Dec. 16, 2011

AMHERST, Mass. - For the second time this postseason, Tyler Holmes has been named a national All-American after being named to the Associated Press First Team earlier this week. Holmes was also named an AFCA All-American marking the second straight year he was named to both teams.

Along with his pair of All-American accolades following the 2011 season, Holmes was also named to the FCS All-New England Football Team as selected by the New England Football Writers. That followed the Blacksburg, Va., native being named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team for the second straight year as well.

For the 2011 season, Holmes led UMass with a career-best 118 tackles which included 69 solo stops, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 8 passes defended and one interception. The senior finished his career with 361 tackles in 38 games. That stands fifth all-time in program history just 4.5 tackles behind Vito Perrone. The 118 tackles in 2011 was a career-best for the true senior who posted 100+ tackles in each of the last three seasons.

A total of eight players from the CAA were named to the AP All-American Teams headlined by Holmes and William & Mary's Jonathan Grimes who also earned first team honors.

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback - Bo Levi Mitchell, senior, 6-2, 210, Eastern Washington.

Running backs - Shakir Bell, sophomore, 5-8, 185, Indiana State; Eric Breitenstein, junior, 5-11, 225, Wofford.

Linemen - J.C. Oram, senior, 6-4, 300, Weber State; George Bias, senior, 6-3, 305, Stephen F. Austin; Paul Cornick, senior, 6-6, 309, North Dakota State; Brett Moore, senior, 6-3, 255, Georgia Southern; Tom Compton, senior, 6-6, 314, South Dakota.

Receivers - Rodrick Rumble, junior, 6-2, 201, Idaho State; Aaron Mellette, junior, 6-4, 212, Elon; Ryan Spadola, junior, 6-3, 205, Lehigh.

All-purpose - Jonathan Grimes, senior, 5-10, 201, Williams & Mary.

Kicker - Zach Brown, junior, 6-1, 200, Portland State.

Linemen - Ben Boothby, senior, 6-0, 280, Northern Iowa; Zack Nash, senior, 6-4, 260, Sacramento State; Ben Obaseki, junior, 6-3, 260, Indiana State; Adrian Hamilton, senior, 6-3, 255, Prairie View A&M.

Linebackers - Tyler Holmes, senior, 6-0, 224, Massachusetts; Kadarron Anderson, senior, 6-1, 234, Furman; Caleb McSurdy, senior, 6-1, 242, Montana.

Defensive backs - Marcus Williams, sophomore, 5-11, 190, North Dakota State; Trumaine Johnson, senior, 6-3, 210, Montana; Ryan Steed, senior, 5-11, 188, Furman; Josh Norman, senior, 6-2, 190, Coastal Carolina.

Punter - David Harrington, senior, 6-2, 1985, Idaho State.

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SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback - Chris Lum, senior, Lehigh.

Running backs - Terrance West, freshman, Towson; Tim Flanders, sophomore, Sam Houston State.

Linemen - Bryan Boerner, senior, Southern Illinois; Gino Gradowski, senior, Delaware; Nate Page, senior, Wofford; Blake Matthews, senior, Norfolk State; Joe Faiella, senior, Stony Brook.

Receivers - Brian Quick, senior, Appalachian State; Mario Louis, senior, Grambling; Nicholas Edwards, junior, Eastern Washington.

All-purpose - Brock Jackloski, senior, Stony Brook.

Kicker - Ryan Estep, senior, Norfolk State.

DEFENSE

Linemen - Brent Russell, junior, Georgia Southern; Blake Olijaro, sophomore, San Diego; Andrew Schaetzke, senior, Georgetown; Ronnie Cameron, senior, Old Dominion.

Linebackers - Matt Evans, junior, New Hampshire; Blake Peiffer, junior, Southeast Missouri State; A.J. Storms, senior, Idaho State.

Defensive backs - Kejuan Riley, junior, Alabama State; Justin Bethel, senior, Presbyterian; Darnell Taylor, junior, Sam Houston State; Bryce Robertson, senior, Bucknell.

Punter - Jonathan Plisco, junior, Old Dominion.

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THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback - Casey Brockman, junior, Murray State.

Running backs - Nick Schweiger, senior, Dartmouth; Matt Denham, junior, Eastern Kentucky.

Linemen - Scott Schweitzer, senior, Tennessee Tech; Jon Apperud, senior, Montana; Malcolm Boyd, junior, Liberty; Jeff Adams, senior, Columbia; Troy McKenna, junior, Lehigh.

Receivers - Shane Savage, senior, Cornell; Tre Gray, senior, Richmond; Elvis Akpla, senior, Montana State.

All-purpose - Gralyn Crawford, junior, Stephen F. Austin.

Kicker - Tyler Sievertsen, sophomore, Northern Iowa.

DEFENSE

Linemen -Ryan Davis, senior, Bethune-Cookman; Tyler Osborne, senior Southern Utah; Josue Ortiz, senior, Harvard; Joseph Lebeau, junior, Jackson State.

Linebackers - L.J. Fort, senior, Northern Iowa; Derek Rose, junior, Northwestern State; Keith Pough, junior, Howard.

Defensive backs - Serge Kona, junior, Duquesne; Asa Jackson, junior, Cal Poly; Jeremy Caldwell, senior, Eastern Kentucky; Daxton Swanson, junior, Sam Houston State.

Punter - Patrick Murray, junior, Fordham.