Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Football Names 2017 Team Captains
4/24/2017 5:30:00 PM | Football
Jason Beck, Jeremiah Harris, Brogan Roback, and Shaq Vann to serve as team captains
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's football team has announced its team captains for the 2017 campaign. Providing leadership for the squad will be seniors Jason Beck (Indianapolis, Ind.-Arsenal Technical) and Brogan Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Toledo St. John's Jesuit), along with redshirt juniors Jeremiah Harris (Lambertville, Mich.-Bedford Senior) and Shaq Vann (South Bend, Ind.-John Adams).
Beck, Harris and Roback earn the honor for the first time, while Vann received the distinction for the second consecutive season.
Beck started all 13 games at defensive back in 2016. He posted the second most tackles on the team with 104 (46 solo, 58 assist), recording at least seven stops in 10 contests. The safety added seven tackles for a loss of 26 yards, as well as 0.5 sacks. Beck finished with three pass breakups and two quarterback hurries. He notched a season-high 12 stops against nationally-ranked Western Michigan (Oct. 22), as well as 11 tackles against Miami (Oct. 29) and 10 at MAC East Division champion Ohio (Oct. 15). Beck already is tied for the 13th most games started in EMU history with 35 and has totaled 270 tackles during his time in Ypsilanti.
Harris was selected to the All-MAC Third Team last season, as well as the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending Sept. 24, 2016. He finished fourth on the team with 69 tackles, including 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks, as well as six QB hurries. The defensive lineman made his biggest mark in the turnover battle for Eastern, forcing three fumbles, and leading the team with three fumble recoveries, which ranked eighth in the country and second in the MAC. In the 2017 season finale against CMU, Harris had the game sealing interception, the first of his career. He was also a huge asset on the field goal block team, getting his mitts on two attempts this season. In total, Harris was one of just 34 players to block multiple kicks last season.
Roback put up tall numbers in his 10 appearances in 2016. He finished with 219 completions for 2,694 yards and 18 touchdowns. He had six 300-yard games and a season-high of 468 yards. Roback was named a Manning Award Star of the Week for the period ending Oct. 15, 2016, while also collecting MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week honors Oct. 15, Nov. 14 and Nov. 28. He threw for a career-high 468 yards on 37-of-71 passing at Ball State (Nov. 8), both of which were career-highs, and three touchdown passes. In the regular season finale versus Central Michigan (Nov. 22), Roback threw for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one of them coming in the final 30 seconds of the game to mark the fourth time in his career that he had directed a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. He already ranks third in career touchdown passes (38), fourth in completions (500), fourth in passing yardage (5,763), and fifth in total offense (6,033).
Vann returns after missing all but one game last year with an injury. A 2016 Doak Walker Award Watch List candidate, ran for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns before having to sit out the rest of the season. He was one of four different EMU running backs to surpass 100-or-more yards in a game during the Eagles' turnaround campaign. In 2015, he appeared in all 12 games for EMU, starting four contests. He finished the season second on the team in rushing with 586 yards on 100 carries, as well as five scores. Vann was the Eagles' top receiving threat out of the backfield, totaling 37 receptions for 269 yards and one touchdown.
The 2016 EMU football team tied the Football Bowl Subdivision mark for biggest turnarounds, improving on their win total from one win in 2015, to seven this season. As an offense, EMU ranked 35th in the FBS in total offense, posting 455.2 yards per game in 13 contests. The team also shattered the school record for total offense with 5,917 yards, breaking the previous record of 5,010. Other notable offensive highlights for the Eagles this past season include ranking 16th nationally in third down conversions, 18th in passing offense, 21st in red zone offense, and 25th in first down offense.
On defense, the Eagles saw a remarkable improvement in its first season under defensive coordinator Neal Neathery. EMU allowed 86.5 yards per game less in 2016 (432.7 per game) than it did in 2015 (519.2 per game) to rank 83rd in the country and seventh in the MAC. The team also took a huge step forward in stopping the run, as the defense gave up 149 yards per game less on the ground in 2016 than it did a year earlier. Overall, EMU was nationally ranked seventh in fumbles recovered, 32nd in turnovers gained, 58th in interceptions, and 59th in rushing defense.
The Eagles open the 2017 season under the lights at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium Friday, Sept. 1, versus the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Season ticket package tickets are now available for purchase at EMUEagles.com/tickets, by calling 734.487.2282.
Beck, Harris and Roback earn the honor for the first time, while Vann received the distinction for the second consecutive season.
Beck started all 13 games at defensive back in 2016. He posted the second most tackles on the team with 104 (46 solo, 58 assist), recording at least seven stops in 10 contests. The safety added seven tackles for a loss of 26 yards, as well as 0.5 sacks. Beck finished with three pass breakups and two quarterback hurries. He notched a season-high 12 stops against nationally-ranked Western Michigan (Oct. 22), as well as 11 tackles against Miami (Oct. 29) and 10 at MAC East Division champion Ohio (Oct. 15). Beck already is tied for the 13th most games started in EMU history with 35 and has totaled 270 tackles during his time in Ypsilanti.
Harris was selected to the All-MAC Third Team last season, as well as the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending Sept. 24, 2016. He finished fourth on the team with 69 tackles, including 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks, as well as six QB hurries. The defensive lineman made his biggest mark in the turnover battle for Eastern, forcing three fumbles, and leading the team with three fumble recoveries, which ranked eighth in the country and second in the MAC. In the 2017 season finale against CMU, Harris had the game sealing interception, the first of his career. He was also a huge asset on the field goal block team, getting his mitts on two attempts this season. In total, Harris was one of just 34 players to block multiple kicks last season.
Roback put up tall numbers in his 10 appearances in 2016. He finished with 219 completions for 2,694 yards and 18 touchdowns. He had six 300-yard games and a season-high of 468 yards. Roback was named a Manning Award Star of the Week for the period ending Oct. 15, 2016, while also collecting MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week honors Oct. 15, Nov. 14 and Nov. 28. He threw for a career-high 468 yards on 37-of-71 passing at Ball State (Nov. 8), both of which were career-highs, and three touchdown passes. In the regular season finale versus Central Michigan (Nov. 22), Roback threw for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one of them coming in the final 30 seconds of the game to mark the fourth time in his career that he had directed a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. He already ranks third in career touchdown passes (38), fourth in completions (500), fourth in passing yardage (5,763), and fifth in total offense (6,033).
Vann returns after missing all but one game last year with an injury. A 2016 Doak Walker Award Watch List candidate, ran for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns before having to sit out the rest of the season. He was one of four different EMU running backs to surpass 100-or-more yards in a game during the Eagles' turnaround campaign. In 2015, he appeared in all 12 games for EMU, starting four contests. He finished the season second on the team in rushing with 586 yards on 100 carries, as well as five scores. Vann was the Eagles' top receiving threat out of the backfield, totaling 37 receptions for 269 yards and one touchdown.
The 2016 EMU football team tied the Football Bowl Subdivision mark for biggest turnarounds, improving on their win total from one win in 2015, to seven this season. As an offense, EMU ranked 35th in the FBS in total offense, posting 455.2 yards per game in 13 contests. The team also shattered the school record for total offense with 5,917 yards, breaking the previous record of 5,010. Other notable offensive highlights for the Eagles this past season include ranking 16th nationally in third down conversions, 18th in passing offense, 21st in red zone offense, and 25th in first down offense.
On defense, the Eagles saw a remarkable improvement in its first season under defensive coordinator Neal Neathery. EMU allowed 86.5 yards per game less in 2016 (432.7 per game) than it did in 2015 (519.2 per game) to rank 83rd in the country and seventh in the MAC. The team also took a huge step forward in stopping the run, as the defense gave up 149 yards per game less on the ground in 2016 than it did a year earlier. Overall, EMU was nationally ranked seventh in fumbles recovered, 32nd in turnovers gained, 58th in interceptions, and 59th in rushing defense.
The Eagles open the 2017 season under the lights at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium Friday, Sept. 1, versus the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Season ticket package tickets are now available for purchase at EMUEagles.com/tickets, by calling 734.487.2282.
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