PITMAN--SUNY Cortland graduate student quarterback Dan Pitcher and Montclair State University senior safety Chad Faulcon have been selected as the NJAC Offensive and Defensive Football Players of the Year for the 2011 season. In total, 90 student-athletes garnered NJAC all-conference recognition in the sport of football in 2011. All selections were made by a vote of the league’s 10 head coaches.
Pitcher becomes the second consecutive Red Dragon to earn NJAC Offensive Player of the Year honors after completing 177-of-282 passes for 2,442 yards and a conference-best 29 touchdowns. A two-time first-team all-conference selection, Pitcher currently leads the NJAC in pass efficiency (166.6), while ranking second in the conference in passing yards per game (244.2). A three-time NJAC Offensive Player of the Week selection during the 2011 season, Pitcher also currently ranks second in the NJAC in total offense per game (264.4).
A two-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Week selection, Faulcon was tapped as the top league defender after producing 72 tackles and three interceptions for the NJAC runner-up Red Hawks. He currently ranks tied for eighth in the NJAC in interceptions per game (0.30).
A first-team all-conference selection at both punt returner and wide receiver, Montclair State senior Dan Keegan was tapped as the NJAC Special Teams Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He currently leads the NJAC in punt return average (17.8), while ranking seventh in the league in all-purpose yards per game (95.2). Keegan’s selection marks the third straight year that a Red Hawk has garnered the league’s top special teams honor.
Rowan University freshman wide receiver Eddie Eisenhart was selected as the NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Year. The only freshman named to the conference’s first-team all-conference squad, he finished his rookie season with 46 receptions for 759 yards and seven receiving touchdowns. Eisenhart currently ranks second in the NJAC in receiving yards per game (75.9).
Kean University freshman linebacker Matt Clerk garnered the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award. A three-time NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week selection, he has collected 22 tackles, 5.0 tackles for a loss, 3.0 sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles for the NJAC Champion Cougars. Clerk currently ranks tied for seventh in the NJAC in forced fumbles per game (0.20).
Kean University head coach Dan Garrett was selected as the NJAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Picked to finish fourth in the NJAC preseason coaches’ poll, Garrett led his 2011 squad to a 9-1 overall record the conference title outright with an 8-1 mark in NJAC play. The Cougars will make their first ever appearance in the NCAA Division III National Tournament when they host Christopher Newport in a first round game on November 19. In six seasons at the helm of the Kean program, Garrett has guided the Cougars to an overall record of 42-21.
2011 NJAC FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM