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University of New Hampshire Athletics
Photo by: Stu Horne
Silver Voted ECAC FCS Defensive Player of the Year
12/19/2024 6:06:00 PM | Football
Silver and Owens Named to All-ECAC Team
DANBURY, Conn. – Senior defensive end Josiah Silver (Hampton, Va.) of the 19th-ranked University of New Hampshire football team was named the FCS Defensive Player of the Year by the Eastern College Athletic Conference on Thursday. Silver was joined on the All-ECAC Team by grad student safety Wande Owens (Cooksville, Md.).
UNH is the only CAA school with two players on the All-ECAC Team.
Silver was named an All-America First Team selection by both the Associated Press and Stats Perform earlier this week.
Silver ended the regular season ranked No. 3 in the nation in sacks per game (0.96) and 11th in tackles for loss (1.50); both those numbers ranked second in the CAA. He was UNH's leader in both sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (17.5), as well as quarterback hurries (four), and he ranked third in both solo tackles (32) and total tackles (58). Silver also had a forced fumble to his credit.
The captain was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14 in recognition of tying his career highs in both sacks (4.0) and tackles for loss (5.0) in UNH's 17-10 win at Elon. He finished with seven total tackles.
For the season, he recorded a tackle for loss in 8 of 12 games and a sack in 6 of 12.
Nov. 2 at UAlbany, he finished with 2.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks, with six total tackles. One week earlier, Silver tied for the team lead with eight tackles at nationally-ranked Villanova with 2.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks (one of which was a strip-sack).
In the opener at UCF, Silver made six solo tackles and two assisted for eight total tackles, which included a team-high two tackles for loss. He made eight more tackles, including a sack, at Holy Cross.
Silver recorded his 200th career tackle with the last of his four tackles Sept. 14 against Stonehill. He ended his career as UNH's all-time sacks leader (37.5) as part of 64.0 tackles for loss and 238 total tackles.
Silver's other 2024 postseason awards include CAA Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-CAA and All-New England Team. Silver was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented to the FCS national defensive player of the year, as well as a semifinalist for the Ted Hendricks Award, which honors the top defensive end among all levels of college football.
Owens ranked second on the team in total tackles (111) and No. 5 in the CAA in tackles per game (8.5). His stats included a team-high 59 solo tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, an interception, one pass breakup, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He recorded 10+ tackles in a game six times and was the team's top tackler in 6 of 13 games.
Owens received two weekly awards in recognition of his 10-tackle effort that also included a pick-6 in UNH's 31-14 win at UAlbany (Nov. 2). One week later vs. Monmouth, he had eight tackles, forced fumble and then recovered a fumble on another play.
In his UNH debut, Owens made a career-high 14 tackles with six solo stops and eight assisted at UCF. He also led the Wildcats with 10 tackles at Holy Cross and tied for the team lead with nine stops against Bryant.
He once again was the top 'Cat with nine tackles at Harvard and 10 at Elon. Owens finished with 10 tackles Oct. 19 against Rhode Island and ended his collegiate career with 10 tackles in the FCS first round game against UT Martin..
Owens was a First Team All-CAA and All-New England Team honoree in 2024.
The No. 19/24 UNH football team won the last four games of the regular season to earn an at-large invitation and 16th seed in the FCS playoffs, where the Wildcats lost in the first round to No. 23/20 UT Martin.
UNH's 2025 schedule was announced earlier in December. Season Ticket Memberships, including the Service Credit Union Victory Club, for the 2025 season can be renewed online by CLICKING HERE.
UNH Football Fans who want to become a season ticket member can complete an interest form HERE.
Plans start as low as $110 and include special benefits such as invites to exclusive events, complimentary tickets to UNH sporting events, first right to special events such as NCAA Playoffs, and presale opportunities to Family Weekend and Homecoming.
Guarantee your access to a season-long tailgate Boulder Field parking pass by buying two or more reserved or box season memberships.
Group and Hospitality tickets are also on sale. Fill out our group interest form located HERE and one of our ticket representatives will reach out to review seat locations and pricing information.
For questions regarding tickets, please call 603-862-4000 or email unh.tickets@unh.edu.
UNH is the only CAA school with two players on the All-ECAC Team.
Silver was named an All-America First Team selection by both the Associated Press and Stats Perform earlier this week.
Silver ended the regular season ranked No. 3 in the nation in sacks per game (0.96) and 11th in tackles for loss (1.50); both those numbers ranked second in the CAA. He was UNH's leader in both sacks (11.5) and tackles for loss (17.5), as well as quarterback hurries (four), and he ranked third in both solo tackles (32) and total tackles (58). Silver also had a forced fumble to his credit.
The captain was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14 in recognition of tying his career highs in both sacks (4.0) and tackles for loss (5.0) in UNH's 17-10 win at Elon. He finished with seven total tackles.
For the season, he recorded a tackle for loss in 8 of 12 games and a sack in 6 of 12.
Nov. 2 at UAlbany, he finished with 2.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks, with six total tackles. One week earlier, Silver tied for the team lead with eight tackles at nationally-ranked Villanova with 2.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks (one of which was a strip-sack).
In the opener at UCF, Silver made six solo tackles and two assisted for eight total tackles, which included a team-high two tackles for loss. He made eight more tackles, including a sack, at Holy Cross.
Silver recorded his 200th career tackle with the last of his four tackles Sept. 14 against Stonehill. He ended his career as UNH's all-time sacks leader (37.5) as part of 64.0 tackles for loss and 238 total tackles.
Silver's other 2024 postseason awards include CAA Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-CAA and All-New England Team. Silver was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented to the FCS national defensive player of the year, as well as a semifinalist for the Ted Hendricks Award, which honors the top defensive end among all levels of college football.
Owens ranked second on the team in total tackles (111) and No. 5 in the CAA in tackles per game (8.5). His stats included a team-high 59 solo tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, an interception, one pass breakup, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He recorded 10+ tackles in a game six times and was the team's top tackler in 6 of 13 games.
Owens received two weekly awards in recognition of his 10-tackle effort that also included a pick-6 in UNH's 31-14 win at UAlbany (Nov. 2). One week later vs. Monmouth, he had eight tackles, forced fumble and then recovered a fumble on another play.
In his UNH debut, Owens made a career-high 14 tackles with six solo stops and eight assisted at UCF. He also led the Wildcats with 10 tackles at Holy Cross and tied for the team lead with nine stops against Bryant.
He once again was the top 'Cat with nine tackles at Harvard and 10 at Elon. Owens finished with 10 tackles Oct. 19 against Rhode Island and ended his collegiate career with 10 tackles in the FCS first round game against UT Martin..
Owens was a First Team All-CAA and All-New England Team honoree in 2024.
The No. 19/24 UNH football team won the last four games of the regular season to earn an at-large invitation and 16th seed in the FCS playoffs, where the Wildcats lost in the first round to No. 23/20 UT Martin.
UNH's 2025 schedule was announced earlier in December. Season Ticket Memberships, including the Service Credit Union Victory Club, for the 2025 season can be renewed online by CLICKING HERE.
UNH Football Fans who want to become a season ticket member can complete an interest form HERE.
Plans start as low as $110 and include special benefits such as invites to exclusive events, complimentary tickets to UNH sporting events, first right to special events such as NCAA Playoffs, and presale opportunities to Family Weekend and Homecoming.
Guarantee your access to a season-long tailgate Boulder Field parking pass by buying two or more reserved or box season memberships.
Group and Hospitality tickets are also on sale. Fill out our group interest form located HERE and one of our ticket representatives will reach out to review seat locations and pricing information.
For questions regarding tickets, please call 603-862-4000 or email unh.tickets@unh.edu.
Players Mentioned
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