Football Lands 15 on All-PAC Team
(GREENVILLE, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team had 15 members earn All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) distinction, announced by the conference office following voting by the league coaches on Wednesday. The Tartans place four on the first team and six on the second team while four were tabbed honorable mention with one named to the sportsmanship team.
Two of the first team honorees are on the offensive side of the ball with the defense and special teams each having one honored. Senior running back Luke Bikulege (Greer, S.C./St. Joseph's Catholic) was joined by classmate offensive lineman Sean Pogorelc (Centreville, Va./Chantilly) on offense, senior defensive lineman Skyler Blacker (Lake Bluff, Ill./Libertyville) on defense and sophomore punter Casey Jaeb (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine Prep) on special teams.
Of the six second team selections for the Tartans, the lone offensive player was sophomore lineman Ty Spaltholz (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) who was joined by junior returner Ben Armbrester (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) on special teams and four defensive players, sophomore defensive back Aryan Hegde (Brambleton, Va./Rock Ridge), junior defensive back Sean Knight (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan), senior defensive lineman Nathan Koch (Pecatonica, Ill./Pecatonica) and senior linebacker Mason Tolliver (Sylmar, Calif./Crespi).
Bikulege rushed for 417 yards on 87 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per carry, and averaged 104.2 yards per game, which ranked third in the PAC. The senior led the PAC with seven rushing touchdowns while recording two in each of the Tartans first three games. In the Tartans win over Geneva, Bikulege rushed the ball a career-best 30 times for 193 yards. Pogorelc is a three-year starter for the Cardinal and Gray and played a huge factor in the blocking upfront. Spaltholz, a second team honoree, accompanied Pogorlec in pathing the way for Bikulege and the Tartans, who were third in the PAC in rushing offense.
Jaeb led the PAC averaging 40.1 yards per punt on 14 punts. The sophomore landed six of his punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line while five have been fair caught. Armbrester led the PAC with 10 punt returns with a long of 13 yards. The junior was also second on the team with 12 receptions for 204 yards and two touchdowns.
Blacker heads a defensive squad that landed five total members on the first two teams. The Tartans ranked second in the PAC in scoring defense allowing 15.8 points per game and third in total defense giving up 299.8 yards per contest.
Blacker's presence, along with Koch's played a part in the Tartans rush defense that ranked second in the PAC allowing 102.5 yards per game, including holding Waynesburg to five yards on the ground, the lowest allowed on the ground for the Tartans since 2007. Blacker ended the season with 17 stops, seven solo, and 1.5 tackles for a loss of four yards. Koch tabbed nine tackles, one for a loss, forced a fumble and recovered another.
Tolliver was the Tartans third leading tackler with 20, 12 solo. In the Tartans setback at Westminster, the senior recorded a career-best two sacks for a loss of 20 yards. Knight finished the 2021 spring season with 11 tackles, eight solo. In the win at Waynesburg, the cornerback recorded two interceptions and added a tackle for loss. It marked the second time in Knight's career that he had multiple interceptions in a game. He will enter his senior campaign with nine career picks which is tied for eighth most in program history. Hegde made 10 solo stops and tabbed 16 total tackles along with an interception.
The Tartans Honorable Mention Honorees:
Offense:
Junior wide receiver Kris Hughes
Senior H-back Kerry Tomasetti
Defense:
Junior defensive lineman Noah Castor
Senior defensive lineman Sam Brod
The Tartans Sportsmanship Honoree:
Senior running back Sean Cooke