Central Michigan University Athletics
Bazuin Selected MAC Defensive Player of the Year
11/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 28, 2005
MOUNT PLEASANT - Central Michigan University junior defensive end Daniel Bazuin (McBain, Mich./McBain HS) has been named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Bazuin, who was also a first team All-MAC selection, is one of five Chippewas to earn all-conference accolades.
Bazuin tied a MAC record with 16 sacks in 2005. His sack total is a new CMU single-season record, as are his 26.5 tackles for loss in 2005. Bazuin ranks first nationally in tackles for loss (26.5), second in sacks (16), and tied for fourth in forced fumbles (5). He was second among his teammates in both total tackles (74) and solo stops (48).
A two-time MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, Bazuin recorded at least 10 tackles in three different games this season. He was in on 11 stops in each of the season's final two games, including 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in a 31-24 overtime win at Ball State on Nov. 19. Bazuin had at least one sack in eight contests, and two or more sacks in five games this season.
Thomas Keith is an All-MAC second team pick at linebacker.  | |
Bazuin is the second Chippewa to earn MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Ray Bentley earned the accolade in 1982.
A first team All-MAC pick in 2004, Bazuin is CMU's lone first team selection in 2005.
Senior offensive lineman Jeff Jenerou (Manistique, Mich./Manistique HS), junior linebacker Isaac Brown (Saginaw, Mich./Bridgeport HS) and sophomore linebacker Thomas Keith (Franklin, Ga./Heard County HS) are all second team All-MAC selections.
Jenerou started all 11 games at left guard and was part of an offensive line that helped CMU average 158.7 yards per game on the ground. He was the lone senior on an offensive front that saw the same five players start all 11 contests.
Brown finished with 73 total tackles, including 11.5 for a loss of yardage. The hard-hitting linebacker collected three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and blocked a kick this season. He had 10 tackles in three different games and made at least five stops in 10 of the 11 contests in 2005.
Keith's 104 tackles are tied for the third-most overall in the MAC, and his 9.5 tackles per game rank fourth in the conference. He also led his teammates with four interceptions during the regular season. Keith collected at least 10 stops five times in 2005, including a career-high 16 tackles against Indiana on Sept. 2. He was in on 14 stops and intercepted a pass in a 37-10 win over Ohio on Oct. 15.
Jeff Jenerou collected second team all-conference honors on offense. | |
Garnering honorable mention All-MAC honors was freshman running back Ontario Sneed (Decatur, Ill./Clinton Community HS). Sneed burst onto the scene in his rookie season, running for 1,065 yards and eight touchdowns and catching 51 passes for 433 yards and three scores. He ran for at least 100 yards four times and was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week after running for 183 yards and a touchdown and catching six passes for 77 yards and two scores in a 31-17 win at Akron on Oct. 1. His 51 catches are the ninth-most in a season at CMU and the most by a Chippewa running back in a single season. Sneed's 96.8 yards per game average on the ground ranked sixth in the MAC.
The conference's other four specialty award winners were: Offensive Player of the Year, Greg Jennings (Western Michigan); Special Teams Player of the Year, Jason Robbins (Toledo); Freshman of the Year, Tim Hiller (Western Michigan); and Coach of the Year, Bill Cubit (Western Michigan).
The All-MAC team is selected by a vote of the conference's 12 head football coaches. The player of the year and coach of the year awards are voted on by the MAC News Media Association.
CMU (6-5 overall, 5-3 MAC) recorded its first winning season since 1998 in 2005. The Chippewas' six wins overall, and five in conference play, are the most since that same season.
