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O'Connor's First Team Selection Highlights Five CAA Football Awards
11/20/2018 2:21:00 PM | Football
RICHMOND, Va. – Senior wide receiver Neil O'Connor (Leominster, Mass.) was named to the CAA Football First Team Offense to highlight a total of five University of New Hampshire football players who received year-end conference awards on Tuesday.
O'Connor is a repeat First Team honoree from the 2017 season. Senior defensive end Jae'Wuan Horton (Stafford, Va.), junior linebacker Quinlen Dean (Greenbelt, Va.) and junior safety Pop Lacey (Reading, Pa.) were all voted to the 2018 CAA Football Second Team Defense, and junior punter Drew Sanborn (Amherst, N.H.) was a Third Team Defense selection.
O'Connor led the Wildcats in receptions (71), receiving yards (814) and receiving touchdowns (three); the 71 receptions is tied for 10th on UNH's list of single-season superlatives. With those numbers, he averaged 11.5 yards per catch and 74 receiving yards per game.
O'Connor ranks 13th in the nation with a CAA-leading 6.5 receptions per game. He is also third in the conference in both receiving yards and receiving yards per game.
O'Connor eclipsed 100 receiving yards three times this season and that included a season high of 156 yards on 14 catches – also a season high – and a touchdown against nationally-ranked Stony Brook University. One week earlier, O'Connor had 10 catches for 108 yards and a TD vs. College of the Holy Cross. He pulled in five catches for 98 yards, including a 71-yard score, at University of Colorado.
O'Connor ended his career with 235 receptions for 3,117 yards, both of which rank third on the program's all-time leaderboard.
Horton led the Wildcats' defensive linemen in tackles with 38; he made 25 solo stops and had 13 assisted tackles. He ranked third on the team in both tackles for loss (8.0) and sacks (3.5). Horton also forced two fumbles.
His 2018 highlights included a seven-tackle effort at nationally-ranked Elon University and a personal-best two sacks vs. Colgate University. Horton ended his career with six tackles at the University of Rhode Island with two tackles for loss, including a sack, as well as a forced fumble.
Dean, a repeat Second Team selection, tied for the UNH lead in total tackles with 79 (41 solo, 38 assisted). He also led the squad in both tackles for loss (14) and sacks (6.0), as well as forced fumbles (three). On the CAA leaderboard, Dean ranked second in tackles for loss, 11th in sacks and 12th in total tackles.
Dean recorded a career-high 16 tackles (8-8-16) against Colgate University. He made double-digit stops two other games – 12 at Elon and 11 at Maine. Dean finished with eight tackles, including two sacks, in UNH's win against No. 3 James Madison University. One week later, he tallied a career-high three sacks against the University at Albany. He also forced a fumble in those back-to-back games vs. JMU and Albany.
Lacey tied Dean atop the tackles leaderboard with 79, including a team-high 50 solo stops. He also had two interceptions, including a 15-yard pick-six at Colorado, and five pass breakups. In addition to the touchdown, Lacey recorded a team-high 10 tackles at Colorado. He followed that with a season-high 11 tackles at Elon; Lacey matched that total against James Madison to once again lead the 'Cats, and also had an interception vs. the Dukes.
Sanborn, in his first year as UNH's punter, ranked third in the CAA with an average of 40.2 yards per boot. He had seven punts of 50+ yards and that included a career long of 60 at Colorado. Sanborn pinned the opponent inside the 20-yard line 27 times with five touchbacks. His other season highlights included the game against Holy Cross, in which he punted five times for an average of 34.2 yards with three kicks inside the 20 and a long of 53.
UNH won three of its last four games to finish the season 4-7 overall and 3-5 in the CAA.
O'Connor is a repeat First Team honoree from the 2017 season. Senior defensive end Jae'Wuan Horton (Stafford, Va.), junior linebacker Quinlen Dean (Greenbelt, Va.) and junior safety Pop Lacey (Reading, Pa.) were all voted to the 2018 CAA Football Second Team Defense, and junior punter Drew Sanborn (Amherst, N.H.) was a Third Team Defense selection.
O'Connor led the Wildcats in receptions (71), receiving yards (814) and receiving touchdowns (three); the 71 receptions is tied for 10th on UNH's list of single-season superlatives. With those numbers, he averaged 11.5 yards per catch and 74 receiving yards per game.
O'Connor ranks 13th in the nation with a CAA-leading 6.5 receptions per game. He is also third in the conference in both receiving yards and receiving yards per game.
O'Connor eclipsed 100 receiving yards three times this season and that included a season high of 156 yards on 14 catches – also a season high – and a touchdown against nationally-ranked Stony Brook University. One week earlier, O'Connor had 10 catches for 108 yards and a TD vs. College of the Holy Cross. He pulled in five catches for 98 yards, including a 71-yard score, at University of Colorado.
O'Connor ended his career with 235 receptions for 3,117 yards, both of which rank third on the program's all-time leaderboard.
Horton led the Wildcats' defensive linemen in tackles with 38; he made 25 solo stops and had 13 assisted tackles. He ranked third on the team in both tackles for loss (8.0) and sacks (3.5). Horton also forced two fumbles.
His 2018 highlights included a seven-tackle effort at nationally-ranked Elon University and a personal-best two sacks vs. Colgate University. Horton ended his career with six tackles at the University of Rhode Island with two tackles for loss, including a sack, as well as a forced fumble.
Dean, a repeat Second Team selection, tied for the UNH lead in total tackles with 79 (41 solo, 38 assisted). He also led the squad in both tackles for loss (14) and sacks (6.0), as well as forced fumbles (three). On the CAA leaderboard, Dean ranked second in tackles for loss, 11th in sacks and 12th in total tackles.
Dean recorded a career-high 16 tackles (8-8-16) against Colgate University. He made double-digit stops two other games – 12 at Elon and 11 at Maine. Dean finished with eight tackles, including two sacks, in UNH's win against No. 3 James Madison University. One week later, he tallied a career-high three sacks against the University at Albany. He also forced a fumble in those back-to-back games vs. JMU and Albany.
Lacey tied Dean atop the tackles leaderboard with 79, including a team-high 50 solo stops. He also had two interceptions, including a 15-yard pick-six at Colorado, and five pass breakups. In addition to the touchdown, Lacey recorded a team-high 10 tackles at Colorado. He followed that with a season-high 11 tackles at Elon; Lacey matched that total against James Madison to once again lead the 'Cats, and also had an interception vs. the Dukes.
Sanborn, in his first year as UNH's punter, ranked third in the CAA with an average of 40.2 yards per boot. He had seven punts of 50+ yards and that included a career long of 60 at Colorado. Sanborn pinned the opponent inside the 20-yard line 27 times with five touchbacks. His other season highlights included the game against Holy Cross, in which he punted five times for an average of 34.2 yards with three kicks inside the 20 and a long of 53.
UNH won three of its last four games to finish the season 4-7 overall and 3-5 in the CAA.
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