Six Ohio players were named to the Mid-American Conference First-Team list Wednesday afternoon.
Running back A.J. Ouellette, wide receiver Papi White, guard Joe Lowery and tackle Joe Anderson were named among the best Mid-American Conference offensive players. Safety Javon Hagan was the lone Bobcat representing Ohio on defense, and punter Michael Farkas the only Ohio specialist.
Ouellette, White, Lowery and Anderson were all members of last season’s Second Team.
Hagan was named the 2016 MAC Freshman of the Year and was also a member of the First Team last season.
It’s Farkas’ first time being a member of the MAC First Team, he was a Third Team member in 2016.
Ouellette is capping off his career in exciting fashion. He’s rushed for more than 100 yards in four of his last five games, and he set a career-high 196 rushing yards in the Bobcats’ Nov. 14 win over Buffalo. His final regular season in Athens concluded with 1,142 yards on the ground and 12 touchdowns.
Lowery’s a three year starter for Ohio, playing offensive guard on the left side of the line. A redshirt senior, he’s helped the Bobcats rush for over 350 yards five times this season, including a season-high 437 yards on Nov. 14 against Buffalo. Anderson is a second-year starter. Ohio broke its average yards per game in a season record this season, averaging 470.6. Lowery and Anderson also helped Ohio reach new heights in its rushing attack last season, finishing with a program-record 44 touchdowns and second-best 3,443.
White switched to being a full-time wideout just two seasons ago, but against Akron on Friday, White became Ohio’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 2,530 yards. This season, he had 58 receptions for 897 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns.
Hagan led a secondary that showed vast improvements over the course of the season.
Farkas averaged 43.6 yards per punt for the Bobcats this season.
Nathan Rourke headlined the Second Team, and he was joined by offensive lineman Durrell Wood and linebacker Evan Croutch.
Rourke finished the regular season with 2,228 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, and he rushed for 816 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
Croutch finished with 79 total tackles, four sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. He also had two interceptions.
A total of nine Ohio players were named to the first and second-team all MAC.
In other awards, Buffalo’s Lance Leipold was named MAC Coach of the Year, Northern Illinois’ Sutton Smith was named Defensive Player of the Year, Diontae Johnson of Toledo was named Special Teams Player of the Year and Jaret Patterson of Buffalo was name Freshman of the Year.
