Hairston, Nichols Earn Individual MAC Honors
12/15/2020 10:57:00 AM | Football
Ten Chippewa football players named All-MAC
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan's Troy Hairston II was named the Mid-American Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year and teammate Lew Nichols III earned the Freshman of the Year Award on Tuesday as the MAC announced its all-conference football teams and individual award winners.
Hairston and Nichols are among 10 Chippewas to earn postseason accolades from the league.
Five other Chippewas -- defensive lineman Mohamed Diallo, linebacker Troy Brown, defensive back Willie Reid, punter Luke Elzinga and placekicker Marshall Meeder – were named to the first team.
CMU offensive lineman Derek Smith and wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton were named to the second team, while defensive back Devonni Reed earned a spot on the third team.
Hairston is the third Chippewa to earn the MAC Defensive Player of the Year Award, joining Dan Bazuin (2005) and Ray Bentley (1982).
Nichols is the sixth Chippewa to earn the MAC Freshman of the Year Award and the first since Antonio Brown in 2007.
Hairston, a senior from Birmingham, leads the MAC in both sacks (5.5) and tackles-for-loss (12). Nationally, he ranks third in tackles-for-loss and 10th in sacks per game. He shares the Defensive Player of the Year Award with Ball State linebacker Brandon Martin.
Nichols, a redshirt freshman from Detroit, led the Chippewas with 508 yards rushing and he caught 10 passes for 109 yards and scored five touchdowns. He ranked seventh in the MAC in rushing yards per game (84.7) and was ninth in yards per carry (6.5).
Brown, a junior from Flint, is a repeat first-team honoree. He ranked second on the team in tackles (42) and sacks (4.5) and was third in tackles-for-loss (eight). Brown ranked fourth in the league in sacks and sixth in tackles-for-loss. He shared the team lead with George Douglas with 31 solo tackles. He also broke up three passes and was credited with one forced fumble.
Diallo, a senior from Toronto, burst onto the scene in his first full season as a Chippewa, ranking second both on the team and in the league behind Hairston in tackles-for-loss (9.5). He had three sacks, tying for seventh in the conference in that category.
Reid, a sophomore from Detroit, leads the MAC with three interceptions and is tied for the league lead with two fumble recoveries. He totaled 35 tackles on the year, 22 of them solo, which is tied for fourth best on the team. He also broke up one pass and forced one fumble.
Meeder, a freshman from Eaton Rapids, was perfect on all eight of his field goal attempts, including two from 50-yards plus. His 53-yarder in the Chippewas' finale at Toledo was not only the longest of his career, but the longest by a MAC kicker this season. He was also good on 14 of 15 extra-point kicks and totaled 40 points, ranking second on the team in scoring. He ranked third in the conference in scoring among kickers.
Elzinga, a redshirt freshman from Grand Rapids, ranks second in the MAC with a 43.2-yard average. Fourteen of his 33 punts were downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line, six of his punts traveled 50 yards or more, and his career-long 76-yarder – in just his second collegiate punt in the Chippewas' season opener against Ohio – is the longest by a MAC punter this season.
He leads the MAC in punts downed inside the 20 and 50-yard-plus punts and is tied for the league lead with 10 fair-caught punts. Elzinga is the first Chippewa punter to earn a spot on the All-MAC First Team since CMU joined the league in 1975, and he is the first to earn any kind of all-conference honors since Tony Mikulec in 2006.
Smith, a senior from Grand Rapids, started all six of CMU's games at right tackle, moving over from left guard where he started all 14 of the Chippewas' games in 2019.
The versatile Pimpleton, a junior from Muskegon, rolled up impressive numbers in touching the ball four ways: As a receiver, as a runner, as a passer, and as a returner. He made 26 catches for 277 yards and two touchdowns; he rushed 16 times for 134 yards and three TDs; he completed five of his eight pass attempts for 149 yards and one TD; he averaged 6.9 yards on eight punt returns, and he averaged 13 yards on two kickoff returns.
Pimpleton was a first-team all-conference pick at both wide receiver and punt returner last season.
Reed, a junior from Detroit, tied with Brown for second on the team with 42 tackles and ranked third with 24 solo stops. He had one interception, one pass breakup and recorded two tackles-for-loss.
Hairston and Nichols are among 10 Chippewas to earn postseason accolades from the league.
Five other Chippewas -- defensive lineman Mohamed Diallo, linebacker Troy Brown, defensive back Willie Reid, punter Luke Elzinga and placekicker Marshall Meeder – were named to the first team.
CMU offensive lineman Derek Smith and wide receiver Kalil Pimpleton were named to the second team, while defensive back Devonni Reed earned a spot on the third team.
Hairston is the third Chippewa to earn the MAC Defensive Player of the Year Award, joining Dan Bazuin (2005) and Ray Bentley (1982).
Nichols is the sixth Chippewa to earn the MAC Freshman of the Year Award and the first since Antonio Brown in 2007.
Hairston, a senior from Birmingham, leads the MAC in both sacks (5.5) and tackles-for-loss (12). Nationally, he ranks third in tackles-for-loss and 10th in sacks per game. He shares the Defensive Player of the Year Award with Ball State linebacker Brandon Martin.
Nichols, a redshirt freshman from Detroit, led the Chippewas with 508 yards rushing and he caught 10 passes for 109 yards and scored five touchdowns. He ranked seventh in the MAC in rushing yards per game (84.7) and was ninth in yards per carry (6.5).
Brown, a junior from Flint, is a repeat first-team honoree. He ranked second on the team in tackles (42) and sacks (4.5) and was third in tackles-for-loss (eight). Brown ranked fourth in the league in sacks and sixth in tackles-for-loss. He shared the team lead with George Douglas with 31 solo tackles. He also broke up three passes and was credited with one forced fumble.
Diallo, a senior from Toronto, burst onto the scene in his first full season as a Chippewa, ranking second both on the team and in the league behind Hairston in tackles-for-loss (9.5). He had three sacks, tying for seventh in the conference in that category.
Reid, a sophomore from Detroit, leads the MAC with three interceptions and is tied for the league lead with two fumble recoveries. He totaled 35 tackles on the year, 22 of them solo, which is tied for fourth best on the team. He also broke up one pass and forced one fumble.
Meeder, a freshman from Eaton Rapids, was perfect on all eight of his field goal attempts, including two from 50-yards plus. His 53-yarder in the Chippewas' finale at Toledo was not only the longest of his career, but the longest by a MAC kicker this season. He was also good on 14 of 15 extra-point kicks and totaled 40 points, ranking second on the team in scoring. He ranked third in the conference in scoring among kickers.
Elzinga, a redshirt freshman from Grand Rapids, ranks second in the MAC with a 43.2-yard average. Fourteen of his 33 punts were downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line, six of his punts traveled 50 yards or more, and his career-long 76-yarder – in just his second collegiate punt in the Chippewas' season opener against Ohio – is the longest by a MAC punter this season.
He leads the MAC in punts downed inside the 20 and 50-yard-plus punts and is tied for the league lead with 10 fair-caught punts. Elzinga is the first Chippewa punter to earn a spot on the All-MAC First Team since CMU joined the league in 1975, and he is the first to earn any kind of all-conference honors since Tony Mikulec in 2006.
Smith, a senior from Grand Rapids, started all six of CMU's games at right tackle, moving over from left guard where he started all 14 of the Chippewas' games in 2019.
The versatile Pimpleton, a junior from Muskegon, rolled up impressive numbers in touching the ball four ways: As a receiver, as a runner, as a passer, and as a returner. He made 26 catches for 277 yards and two touchdowns; he rushed 16 times for 134 yards and three TDs; he completed five of his eight pass attempts for 149 yards and one TD; he averaged 6.9 yards on eight punt returns, and he averaged 13 yards on two kickoff returns.
Pimpleton was a first-team all-conference pick at both wide receiver and punt returner last season.
Reed, a junior from Detroit, tied with Brown for second on the team with 42 tackles and ranked third with 24 solo stops. He had one interception, one pass breakup and recorded two tackles-for-loss.
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