Bowling Green State University Athletics
Nine Falcons Named To Phil Steele's All-MAC Teams
December 12, 2007 | Football
Dec. 12, 2007
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Phil Steele has released his All-Conference teams, placing nine Falcons throughout the three teams and honorable mention selections. According to www.philsteele.com, Phil Steele's College Football Preview is the nation's most informative preseason football magazine and has always provided a preseason All-American team as well as preseason All-Conference teams.
Senior Kory Lichtensteiger was the lone representative on the Phil Steele first team, while sophomore P.J. Mahone was the lone Falcon on the second team. Five Falcons were named to the third team, including Freddie Barnes, Diyral Briggs, John Haneline, Tyler Sheehan and Sinisa Vrvilo. Lastly, Drew Nystrom and Antonio Smith were placed on the honorable mention squad.
Lichtensteiger, a native of Van Wert, Ohio, has also earned All-MAC honors, was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, was a semifinalist for the Draddy Award and is a member of the Lombardi Watch List. He started all 12 games this season, helping the Falcons rank third in the MAC in scoring (32.1) and first in passing yards (286.8) and total first downs (286). He has started 47 consecutive games for the Orange and Brown.
Mahone, a native of Elyria, Ohio, did not even open the 2007 season as a starter, but an injury to Jerett Sanderson propelled Mahone into a starting role in which he flourished, recording 80 tackles and seven interceptions, which is tied for the MAC lead. He also had 220 return yards off of those seven picks, which broke a school record that stood since 1948. He also has been named MAC Defensive Player of the Week twice.
Barnes, a native of Chicago Heights, Ill., has 77 receptions for 891 yards and nine touchdowns in his first full year as a wide receiver. He is fifth in the MAC in receptions per game (6.4) and fifth in yards (74.3). His 77 catches rank third all-time in school history. He posted career-bests versus Buffalo in receptions (10) and yards (113), while also posting eight catches for 112 yards and two scores versus Boston College.
Briggs, a native of Mt. Healthy, Ohio, had 54 tackles and 5.0 sacks while playing in all 12 games this season, making eight starts. He also had 7.0 tackles for loss, which were second on the team. Versus Temple he finished with five tackles, two sacks and two hurries.
Haneline started the opening nine games of the season before a foot injury sidelined him the final three contests. He finished the regular season with 96 tackles, second-best on the team and had six double-digit tackle performances including a season-best 18 tackles versus Miami.
Sheehan, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, completed 289-of-457 passes for 3,123 yards and 23 touchdowns. He became only the fourth quarterback in school history to surpass the 3,000-yard plateau. He led the MAC with three Offensive Player of the Week awards, and threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start in a 32-31 win over Minnesota. He also caught two touchdowns on the year, the only quarterback in the country to do so.
Vrvilo, a native of Zenica, Bosnia, was 15-of-19 on field goal attempts and 46-of-46 on extra points through the year. His 46 extra points made rank fourth all-time and his 15 made field goals are fifth in school history. Of his four misses on the year, two came from 52 and 55 yards. He was also a perfect 9-of-9 on kicks under 40 yards this season.
Nystrom, a native of Crystal Lake, Ill., helped pave the way for the third-best scoring team in the MAC (32.1) and the top passing offense (298.8) in the league.
Smith, a native of Miami, Fla., set career-high in tackles (74) and tackles for loss (3.5), while matching his season-best in interceptions (2) and fumble recoveries (2). His two interceptions came versus Western Kentucky and Toledo, both Falcon wins and had nine tackles versus Temple and eight versus WKU in back-to-back weeks.
Phil Steele's All-MAC Team First Team Kory LichtensteigerSecond Team P.J. Mahone
Third Team Tyler Sheehan Freddie Barnes Diyral Briggs John Haneline Sinisa Vrvilo
Honorable Mention Drew Nystrom Antonio Smith
