Seven Garner Sports Network All-America
RICHMOND, Va. (December 20, 2011) -- Towson's Terrance West was the only freshman to pick up All-America honors from The Sports Network following the 2011 season. He was one of four First Team picks from CAA Football. Also logging First Team recognition was Delaware's Gino Gradkowski, Old Dominion's Ronnie Cameron and New Hampshire's Matt Evans.
William and Mary's Jonathan Grimes and Old Dominion's Jonathan Plisco were part of The Sports Network's All-America Second Team, while Richmond's Tre Gray was named a Third Team selection.
West helped the "Turnaround Tigers" post a 9-3 record and win the 2011 CAA Football Championship. The second-leading rusher in the CAA, West ran for 1,294 yards in 11 games. He is 12th in NCAA FCS with 117.6 rushing yards per game. He picked up 1,294 yards on 194 carries, an impressive 6.7 average per carry. He ran for more than 100 yards in six consecutive games and had a career high 261 yards on 23 carries in the Tigers' 56-42 win over New Hampshire on Nov. 12. West, who leads NCAA FCS with 29 touchdowns scored, recorded at least two touchdowns in the final eight games of the year. He scored four touchdowns in three different games.
Gradkowski helped lead Delaware to a 7-4 record this past fall as the Hens barely missed out on a berth in the NCAA Tournament. A three-year starter after transfering from West Virginia, Gradkowski led a senior-laden offensive line unit that also included All-CAA picks Shea Allard and Rob McDowell. The group opened big holes for 1,000-yard rusher Andrew Pierce while helping the UD offense rank fifth in the CAA in both rushing offense (165.5 yards per game) and scoring offense (25.8 points per game). Gradkowski, who started all 11 games this season, including eight at guard and three at center, earned first team All-CAA honors back in November, becoming the first UD player to earn back-to-back first team honors since defensive back Charles Graves in 2009 and 2010 and the first UD offensive lineman to accomplish the feat since Conway Hayman in 1968-69.
Cameron, the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Year, was second on the Monarch squad with 73 tackles (28 solo, 45 assisted) along with a team-leading 17 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He averaged 5.6 tackles per game, which was fourth among defensive lineman in the CAA and finished second in the league in tackles for loss averaging 1.31 per contest. He captured a career-high 11 tackles along with a season-high 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks against CAA Champion Towson and also made 10 stops with three for loss against James Madison in ODU's first top-10 victory. His performance on the defensive line helped the Monarchs rank second in the league at the close of the regular season in rushing defense allowing 122.55 yards per contest.
Evans tallied double-digit tackles in 10 of 12 games this season and 21 of his last 25 games, including a career-high 24 tackles at then-No. 14 Lehigh on Sept. 10 and a 13-tackle, two-forced fumble performance in the Colonial Clash victory against then-No. 22 Massachusetts on Oct. 22. Evans notched three interceptions, including a 31-yard pick-six at then-No. 5 Richmond on Sept. 24 and a 58-yard pick-six in the Wildcats' NCAA Division I FCS second-round playoff loss at seventh-ranked Montana State on Dec. 3. Evans forced three fumbles, recovered a fumble and notched two sacks.
For the complete release of all three All-America squads visit The Sports Network or you can find the complete roster here.
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