Football Lands 20 on All-UAA Team; Easton Knott Named Offensive Player of the Year
ALL-UAA TEAM
St. Louis, Mo., November 22, 2011 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team had 20 student-athletes named to the all-University Athletic Association (UAA) Team, as announced today by the league office.
Senior wide receiver Easton Knott earned UAA Co-Offensive Player of the Year accolades, becoming the fourth player in school history to earn the honor.
“I am very humbled by this honor. I think that it is a culmination of the growth we had as an offense this year, because there is no way I could have done what I did without guys like Chris Castelluccio averaging 116 yards over the last three games or Drew Sexton coming back from a broken collarbone to be second on the team in receptions,” said Knott. “The group work ethic we had in the off-season carried on into the season and really drove all of us to perform at our best. Also, I think we have one of the best receiving coaches in the country in Brett Fischer. I know that I wouldn't be half the player I am now without him and I am incredibly grateful he has been here to coach us.”
Knott led a group of five Bears who were named to the first-team offensive unit. Knott led the league averaging 100.7 yards receiving per contest with four touchdowns in UAA games only. For the season he had 35 catches for 667 yards and 10 touchdowns, and closed out his career with over 1,000 receiving yards.
Joining Knott on the first team was junior quarterback Dan Burkett, junior running back Chris Castelluccio, senior center Joe Rhein and senior tight end Phill Stoecker.
Burkett started all 10 games for the Bears and led the league in conference games in yards per game (223.0), pass efficiency (150.4) and total offense (229.3). For the season, Burkett was 126-of-230 yards for 1,639 yards and 16 touchdowns. Castelluccio ran for a league-best 116 yards per game during UAA play, and was second overall with 709 rushing yards in 10 starts.
Rhein started all 10 games at center, and spearheaded an offense that averaged a conference-best 368.3 yards per game in UAA games. He started all 40 games in his career, was a four-time all-UAA honoree. Stoecker, who earned all-UAA honors for the third-straight year, was fourth on the squad with 19 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior linebackers Nick Hillard and Kyle Larkin led three-student-athletes on the first-team defense. Hillard, a two-time all-UAA honoree, was third in the league in conference games with 29 tackles, and led the team and was fourth in the UAA with 82 tackles total. Larkin, a first-team all-UAA honoree for the second-straight season, finished third on the team with 54 tackles and fourth with 4.5 tackles for loss.
Sophomore safety Scott O’Brien earned first-team all-UAA accolades for the second-straight season, and led the team with three interceptions and was fifth in the UAA with eight passes defended. O’Brien also finished the season fifth on the squad with 38 tackles.
Earning second-team all-UAA honors on offense were junior H-back Trevor LaBarge and junior wide receiver Drew Sexton, while sophomore free safety Tate Byers, senior cornerback John Meikel and junior defensive lineman William Small picked up second-team honors on defense. Also earning second-team accolades on special teams were junior kicker Eric Chalifour and senior punter Austin Morman.
Washington U. was also represented on the honorable-mention unit with five honorees. Freshman defensive back Ryan Bednar, senior linebacker Ed Ferguson, senior offensive lineman Jake Lewis, sophomore punt returner Michael McGovern and sophomore defensive lineman Nelson Nwumeh each picked up the accolade.
Washington University finished the 2011 season with a 6-4 overall record and placed second in the UAA with a 2-1 record.