CHENEY, Wash. -
The number of Eastern Washington football players named All-Americans now stands at five after Monday's announcement by The Sports Network.
TSN named cornerback T.J. Lee, wide receiver Brandon Kaufman and kicker Jimmy Pavel to its All-American second team. Those three players join senior offensive tackle Will Post and defensive end Jerry Ceja as honorees this season.
All five players play a large role in the unmistakable heart of the Eagles' team. Eastern Washington finds itself playing in the semi-final game of the FCS tournament, and possibly winning a second national championship in three seasons.
"I told the guys this at different times, even before the playoffs, I don't really care who the most talented team is when we play; I don't care who the most talented team is in this tournament – you can argue that all you want. It's gonna come down to guts and heart and mental toughness when things are on the line," said coach Beau Baldwin.
The Eagles host Sam Houston State on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Roos Field in Cheney. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Read the news release from EWU Athletics:
Junior
cornerback T.J. Lee has joined four other Eagles as All-Americans this
season, with Lee earning second team honors Monday (Dec. 10) from The Sports
Network.
Wide
receiver Brandon Kaufman and kicker Jimmy Pavel were named to the
Sports Network second team as well, and defensive end Jerry Ceja has also
received All-America recognition previously this season. Last week, senior
offensive tackle Will Post was named to the American Football Coaches
Association All-America first team.
Lee
has piled up some impressive statistics in 2012, ranking second on the team with
83 tackles. The two-time first team All-Big Sky selection also has a
team-leading 11 passes broken up, 2 1/2 sacks, eight total tackles for loss, an
interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
In
the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs against Illinois State on Dec. 8, Lee had
eight tackles, a forced fumble and two passes broken up. Versus Portland State
on Nov. 17, he had eight tackles (one for loss) and broke-up three
passes.
A
first team All-Big Sky selection a year ago, Lee now has 142 tackles, three
interceptions, 14 passes broken up and 2 1/2 sacks in his 33-game career (19
starts).
Kaufman
is on the cusp of a FCS record after breaking the Big Sky Conference record for
single season receiving yards during EWU's 51-35 victory over Illinois State. He
finished with nine catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns, and his 17-yard
TD catch in the third quarter gave EWU a 38-17 lead and broke the previous Big
Sky record of 1,525 set by Weber State's Tim Toone in 2008. Earlier in the game,
Kaufman broke the school record of 1,453 set by Eric Kimble in
2004.
Kaufman's
current total of 1,635 yards ranks fifth in FCS history, just 77 yards from the
record of 1,712 yards set in 1998 by Delaware's Eddie Conti. This season,
Kaufman has 84 catches (fourth in school history), 13 touchdowns (fourth in
school history) and an average of 19.5 yards per catch (sixth in school
history).
In
his last three games, Kaufman has 28 catches for 526 yards (18.8 per catch). The
first team All-Big Sky performer had career highs of 11 catches for 201 yards
(fifth-most in school history) versus Southern Utah on Oct. 27. He had 10
catches for 174 yards against Wagner on Dec. 1, and before that had nine catches
for 161 yards against Portland State on Nov. 17 in which he had two sensational,
highlight-reel catches after tipped balls.
Kaufman
has gone over the 100-yard mark 10 times this season and 18 times in his career.
He leads the Big Sky and ranks third in FCS in receiving yards per game (125.8).
Because of hand and knee injuries requiring surgery, Kaufman received an injury
redshirt in the 2011 season after playing in the first four games of the year.
Kaufman, who is from Denver, Colo., and is a 2009 graduate of Heritage HS, now
has 212 career catches (fifth in school history, ninth in Big Sky history) for
3,516 yards (third) and 30 touchdowns (third).
Pavel,
a first team All-Big Sky pick, made a 20-yard field goal against Illinois State
on Dec. 8 to earn sole possession of EWU's single season school record with 17
for the season. His 45-yard field goal against UC Davis on Nov. 10 equaled the
record of 16 set last year by Mike Jarrett. But because of Eastern's offensive
efficiency in ending drives with nine touchdowns, Pavel didn't attempt a field
goal in his next two games.
The
Eagles have 18 as a team for the season, breaking the previous team record of 16
set last year. An impressive 17-of-18 on the season, Pavel ranks 18th in FCS
with an average of 1.31 field goals per game. His .944 percentage is the best in
FCS among kickers with at least 11 attempts this season.
Pavel,
who handled kickoff duties a year ago, took over this season for Mike Jarrett,
who made a school-record 16 field goals in just 18 attempts as a senior in 2011.
Pavel missed his only attempt in the 2011 season, a 52-yarder. Thus, including a
field goal Kevin Miller made earlier this season, the Eagles have made 34 of 38
field goal attempts the last two seasons for 89.5 percent. Pavel has also
assumed part of EWU's punting duties the last three games, and currently has a
42.4 average on 17 punts with three downed inside the opponent 20-yard
line.
Besides
the TSN and AFCA All-America teams, the College Sports Madness
(collegesportsmadness.com) squad included Kaufman (first team), Ceja (second
team) and Pavel (third team). On the team selected by Beyond Sports College
Network (bsncollege.com), Kaufman and Pavel were on the first team, and Post was
on the second team. A year ago, there were nine All-America teams selected,
including those by the AFCA, The Sports Network, Associated Press and the Walter
Camp Football Foundation. Others are College Sporting News, Phil Steele
Publications, College Sports Journal, Beyond Sports College Network and College
Sports Madness.
Brandon Kaufman was a unanimous All-Big Sky first team selection (Photo: EWU Athletics)
