CHENEY, Wash. - He
split time at quarterback, but that was enough to impress the College Sporting
News, as Eastern Washington University freshman Vernon Adams joined
four other Eagles on the "Fabulous 50" NCAA Football Championship Subdivision
All-America team.
Adams
was selected as CSN's Freshman of the Year after sharing the quarterback
position with transfer Kyle Padron. Besides
Adams, four other Eagles were selected to the All-America squad – wide receiver
Brandon
Kaufman, offensive tackle Will Post, junior
cornerback T.J.
Lee and senior kicker Jimmy
Pavel.
Including
honorable mention selections and player of the year winners, there were three
coaches and 61 players selected to the College Sporting News "Fabulous 50"
squad. The players represented 43 teams and 12 conferences, with EWU leading the
way with five honorees. Fifteen other teams had multiple players chosen. The Big
Sky Conference surpassed all other leagues with 14
selections.
Adams
ranked fourth in FCS in passing efficiency (160.80) in 2012, and was the only
freshman in the top 24 of the rankings. His efficiency rating also ranked fourth
all-time in school history. In nine games as a starter and three as a sub, he
completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,961 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight
interceptions.
He
concluded his freshman season by throwing for a school-record six touchdown
passes in EWU's 45-42 loss to Sam Houston State in the semifinals of the FCS
Playoffs. Adams completed 14-of-26 passes for 364 yards – all after intermission
--- as EWU scored 42 points in the second half to rally from a 35-0 halftime
deficit and nearly pull off an improbable rally.
Kaufman,
Post, Lee and Pavel have all earned All-America honors previously this season,
joining senior defensive end Jerry Ceja. This is
the second time Kaufman has been selected to the "Fabulous 50" squad, earning a
spot after his sophomore season when EWU won the 2010 NCAA Division I title.
Nicholas
Edwards, a senior wide receiver this past season, was selected
to the squad a year ago, and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell received honorable
mention.
Adams
will join Lee as EWU's 2012 All-Americans who will return for the 2013 season.
Kaufman, as well as Padron, have elected not to return for their senior seasons
and will pursue professional opportunities instead.
More
on Adams . . .
The
Eagles finished second in the league and seventh in FCS in passing offense
(318.9 per game), as quarterbacks Vernon Adams and
Padron combined to lead EWU to the school record for passing yards. The Eagles
finished with 4,469 yards, breaking the previous record of 4,102 yards in 2005.
Both quarterbacks averaged at least 191.9 yards of total offense per game
(Padron 229.8 and Adams 191.9).
Adams
ranked fourth in FCS in passing efficiency (160.80), and was the only freshman
in the top 24 of the rankings. His efficiency rating also ranked fourth all-time
in school history. In nine games as a starter and three as a sub, he completed
60.9 percent of his passes for 1,961 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight
interceptions. Padron started the other five games and played six others as a
sub, and completed 59.1 percent of his passes for a team-leading 2,491 yards, 17
TDs and seven interceptions, and ranked 29th in FCS in passing yards per game
(226.5).
In
back-to-back games in the FCS Playoffs, each had a school-record six touchdown
passes -- Padron versus Illinois State in the quarterfinals and Adams against
Sam Houston State in the semifinals. Adams completed 14-of-26 passes for 364
yards – all after intermission --- as EWU scored 42 points in the second half to
rally from a 35-0 halftime deficit and nearly pull off an improbable
rally.
Besides
being selected as the Freshman of the Year on the College Sporting News
"Fabulous 50" All-America team, Adams was one of 20 players on the ballot for
the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in FCS by The Sports Network (he
finished sixth in the voting, which occurred prior to the playoffs). His
incredible scramble and touchdown throw against Sacramento State on Oct. 20 was
also one of eight finalists for the GEICO Play of the
Year.
Adams
made his first career start in EWU's 32-26 victory at Weber State on Sept. 22,
2012, and used his arm and his feet to lead EWU to a 20-3 halftime lead. The
redshirt freshman led Eastern to scores on four of five drives in the first
half, including a 75-yard touchdown mark on his first drive as an Eagle. He
finished the game 7-of-12 for 75 yards, and ran five times for 62 yards, but
missed most of the second half with cramping. Of his five rushes, four were for
first downs; of his seven completions, four more resulted in EWU first
downs.
One
game later in his home starting debut, Adams atoned for a fourth-quarter fumble
and interception by throwing two touchdown passes in the in the final 2:19 as
the No. 7 Eagles rallied for a 32-26 victory over 21st-ranked Montana at Roos
Field. As a result, Adams was selected as the Sports Network co-Freshman of the
Week in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, the College Sports Journal
co-Freshman of the Week and the ROOT Sports Offensive Player of the Week awarded
by the Big Sky Conference. Eastern put together an 82-yard scoring drive to pull
within two points with 2:19 remaining on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Adams to
Brandon
Kaufman. After EWU successfully recovered an onside kick,
Eastern scored again on a 20-yard TD pass from Adams to Ashton Clark with 53
seconds to play. Adams completed 25-of-41 passes for 353 yards and three
touchdowns in his second career start for EWU, and also added a team-leading 54
yards rushing. He accounted for 407 of EWU's 447 yards of total offense. In the
final quarter alone, Adams was 13-of-21 for 171 yards and a pair of scores.
Eastern scored the first time it had the ball on an eight-play, 75-yard scoring
drive, then led 14-7 in the second quarter on Kaufman's 36-yard TD reception
from Adams.
Later
in the year, Adams repeated as ROOT Sports Offensive Player of the Week after
accounting for 356 yards of offense in seventh-ranked EWU's 34-17 win versus No.
16 Cal Poly on Nov. 3. Adams completed 19-of-29 passes for 288 yards and had
three touchdown tosses, and also rushed for 68 yards against the Mustangs.
Eastern's scoring drives in the game were of 81, 66, 74, 69, 41 and 83
yards.
More
on Kaufman . . .
As
he prepares for the NFL Draft in April, Brandon Kaufman will
train in Orlando, Fla., along with fellow Eagle wide receiver Greg Herd, who was a
senior in 2012. Kaufman is just 20 credits shy of graduating from EWU, and said
he will continue to take classes this winter online. Kaufman and Herd are being
represented by Cameron Foster and the Foster Easley Sports Management Group of
Seattle.
Kaufman,
who is from Denver, Colo., and is a 2009 graduate of Heritage HS, finished his
42-game career with 221 catches (third in school history, seventh in Big Sky
history) for 3,731 yards (second all-time at EWU, fourth in the Big Sky and 19th
in FCS) and 33 touchdowns (second in school history).
He
earned the 2012 FCS Wide Receiver Award from College Football Performance Awards
(CFPA), and was selected to All-America teams picked by College Sports Madness
(first team), Beyond Sports College Network (first team), The Sports Network
(second team) and Associated Press (second team), as well as the College
Sporting News "Fabulous 50" A-A squad. An All-American in 2010 as well, Kaufman
was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection in both 2012 and
2010.
Kaufman
broke the FCS record for single season receiving yards in EWU's 45-42 loss in
the FCS Playoffs to Sam Houston State on Dec. 15. He finished the season with
1,850 yards (93 receptions and 16 TD) to break the record of 1,712 previously
held by Eddie Conti of Delaware in 1998. Kaufman averaged 19.9 yards per catch
with a long of 93 yards, and ranked second in FCS in receiving yards per game
(132.1) in 2012.
Kaufman
finished the Sam Houston State game with nine catches for a career-high 215
yards and three touchdowns, with his yardage ranking fifth in school history. A
week earlier, Kaufman broke the Big Sky Conference record for single season
receiving yards during EWU's 51-35 victory over Illinois State. He finished with
nine catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns, and his 17-yard TD catch in the
third quarter gave EWU a 38-17 lead and broke the previous Big Sky record of
1,525 set by Weber State's Tim Toone in 2008. Earlier in the game, Kaufman broke
the school record of 1,453 set by Eric Kimble in 2004.
On
single season lists, Kaufman's 93 catches ranks second in school history (behind
the school-record 95 that teammate Nicholas Edwards had in 2011), fifth in the
Big Sky and 28th in FCS. His 16 touchdowns are third all-time at EWU and his
average of 19.9 yards per catch was fifth in EWU history. In his last four games
of the season, Kaufman had 37 catches for 741 yards (20.0 per catch) with six
scores. Kaufman went over the 100-yard mark 11 times in the 2012 season and 19
times in his career.
Because
of hand and knee injuries requiring surgery, Kaufman received an injury redshirt
in the 2011 season after playing in the first four games of the year. He caught
76 passes for 1,214 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2010 to help EWU
to a 13-2 record and the NCAA Division I Championship.
More
on Post . . .
Post
earned four All-America honors in 2012, receiving recognition from the American
Football Coaches Association (first team), Associated Press (first team) and
Beyond Sports College Network (second team), as well as the College Sporting
News "Fabulous 50" A-A squad. The Eagles have now had 19 offensive linemen earn
All-America accolades in the last 20 years (1993-2012) while winning 21 first
team All-Big Sky Conference honors (1993-2012), including Post in
2012.
Post
started every game at right offensive tackle in 2012, with a total of 36 career
starts in 45 games played. The first team All-Big Sky selection and team
co-captain allowed just one sack in the regular season (opponents had a total of
24). He consistently graded out in the high 80's and low 90's according to
offensive line coach Aaron Best. The
Eagles had a season-best 542 total yards versus Cal Poly on Nov. 3 and finished
third in the Big Sky and 14th in FCS in total offense (442.0), seventh in FCS in
passing offense (318.9 per game) and 17th in scoring offense
(33.7).
The
6-foot-6, 315-pound Post is from Portland, Ore., and graduated from Southridge
High School in 2008.
More
on Lee . . .
Junior
cornerback T.J.
Lee earned All-America honors in 2012 from The Sports Network
(second team), and was also honored on the College Sporting News "Fabulous 50"
A-A squad.
He
piled up some impressive statistics in 2012, ranking third on the team with 90
tackles and finishing with 11 passes broken up to rank 10th in school history.
The two-time first team All-Big Sky selection also 2 1/2 sacks, nine total
tackles for loss, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble
recovery.
In
the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs against Illinois State on Dec. 8, Lee had
eight tackles, a forced fumble and two passes broken up. Versus Portland State
on Nov. 17, he had eight tackles (one for loss) and broke-up three passes. He
had nine tackles and a sack versus Southern Utah on Oct. 27, and eight tackles,
a pass broken up and a forced fumble on a sack that he also recovered versus
Weber State on Sept. 22. One game earlier against Washington State, he had six
tackles and an interception, as the Eagle defense pitched a shutout in the
second half and kept the Eagles in the game. His interception in the fourth
quarter came at the Eastern 7-yard line and helped thwart one of two potential
scoring drives for the Cougars late in the game.
Lee
now has 140 tackles, three interceptions, 14 passes broken up and 2 1/2 sacks in
his 34-game career (20 starts). As a sophomore in 2011, Lee was a first team
All-Big Sky selection, finishing the season with 48 tackles, a pair of
interceptions and one pass broken up.
More
on Pavel . . .
Thanks
to a high-percentage senior season, Pavel earned All-America honors from Beyond
Sports College Network (first team), The Sports Network (second team),
Associated Press (third team) and College Sports Madness (third team), and was
also selected to the College Sporting News "Fabulous 50" A-A squad. He also
earned first team All-Big Sky Conference honors.
An
impressive 17-of-19 kicking field goals in the 2012 season, Pavel ranked 25th in
FCS with an average of 1.21 field goals per game. His .895 percentage was the
best in FCS among kickers with at least 14 attempts. He made a 20-yard field
goal against Illinois State on Dec. 8 to earn sole possession of EWU's single
season school record with 17 for the season. His 45-yard field goal against UC
Davis on Nov. 10 equaled the record of 16 set one season earlier by Mike
Jarrett.
Pavel
made kicks of 45 and 23 yards against Southern Utah on Oct. 27 to improve to
13-of-13 on the year, but missed his first attempt of the season on a 37-yarder
that would have broken a 27-27 tie with 2:51 left in the game. His other miss
was a 32-yarder in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs against Sam Houston State
on Dec. 15.
Pavel,
who handled kickoff duties in 2011 after transferring from Boise State
University, took over placekicking duties from Jarrett, who made a school-record
16 field goals in just 18 attempts as a senior in 2011. Pavel missed his only
attempt in the 2011 season, a 52-yarder. Thus, including a field goal Kevin
Miller made earlier in the 2012 season, the Eagles have made 34 of 39 field goal
attempts the last two seasons for 87.2 percent.
Pavel,
who is from Molalla, Ore., and graduated from Central Catholic High School in
2008, also assumed part of EWU's punting duties the final four games. He
finished with a 41.2 average on 20 punts with three downed inside the opponent
20-yard line.
Article Courtesy Of Eastern Washington University Athletics & College Sporting News
