767 (18 rushing, 477 receiving, 89 punt returns and 183 kick returns).  He ended the year with career-highs of 11 catches for 108 yards against Anderson and his 767 all-purpose yards were also a career-best.

Harper led the team in receptions (52), yards (665) and TD catches (six) in only his second season with the program.  He ranked eighth in the HCAC in receiving yards, tied for ninth in receptions and tied for 10th in TD.  Harper averaged 12.7 yards per catch which was the 10th most in the conference.  He had a career-high 101 receiving yards against Centre and a career-best 10 catches against Earlham (Ind.).

Wiggins played in all 10 games and had 24 tackles (12 solo and 12 assists), including one tackle for loss.  He made a pair of interceptions, both of which came in a 48-7 win against Anderson (Ind.) and returned one of those interceptions for a 63-yard touchdown.  His two interceptions tied him with teammate Slayton for fourth most in the HCAC.  Wiggins recorded a season-best five tackles against Manchester.