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Football Drake Athletic Communications

Drake Leads The PFL With 22 All-PFL Selections

Eleven Bulldogs earned first or second team all-conference honors while 11 garnered honorable mention accolades

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Drake University football team placed a league-high 22 student-athletes on the 2018 All-Pioneer Football League teams as voted by the league's 11 head coaches. The Bulldogs had six first team selections, five second team selections and 11 student-athletes who received honorable mention honors.

Fifth-year senior defensive lineman Nathan Clayberg (Pella, Iowa) earned his second straight first team honor and was also named the PFL's Defensive Player of the Year earlier in the week. Clayberg is joined by four teammates on the first team defense including fifth-year senior linebacker Kieran Severa (Lawrence, Kan.)  and junior defensive back Will Warner (Pella, Iowa) who were both PFL honorable mentions in 2017. The trio played a large part in the Bulldogs' nationally ranked defense, imposing their will at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary to rank in the top 15 nationally in nearly every defensive statistic.

Severa led the team with 67 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss. Clayberg added 9.5 tackles for loss, which was second to only Severa, as well as six pass breakups and two blocked kicks. Warner was the Bulldogs' top playmaker. He was second in the nation with a school-record eight interceptions, despite only playing 10 games to date, which were returned for an FCS best 223 yards. During the season he also earned recognition as FCS STATS Defensive Player of the Week, and on Nov. 19 he was named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award which is awarded to the nation's top defensive player.

Junior defensive lineman Gavin Dineen (Algonquin, Ill.), fifth-year senior defensive back Jabari Butler (Chicago, Ill.), and senior kicker Danny Donley (Tulsa, Okla.) round out the Bulldogs' six first team selections. Dineen totaled 35 tackles and three sacks to bolster Drake's attack up front. Butler had 30 tackles, and seven pass breakups which was second best on the team. Donley went 9-of-9 on field goals this season, including two clutch field goals in the swirling wind in the team's 13-10 win over Marist.

Drake placed two players on the second team offense, senior wide receiver Steven Doran (Germantown, Wis.) and fifth year senior offensive lineman Grant Snow (Columbia, Ill.). Doran led the team with 918 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Snow has played in all 10 games so far this season.

Three Bulldogs were named to the second team defense, including the team's second and third leading tacklers, Connor Willis (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and Sean Lynch (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.). Willis registered 66 tackles, including 8.0 tackles for loss. Lynch added 55 tackles and two interceptions which he returned for 37 yards and one touchdown. The third Bulldog to make the second team defense was linebacker Erin Morgan (Aurora, Ill.). Morgan added 20 tackles and 7.0 tackles for loss in eight games of play.

The Bulldogs' 11 All-PFL honorable mention selections included four defenders, four offensive players and three special team players. Offensive lineman Jacob Bacon (Hastings, Minn.), slot receiver Devin Cates (Yuba City, Calif.), nickelback Cooper Christiano (Melbourne Beach, Fla.), tight end Zach DeLeon (Leawood, Kan.), long-snapper Brady Eckert (Mt. Prospect, Ill.), punter Ross Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), offensive lineman Jordan Lewinsky (Mequon, Wis.), defensive tackle Peter Read (Lincoln, Neb.), linebacker Zac Rujawitz (Edwardsville, Ill.), outside linebacker Tyler Terveer (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) and punt returner Terry Wallen.

The Academic All-PFL team, highlighted by the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, will be released Wednesday, concluding the league's awards week.

Drake All-PFL Team Selections
First Team
Defense
DL Nathan Clayberg
DL Gavin Dineen
LB Kieran Severa
DB Jabari Butler
DB Will Warner

Special Teams
PK Danny Donley

Second Team
Offense
WR Steve Doran
OL Grant Snow

Defense
DL Erin Morgan
LB Connor Willis
DB Sean Lynch

Honorable Mention
Offense
OL Jacob Bacon
WR Devin Cates
TE Zach DeLeon
OL Jordan Lewinsky

Defense
DB Cooper Christiano
DL Peter Read
LB Zac Rujawitz  
LB Tyler Terveer

Special Teams
LS Brady Eckert
P Ross Kennedy
RS Terry Wallen
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Players Mentioned

Jacob Bacon

#77 Jacob Bacon

OL
6' 6"
Junior
Jabari Butler

#15 Jabari Butler

DB
5' 11"
Fifth Year
Devin Cates

#1 Devin Cates

WR
6' 4"
Senior
Cooper Christiano

#12 Cooper Christiano

DB
6' 0"
Senior
Nathan Clayberg

#46 Nathan Clayberg

DL
6' 5"
Fifth Year
Zach DeLeon

#87 Zach DeLeon

TE
6' 5"
Fifth Year
Gavin Dineen

#95 Gavin Dineen

DL
6' 3"
Junior
Danny Donley

#99 Danny Donley

K
5' 8"
Senior
Steven Doran

#81 Steven Doran

WR
6' 3"
Senior
Brady Eckert

#51 Brady Eckert

LB
6' 1"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Jacob Bacon

#77 Jacob Bacon

6' 6"
Junior
OL
Jabari Butler

#15 Jabari Butler

5' 11"
Fifth Year
DB
Devin Cates

#1 Devin Cates

6' 4"
Senior
WR
Cooper Christiano

#12 Cooper Christiano

6' 0"
Senior
DB
Nathan Clayberg

#46 Nathan Clayberg

6' 5"
Fifth Year
DL
Zach DeLeon

#87 Zach DeLeon

6' 5"
Fifth Year
TE
Gavin Dineen

#95 Gavin Dineen

6' 3"
Junior
DL
Danny Donley

#99 Danny Donley

5' 8"
Senior
K
Steven Doran

#81 Steven Doran

6' 3"
Senior
WR
Brady Eckert

#51 Brady Eckert

6' 1"
Senior
LB