CAA Football Has 20 Players Honored As All-Americans By Stats Perform

CAA Football Has 20 Players Honored As All-Americans By Stats Perform

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Rob Washburn

2024 Stats Perform FCS All-America and Freshman Teams | Opta Analyst

RICHMOND, Va. (December 18, 2024) – CAA Football had 17 players honored on the Stats Perform FCS All-America team that was announced on Wednesday, while three other CAA players were recognized as Freshman All-Americans.

Receiving first-team All-America accolades were William & Mary senior offensive lineman Charles Grant, Towson senior tight end Carter Runyon, Richmond senior defensive lineman Jeremiah Grant, New Hampshire senior defensive lineman Josiah Silver, Rhode Island junior linebacker A.J. Pena, William & Mary junior defensive back Jalen Jones, Elon junior punt Jeff Yurk and Elon senior kick returner Chandler Brayboy.

Selected as second-team All-Americans were Stony Brook senior running back Roland Dempster, Rhode Island sophomore wide receiver Marquis Buchanan, Delaware graduate Brock Gingrich, Elon junior defensive back Caleb Curtain and Villanova graduate defensive Isas Waxter.

Making the Stats All-America third team were Monmouth senior quarterback Derek Robertson, Bryant senior wide receiver Landon Ruggieri, Stony Brook senior defensive lineman Rushawn Lawerence and Villanova graduate linebacker Brendan Bell.

Chosen to the Stats Freshman All-America squad were Elon defensive lineman Kahmari Brown, William & Mary defensive lineman Ty Gordon and Richmond safety Matthew Traynor.

Charles Grant allowed just one sack in 368 pass blocking snaps and cleared the way for W&M’s rushing attack that ranked fourth nationally. Runyon led all CAA tight ends with 45 receptions for 502 yards and 5 TD’s. Jeremiah Grant led the nation with 13.5 sacks and contributed 53 tackles, 19.5 TFL’s and 8 QB hurries. Silver made 58 stops and was among the best in FCS with 11.5 sacks and 17.5 TFL’s. Pena contributed 82 tackles and ranked among the top 10 in FCS with a CAA-best 22.5 TFL’s and 12.5 sacks. Jones led the nation with 20 pass breakups and 22 passes defended, while adding 48 tackles and two interceptions. Yurk topped FCS in punting with 47.9-yard average, which included 26 punts of 50+ yards and 19 kicks downed inside the 20. Brayboy ranked second nationally in kickoff returns (35.3 avg) and also had 59 receptions for 979 yards and 8 TD’s.

Dempster was sixth in the FCS with 1,332 rushing yards and ranked 3rd in FCS with 18 rushing touchdowns. Buchanan made 82 receptions for 1,124 yards and eight touchdowns. Gingrich was the top blocker on a Delaware offense that averaged 437.8 yards per game and allowed only 17 sacks all season. Curtain recorded a team-best 75 tackles and added two interceptions and nine pass breakups. Waxter had 33 tackles, 2.0 TFL’s and three forced fumbles.

Robertson completed 283-of-435 passes and set program records with 3,937 yards and 31 TD’s. Ruggieri made 69 catches for 1,096 yards and topped the nation with 15 TD grabs. Lawrence contributed 42 tackles, 11.5 TFL’s and 8.0 sacks. Bell recorded a team-high 126 tackles and added 16.0 TFL’s and three fumble recoveries.

Brown tallied 33 tackles, 9.0 TFL’s and 4.5 sacks. Gordon picked up 27 tackles, 6.0 TFL’s, 5.0 sacks and an interception. Traynor registered 69 tackles, 4.5 TFL’s and two interceptions.