Eastern Michigan Athletics
Three Eagles Named to Phil Steele All-MAC Mid-Season Team
10/17/2014 10:04:00 PM | Football
Pat O'Connor and Great Ibe are first team while Anthony Zappone was on third team
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Phil Steele has honored three Eastern Michigan University football players as members of his 2014 Mid-Season All-Mid-American Conference teams.
Named to the All-MAC First Team were junior defensive lineman Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Rita) and redshirt-junior Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade-Concordia). Earning second team recognition was redshirt-sophomore Anthony Zappone (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake).
O'Connor has been gobbling up the opposition behind the line of scrimmage this season. The team co-captain currently leads the MAC in both sacks as well as tackles-for-loss. Pushing opponents back a combined 66 yards on 9.5 tackles-for-loss, O'Connor's total ranks 10th nationally. The Windy City native is among the top-25 sack leaders throughout the country, as well as sitting in seventh with 6.5 sacks. In the Eagles' victory over Buffalo, Oct. 11, quarterback Joe Licata found O'Connor to be a thorn in his side. O'Connor was relentless in his coverage of the Buffalo playmaker, recording a career-best 2.5 sacks and six hurries.
Right in the middle of the Eastern defense, Ibe has shown his versatility between rushing the quarterback and dropping back into coverage. Finding the ball carrier from all over the field, Ibe's 63 tackles lead EMU by a substantial margin as the next closest Eagle has recorded 47 tackles this season. The 63 tackles by the Eastern linebacker is the third-highest by an individual MAC defender as well as 19th in the nation.
Named the MAC's West Division Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 11, Zappone recorded a career-best 13 tackles in the 37-27 Homecoming victory over the Bulls. Zappone also added a career- high three tackles for loss. In conference-only games, the Westlake, Ohio native currently sits in a tie for first in the MAC in tackles-for-loss as he is averaging 2.50 a game. His 9.5 tackles per contest is ranked seventh in the league among linebackers, while that total is also tied for 11th overall in the conference.
The EMU football team takes flight for another road game, as the Eagles battle the University of Massachusetts Saturday afternoon, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m. The Mid-American Conference contest will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Home to the NFL's New England Patriots, the stadium is approximately 90 miles from the school's Amherst campus.
The contest will air on ESPN3 with Bob Picozzi providing the play-by-play and Matt Chatham serving as the analyst. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field.
PHIL STEELE'S 2014 MIDSEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
First Team Offense
QB - Zach Terrell, Western Michigan
RB- Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan
RB - Thomas Rawls, Central Michigan
WR - Roger Lewis, Bowling Green
WR - David Frazier, Miami
WR - Daniel Braverman, Western Michigan
TE - Jean Sifrin, Massachusetts
OL - Greg Mancz, Toledo
OL - Andrew Ness, Northern Illinois
OL - Alex Huettel, Bowling Green
OL - Chase Nelson, Toledo
OL - Tyler Loos, Northern Illinois
First Team Defense
DL - Trent Voss, Toledo
DL - Joe Ostman, Central Michigan
DL - Cody Grice, Akron
DL - Pat O'Connor, Eastern Michigan
LB - Jatavis Brown, Akron
LB - Junior Sylvestre, Toledo
LB - Justin Cherocci, Central Michigan
LB - Great Ibe, Eastern Michigan
DB - Ronald Zamort, Western Michigan
DB - Quinten Rollins, Miami
DB - Tony Annese, Central Michigan
DB - Adam Redden, Buffalo
First Team Special Teams
K - Tyler Tate, Bowling Green
P - Anthony Melchiori, Kent State
KR - Daz'mond Patterson, Ohio
PR - Corey Jones, Toledo
Second Team Offense
QB - Blake Frohnapfel, Massachusetts
RB - Anthone Taylor, Buffalo
RB - Jahwan Edwards, Ball State
WR - Corey Jones, Toledo
WR - Titus Davis, Central Michigan
WR - Tajae Sharpe, Massachusetts
TE - Alex Welch, Miami
OL - Travis Switzer, Akron
OL - Jacob_Richard, Ball State
OL - Andy Phillips, Central Michigan
OL - Mike Lucas, Ohio
OL - Jake Silas, Buffalo
Second Team Defense
DL - Jason Meehan, Northern Illinois
DL - Bryson Albright, Miami
DL - Bryan Thomas, Bowling Green
DL - Nordly Capi, Akron
LB - Gabe Martin, Bowling Green
LB - Ben Ingle, Ball State
LB - Boomer Mays, Northern Illinois
LB - Anthony Zappone, Eastern Michigan
DB - Randall Jette, Massachusetts
DB - Cortney Lester, Buffalo
DB - Jordan Haden, Toledo
DB - Nate Holley, Kent State
Second Team Special Teams
K - Scott Secor, Ball State
P - Tyler Wedel, Northern Illinois
KR - Eric Patterson, Ball State
PR - Ryan Burbrink, Bowling Green
Named to the All-MAC First Team were junior defensive lineman Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Rita) and redshirt-junior Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade-Concordia). Earning second team recognition was redshirt-sophomore Anthony Zappone (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake).
O'Connor has been gobbling up the opposition behind the line of scrimmage this season. The team co-captain currently leads the MAC in both sacks as well as tackles-for-loss. Pushing opponents back a combined 66 yards on 9.5 tackles-for-loss, O'Connor's total ranks 10th nationally. The Windy City native is among the top-25 sack leaders throughout the country, as well as sitting in seventh with 6.5 sacks. In the Eagles' victory over Buffalo, Oct. 11, quarterback Joe Licata found O'Connor to be a thorn in his side. O'Connor was relentless in his coverage of the Buffalo playmaker, recording a career-best 2.5 sacks and six hurries.
Right in the middle of the Eastern defense, Ibe has shown his versatility between rushing the quarterback and dropping back into coverage. Finding the ball carrier from all over the field, Ibe's 63 tackles lead EMU by a substantial margin as the next closest Eagle has recorded 47 tackles this season. The 63 tackles by the Eastern linebacker is the third-highest by an individual MAC defender as well as 19th in the nation.
Named the MAC's West Division Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 11, Zappone recorded a career-best 13 tackles in the 37-27 Homecoming victory over the Bulls. Zappone also added a career- high three tackles for loss. In conference-only games, the Westlake, Ohio native currently sits in a tie for first in the MAC in tackles-for-loss as he is averaging 2.50 a game. His 9.5 tackles per contest is ranked seventh in the league among linebackers, while that total is also tied for 11th overall in the conference.
The EMU football team takes flight for another road game, as the Eagles battle the University of Massachusetts Saturday afternoon, Oct. 18, at 3 p.m. The Mid-American Conference contest will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Home to the NFL's New England Patriots, the stadium is approximately 90 miles from the school's Amherst campus.
The contest will air on ESPN3 with Bob Picozzi providing the play-by-play and Matt Chatham serving as the analyst. WEMU (89.1 FM) will provide audio coverage of the game with Matt Shepard and Rob Rubick calling the action on the field.
PHIL STEELE'S 2014 MIDSEASON ALL-MAC TEAM
First Team Offense
QB - Zach Terrell, Western Michigan
RB- Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan
RB - Thomas Rawls, Central Michigan
WR - Roger Lewis, Bowling Green
WR - David Frazier, Miami
WR - Daniel Braverman, Western Michigan
TE - Jean Sifrin, Massachusetts
OL - Greg Mancz, Toledo
OL - Andrew Ness, Northern Illinois
OL - Alex Huettel, Bowling Green
OL - Chase Nelson, Toledo
OL - Tyler Loos, Northern Illinois
First Team Defense
DL - Trent Voss, Toledo
DL - Joe Ostman, Central Michigan
DL - Cody Grice, Akron
DL - Pat O'Connor, Eastern Michigan
LB - Jatavis Brown, Akron
LB - Junior Sylvestre, Toledo
LB - Justin Cherocci, Central Michigan
LB - Great Ibe, Eastern Michigan
DB - Ronald Zamort, Western Michigan
DB - Quinten Rollins, Miami
DB - Tony Annese, Central Michigan
DB - Adam Redden, Buffalo
First Team Special Teams
K - Tyler Tate, Bowling Green
P - Anthony Melchiori, Kent State
KR - Daz'mond Patterson, Ohio
PR - Corey Jones, Toledo
Second Team Offense
QB - Blake Frohnapfel, Massachusetts
RB - Anthone Taylor, Buffalo
RB - Jahwan Edwards, Ball State
WR - Corey Jones, Toledo
WR - Titus Davis, Central Michigan
WR - Tajae Sharpe, Massachusetts
TE - Alex Welch, Miami
OL - Travis Switzer, Akron
OL - Jacob_Richard, Ball State
OL - Andy Phillips, Central Michigan
OL - Mike Lucas, Ohio
OL - Jake Silas, Buffalo
Second Team Defense
DL - Jason Meehan, Northern Illinois
DL - Bryson Albright, Miami
DL - Bryan Thomas, Bowling Green
DL - Nordly Capi, Akron
LB - Gabe Martin, Bowling Green
LB - Ben Ingle, Ball State
LB - Boomer Mays, Northern Illinois
LB - Anthony Zappone, Eastern Michigan
DB - Randall Jette, Massachusetts
DB - Cortney Lester, Buffalo
DB - Jordan Haden, Toledo
DB - Nate Holley, Kent State
Second Team Special Teams
K - Scott Secor, Ball State
P - Tyler Wedel, Northern Illinois
KR - Eric Patterson, Ball State
PR - Ryan Burbrink, Bowling Green
Players Mentioned
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