The American International College football team earned seven Northeast-10 Conference All-Conference selections, the league office announced on Wednesday, November 17. Six players were selected.
"I'm super excited for the players who made All-Conference. It's year round work of doing it the right way, every day. They earned it every day. Being All-Conference started in winter workouts and this is the end result. Extremely proud of them," said Interim Head Coach Kris Kulzer.
Junior
Rady Rojas-Portilla was named First-Team Defense at punter. Not only did his 42.3 yards per punt lead the conference, he booted a 72-yard kick that was the longest of the season in the league. Additionally, he had 43 tackles and two interceptions as a defensive back, and earned NE10 Special Teams Player of the Week twice.
Senior captain Jaysen Thompsen earned a First-Team Defense selection as a linebacker, his second All-Conference honor. No one was more effective at bringing opponents down than Thompsen, who led the NE10 with 112 tackles, 11.2 per game. That included 1.5 sacks and seven tackles for losses. He also forced a fumble and made an interception.
Senior captain
Isiah Tolbert earned First-Team Defense on the defensive line for the second consecutive season. The defensive end was once again a force, making 6.2 tackles per game, with 10 of those for losses as well as 3.5 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles.
Redshirt senior
Fabian Thames was named a Second-Team Defense selection at linebacker. He caused havoc in both the run and pass game with 78 tackles, second-most on the team, including 8.5 behind the line of scrimmage. His 7.8 tackles per game were fifth in the NE10. He additionally forced two fumbles, recovering one, and added an interception.
Senior
David Brown earned a Second-Team Offense selection on the offensive line. He started nine games for the Yellow Jackets, primarily playing right tackle, and his ability to protect the quarterback allowed AIC to have one of the top passing offenses in the conference.
Freshman
Jaheim McGuire was both Second-Team Offense and All-Rookie at wide receiver. The first-year pass catcher dazzled to the tune of an average of 63 yards per game, fifth-most in the NE10, and caught eight touchdowns, tied for third.