YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) —
The first of the 2021 preseason All-Mid-American Conference teams are out, and Athlon Sports named 11 Eastern Michigan University football student-athletes to one of its four All-MAC squads. Eastern's 11 overall selections are fifth-most in the Mid-American Conference behind Central Michigan (17), Ball State (14), Western Michigan (13), and Toledo (12).Senior defensive back Alvinoski LaFleur (Lake Charles, La.-LaGrange-Coffeyville C.C.) was the lone Eagle to collect first team honors on defense. Senior tight end Bryson Cannon (Columbia, S.C.-Dutch Fork-Independence C.C.), senior punter Jake Julien (Barrie, Ontario-North Collegiate), senior defensive end Turan Rush (Charleston West Side, W.Va.-Capital-Antelope Valley), junior kicker Chad Ryland (Lebanon, Pa.-Cedar Crest), and junior offensive lineman Sidy Sow (Bromont, Quebec-J-H Leclerc-Champlain Lennoxville) each landed spots on the All-MAC second team.
Senior linebacker Terry Myrick (Austell, Ga.-Woodward Academy) and senior center Mike Van Hoeven (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw) collected Third Team All-MAC accolades. The Eagles rounded out their All-MAC honors with an additional three selections to the fourth team, including junior wide receiver Hassan Beydoun (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn), junior quarterback Preston Hutchinson (Mason, Ohio-Mason), and senior defensive back Freddie McGee III (Canton, Mich.-Salem).
After seeing action in all 13 contests in 2019, LaFleur emerged as the team's starting safety last year. A consistent force for the defense that finished as the eighth-best red zone stop specialists in the nation, he was able to record multiple tackles in each contest. His best performance came in the form of an 11-stop day, a career-high, versus Central Michigan, Nov. 27. The Lake Charles, La. native notched his second-career interception in EMU's season-opener at Kent State, Nov. 4, and added a pick for the second consecutive week against Ball State, Nov. 11, a play in which he also recorded a career-long 54-yard return. LaFleur's interceptions in back-to-back contests marked the first time that accomplishment has been recorded by an Eagle since Brody Hoying notched three picks in two weeks against NIU, and Kent State, respectively (weeks 11 & 12), in 2019. LaFleur finished tied for second in the MAC with two interceptions but led the conference in return yardage off interceptions (97 yards).
Cannon caught nine passes for 178 yards and two scores during the 2020 campaign. He hauled in two grabs for a career-best 86 yards against rival Central Michigan, Nov. 27, while snagging touchdown tosses against Ball State, Nov. 11, and Toledo, Nov. 18.
Drafted No. 31 overall by the Ottawa RedBlacks in the 2021 Canadian Football League Draft, Julien has built his special teams resume into one of the best in school history. He is tied with Rich Hanschu (1979-80) for first in the EMU record books with a 43.4 career punting average and ranks eighth in EMU history with 7,383 yards punting. Julien is the only punter in Eastern Michigan history to record two 70+ yard punts in his career. Through four seasons, he has 51 balls downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line to go along with 37 that traveled longer than 50 yards.
Recognized as a nominee for the Ray Guy Award in 2020, given to the nation's top punter, Julien led the MAC in punting while ranking eighth nationally (44.25 yards per punt) during his most recent campaign with Eastern. He booted 16 punts for 708 yards (44.25 ypp total would rank third in EMU history if a minimum of 20 punts were reached). The senior had six punts for 44.2 yards per punt against Toledo, Nov. 18, with two downed inside the 20-yard line. He twice pinned the opponent inside the 20 against Central Michigan, Nov. 27. Overall, he recorded two punts of 50+ yards and forced opponents into fair catches on seven occasions. For his efforts, he was named to Phil Steele's All-MAC Team, as a third-team selection, in 2020.
A 2020 captain for Eastern Michigan, Rush established himself as one of the most dangerous pass rushers in the MAC last season. The West Virginia native finished fifth in the MAC and 30th in the FBS in sacks at 0.75 per game and had a season-best two sacks and six tackles against MAC West Division champion Ball State, Nov. 11. The third-year Eagle added sacks against Kent State, Nov. 4, Toledo, Nov. 18, and Northern Illinois, Dec. 12.
Ryland, who was awarded a scholarship prior to the start of the season, led the MAC and ranked fourth nationally in field goals per game (1.83) in 2020. He was second in the MAC and 23rd nationally in field goal percentage at 84.6 percent (11-of-13). His most impressive kick of the season came against Ball State, Nov. 11, where he drilled a season-best 52-yarder, which is tied for the second-longest in school history. Additionally, he tied the school record with four made field goals in an upset victory of then-MAC West Division leader Western Michigan, Dec. 5. A two-time MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week in 2020, Ryland ranks third all-time in PATs made (94) and fourth in PATs attempted (98) at EMU. He is fifth in career points scored with 205, just one shy of passing Tim Henneghan (1986-89) for fourth place, and needs just 95 points to surpass Andrew Wellock (2003-06) for the most career points at 299.
A fixture in both EMU's run blocking and pass protection efforts, Sow was impressive during his junior season with the Green and White. He started all six games for Eastern Michigan at the left guard position and helped spur an EMU rushing attack that saw seven different Eagles record multiple attempts on the ground en route to 776 total yards and 11 of EMU's 23 offensive touchdowns in 2020. Sow was also responsible for the protection of Hutchinson, who racked up better than 1,600 yards through the air in just six games and scored eight TDs of his own on the ground.
One of EMU's defensive leaders, Myrick put together his best season in the Green and White in 2020. The Greater Atlanta product started all six games as a linebacker for EMU, and finished first on the team with 67 total tackles, including 24 solo stops and 43 assists. He also led the team with 5.5 tackles-for-loss and two fumble recoveries. Moreover, his two pass breakups were good for second-best of any player on the team. Myrick also added a pair of fumble recoveries, the first two of his career, which was the best effort by any player in the league, and the 12th best total in the nation. He finished fourth in the MAC and 11th nationally with 11.2 tackles per game average and led EMU in total tackles in four-of-six games during the 2020 campaign, where he recorded at least 10 stops in each.
Dubbed "one of the hardest working men" on the team by Head Coach Chris Creighton, Van Hoeven played an important role in the EMU offense in 2020. Named to the Rimington Trophy watch list, the award given annually to the nation's best center, Van Hoeven started all six games for the Green and White as the team's center. He helped spur an EMU rushing attack that saw seven different Eagles record multiple attempts on the ground en route to 776 total yards and 11 of EMU's 23 offensive touchdowns in 2020. Additionally, he helped to protect Hutchinson, who racked up better than 1,600 yards through the air in just six games.
Beydoun reminded everyone that just because one starts his career as a walk-on, it does not mean he cannot be great. In fact, he was a 2020 nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's best player who began his career as a walk-on. Beydoun holds the EMU standard for receptions/game in a season at 8.0, bettering Kenny Christian's mark of 7.8 set in 2000. He had a team-best 40 receptions for 508 yards in five games this season and finished ranked second in the MAC and eighth nationally in receptions per game (8.0). The Dearborn, Mich. native was fourth in the league and 16th nationally in receiving yards per game (101.6), and caught at least seven balls in every game this season. He posted nine catches for 112 yards against Kent State, Nov. 4, and followed it up by again hitting the century mark against Central Michigan, Nov. 27. Beydoun finished the season with a team-best three 100+ yard receiving performances, and now has four such games in his career. His four 100+ yard performances tie for third-best in program history. Additionally, he is one of just seven players in the 129-year history of the program to record at least four games in that category.
Assuming the role of quarterback in 2020 was Hutchinson, who recorded new career-highs in virtually every category. He put together an impressive junior season as he threw for 1,662 yards on 126-of-198 pass attempts, the 22nd most single-season passing yards by a QB in program history while notching two games with 300+ passing yards. The Mason, Ohio native tossed for 12 touchdowns, including a career-best four scores versus Toledo, Nov. 18, and added a career-best 87 rushing attempts for 206 yards and eight touchdowns. He ran for touchdowns in three consecutive games, the most of any EMU player this season and the 24th in program history to hit the mark, all while directing an EMU offense that amassed 2,438 total yards, good for 406.3 yards per game, the fourth-best mark of any team in program history.
Hutchinson finished the season ranked inside the top-40 nationally in 10 individual categories, including top-20 placements in passing yards per game (276.2) and total offense (308.2 yards per game). He now resides in the top-20 of four EMU record book categories, including single-game total offense (13 - 422 yards vs. CMU, Nov. 27), career pass completions (18-169), career passing yards (17 – 2,124), and single-game TD passes (T-4 – 4 vs. Toledo, Nov. 18). One of the most impressive plays of the season came when he connected with Cannon for the second-longest pass play in Rynearson Stadium history (79 yards) against CMU, Nov. 27. Overall, his scoring unit averaged 22.33 first downs per game (134 total), which is the sixth-best of any team in program history. The junior collected MAC Offensive Player of the Week and was also named a Manning Award "Star of the Week," one time during the 2020 campaign.
McGee was limited to just four games in 2020, but still posted 15 tackles (14 solo, 1 assist) to go along with a fumble recovery. A 2019 Academic All-MAC honoree, McGee appeared in 12 games, making five starts. He tallied 32 tackles (25 solo, 7 assisted) while ranking fifth on the team with four pass breakups. The Canton, Mich. native made three stops in a thrilling 34-31 victory at Illinois (Sept. 14) and tied a career-high with five tackles versus Ball State (Oct. 12). He then posted five stops in back-to-back games against Buffalo, Nov. 2, and at Akron, Nov. 12.
With the season fast approaching, the EMU Ticket Office has announced the sale of 2021 ticket packages. EMU's schedule features six home games, with the first set to be played on Friday, Sept. 3, against Saint Francis (Pa). Visit the official ticketing page at EMUEagles.com for more information.
As always, continue to visit EMUEagles.com and follow @EMUFB on social media to stay up-to-date on all things EMU football.
Athlon Sports' 2021 All-MAC Team
First-Team Defense
CB Alvinoski LaFleur
Second-Team Offense
TE Bryson Cannon
OL Sidy Sow
Second-Team Defense
DL Turan Rush
Second-Team Specialists
K Chad Ryland
P Jake Julien
Third-Team Offense
C Mike Van Hoeven
Third-Team Defense
LB Terry Myrick
Fourth-Team Offense
QB Preston Hutchinson
WR Hassan Beydoun
Fourth-Team Defense
CB Freddie McGee
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Football Places 11 on Athlon All-MAC Preseason Teams - EMU Eagles
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