Three Named First-Team All-MAC By Athlon Sports
6/17/2020 12:10:00 PM | Football
KENT, OHIO- Dustin Crum, Isaiah McKoy and Matthew Trickett earned first-team honors and eight players in total earned pre-season All-MAC honors from Athlon Sports.
Athlon Sports Magazine chooses its pre-season teams based off of past performance and a projection for the upcoming season.
Senior quarterback Dustin Crum headlines the Magazine's list as the first-team quarterback. Crum is coming off a stellar season completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. The rising senior threw for over 2600 yards and posted a 20:2 touchdown to interception ratio after taking over the starting job in week two. The Grafton, Ohio native also led the team with 707 yards rushing. Crum posted 289 passing and a career-high 147 yards rushing in a MVP performance in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl.
Rising junior wide receiver Isaiah McKoy earned one of the two first-team wide receiver slots. McKoy led the Conference with a 72 yard per game average. He hauled in a team leading 56 passes for 872 yards and eight scores. He and Crum connected on a 78-yard touchdown strike for the Golden Flashes' first score in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. McKoy ended the game with six grabs for 103 yards and that touchdown. McKoy also earned fourth-team specialist honors as a kick returner. McKoy averaged 26 yards a return last season.
The accolades keep mounting for Trickett, who was already named a pre-season All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. The reigning Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year hit on 29-of-34 field goals last year, tying him for the top spot in the FBS. Trickett hit two "walk-off" field goals last year to defeat Kennesaw State and Buffalo and hit four or more field goals in a game three times.
KJ Sherald earned second-team All-MAC honors from the magazine. Sherald will team up with Elvis Hines, a fourth-team All-MAC selection in his own right, as veteran leaders in the Kent State secondary. Sherald was third on the team in tackles last season with 86. The defensive back picked off three passes last year, including two in the regular-season finale at Eastern Michigan. His three picks tied for the team lead and his six pass break-ups were third.
Rising junior offensive lineman Julian Sams was named to the third team. A two-year starter, Sams has started every game in his college career. With Sams helping anchor the line, the Kent State offense improved to over 29 points per game last season.
Seniors Cepeda Phillips and Elvis Hines earned fourth-team defensive honors. Phillips has been a mainstay at linebacker for the Flashes, finishing second on the team with 93 stops. His 6.5 tackles for loss were second on the team in 2019. Hines had 58 tackles last season and was second on the team with seven passes defended. He recovered a key special teams fumble against Utah State in the bowl game, setting up a Matthew Trickett field goal that gave Kent State a 20-17 lead.
The Golden Flashes kick off the 2020 season in Happy Valley against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, September 5th. A kick-off time has not been set. You can view the full Athlon Sports All-MAC team here.
