Khoury and Renna Headline Yearly UAA Honors
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – A pair of seniors, defensive lineman Brian Khoury (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) and placekicker Gabe Renna (Carlsbad, Calif./La Costa Canyon), of the Carnegie Mellon University football team headline the University Athletic Association (UAA) postseason awards. Khoury received Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season while Renna was named Special Teams Player of the Year. The two are joined by 16 other Tartans who garnered recognition with 10 receiving first-team accolades.
Khoury became the school's all-time sack leader earlier this season and finished his career with 29.5 sacks. His 12.5 sacks this season led the UAA and ranked fifth nationally. Khoury totaled 16.0 tackles for a loss of 90 yards which was also tops in the UAA. He ended the season with 55 total tackles, 31 solo, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Renna converted all 47 of his point-after-attempts this season and made 11-of-13 field goals (.846) with a long of 42 yards. His .846 percentage is tops in the UAA and 10th nationally. The senior kicker converted 48 consecutive PATs to end his career dating back to last season. Earlier in the year, Renna broke the program's PAT record and converted 109-of-113 (96%) for his career.
Joining Khoury on the defensive first team is fellow senior defensive lineman Jack Fagan (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley), junior inside linebacker Stanley Bikulege (Greer, S.C./Saint Joseph's Catholic) and junior outside linebacker Kyle Brittain (Largo, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic). Four offensive players were named first team honorees including two senior offensive linemen in Luke Nealley (Frederick, Md.) and W. Tyler Reid (Lees Summit, Mo /Lees Summit West), senior H-back Zach Cree (Vanderbilt, Pa./Connellsville Area) and junior Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.) were named to the offensive first team. Junior punter Tyler Kohman (Pataskala, Ohio/Columbus Academy) accompanies Renna on the special teams first team.
Bikulege led the team with 105 tackles which ranked third in the UAA. He finished the season also ranked third on the team with 3.5 sacks for a loss of 11 yards. His 105 tackles ranked fourth best in a single-season for the Tartans. Fagan was second on the team with 6.5 sacks and ranked second in the Association. He finished with 51 total tackles including 31 solo stops. Brittain was third on the team with 72 tackles, 43 solo, and tied for the team lead with two interceptions. His one interception was returned 85 yards for a touchdown in the Tartans come-from-behind win at Chicago. The return set a new school record for the longest interception return for a touchdown. Brittain also recorded two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries this season.
Benger rushed for 1,671 yards and 26 touchdowns. The junior ranked second nationally in rushing touchdowns and scoring with 168 points, both are school records. His 1,671 rushing yards ranked third best in Division III with his 151.9 yards rushing per game ranking fifth. Benger became Carnegie Mellon's career rushing leader in the Tartans' win over Case Western Reserve and currently has rushed for 4,333 yards in his career.
Reid and Nealley played a key part in blocking for one of the nation's top rushers. Over the past three seasons, both have started every game with Reid not missing a contest in his four-year career. The two fronted an offensive line that helped the Tartans reach the 500-yard mark of total offense in three games this season including a high of 573 against Washington University. Cree also played a critical part in the Tartans' blocking upfront while adding 10 receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown
Kohman, who led the UAA with an average of 42.9 yards per punt, also ranked seventh nationally. The junior had 13 punts of 50 yards or more including a career-best 61-yarder. Kohman placed 19 of his 53 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
Of the six second-team selections for the Tartans, three were on defense, two on offense and one on special teams. Junior wide receiver John Prather (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) and sophomore tight end Alex Miller (Houston, Texas/Second Baptist) were named on the offensive side.
Prather became the program's single-season receiving leader following his career outing with 178 yards in the Tartans' win over Case Western Reserve. He ended the season with 1,125 yards receiving which ranked second in the UAA. His 66 receptions in 2016 was also a single-season-school record. Prather ranks second on the school's all-time receiving yards list with 2,045 for his career. Miller played an important role in the Tartans blocking upfront and added five catches for 57 yards.
Besides Prather and Miller, senior defensive lineman Jacob Bartel (North Newton, Kan./Newton), junior corner back Jacob Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) and junior linebacker Quentin Wolfe (Round Rock, Texas/Stony Point) garnered second-team accolades on the defensive side.
Bartel ended the season with 39 tackles, 15 solo, and added a sack. Johnson was third on the team with five pass breakups and recorded 31 tackles. Wolfe was the Tartans fourth leading tackler with 68, including 31 solo stops. The junior tabbed 2.0 sacks and four pass breakups.
Freshman William Richter (Leander, Texas/Cedar Park) joined the five on the second team as a return specialist. Richter had a combined 935 return yards and ranked seventh nationally and top in the UAA. The freshman averaged 13.1 yards per punt return and 24.7 yards per kick return which both ranked first in the association.
The Tartans Honorable Mention Honorees:
Offense:
Senior wide receiver Matt Forjan
Defense:
Senior safety Samer Abdelmoty