Four EMU Football Players Named Preseason All-MAC

Complete Teams.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — Phil Steele and Phil Steele's College Football Preview named four Eastern Michigan University football players to its preseason All-Mid-American Conference teams, announced Monday, June 1. Senior linebacker Great Ibe (Hanover, Md.-Meade-Concordia) and senior defensive lineman Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Rita) earned first-team honors, while junior Anthony Zappone (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake) was named to the second team. Senior placekicker Dylan Mulder (Saline, Mich.-Saline) rounded out the honorees with a fourth team selection.

Ibe and O'Connor also earned all-league accolades from the MAC office in 2014.

As a defensive team captain last year, O'Connor gobbled up the opposition behind the line of scrimmage. The team co-captain led the Mid-American Conference in sacks as well as ranking fourth in tackles-for-loss, pushing opponents back a combined 73 yards on 14 tackles-for-loss. For his efforts, O'Connor was selected First Team All-MAC and was the first EMU defensive player to collect first team accolades since the 2007 season.

O'Connor was among the top-50 sack leaders throughout the country, sitting at No. 47 with 7.5 sacks. The Windy City native also became just the second EMU player to lead the conference in sacks, joining Troy Campbell who turned in eight quarterback takedowns during the 1998 campaign.

Right in the middle of the Eastern defense, Ibe showed his versatility between rushing the quarterback and dropping back into coverage. Finding the ball carrier from all over the field, Ibe's 133 stops paced EMU by a substantial margin as the next closest Eagle recorded 97 tackles last season. The linebacker's total was the third-most by an individual MAC defender as well as ranking ninth in the nation. Overall, Ibe's total ranks 13th in the EMU record book for a single-season while his 69 solo tackles are the eighth-most.

In total, the Hanover, Md. native finished nine contests with double-digit tackles. Against UMass, Oct. 18, Ibe recorded a career-high 21 tackles, the most by any Eagle since 2001. The mark was also the highest by an individual defender in the MAC since the 2011 season.

Zappone was a catalyst for the Eastern defense throughout the year alongside Ibe in the linebacker corps. He registered 90 tackles and nine tackles for loss in 2014 for the third-most on the team in both categories. The EMU linebacker also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, broke up three passes and tallied four hurries on the quarterback.

The Westlake, Ohio native earned MAC West Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 11 after he recorded a career-best 13 tackles in the 37-27 Homecoming victory over the Buffalo Bulls. Zappone also added a career-high three tackles for loss in the win at "The Factory."

Mulder led the Eagles in points, collecting a total of 44 during the 12-game campaign. The Saline, Mich. product was 8-for-12 in field goals to go along with connecting on 20-of-22 PATs. From inside 40-yards, Mulder was successful on five makes while making a season-long 43-yarder in a driving rainstorm at Old Dominion, Sept. 13.

In his career, Mulder has participated in 34 contests recording a 70.6 percent (24-for-34) success rate on field goals.

Head Coach Chris Creighton and the rest of the Eagles will hit the gridiron for the first time in the 2015 season with a home opener against Old Dominion University Saturday, Sept. 5, inside "The Factory" at Rynearson Stadium. Season tickets are now on sale for the six-game home slate, which includes four contests against MAC foes. Tickets can be purchased at EMUTix.com or by calling 734.487.2282.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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