DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University offensive tackle Nolan Potter and running back Antario Brown led a contingent of five Huskies named to the 2023 All Mid-American Conference Football Team on Wednesday. Potter and Brown were named to the first team, defensive tackle James Ester and cornerback JaVaughn Byrd earned second team honors, and wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph was named to the third team. The team was selected by the league head coaches.
 
Potter, a senior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Washington HS), collected All-MAC honors for the third consecutive season, and has been named to the first team in back-to-back years. A 41-game starter for NIU over the last five seasons, Potter led a Huskie offensive line that ranked in the top 30 in the country in fewest sacks allowed while leading the MAC in rushing offense in conference games.
 
"I am excited for Nolan to be recognized for the second time as a first team All-MAC selection," said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. "He's been an anchor for us at right tackle throughout his career. What he does for us and the guys up front in terms of both his play and his leadership is nothing short of amazing."
 
Brown is the first NIU tailback to garner first team All-MAC honors since 2015 as the junior from Savannah, Ga. (Beach HS) ran for a career high 1,164 yards on 187 carries with 10 rushing touchdowns to average 6.2 yards per carry and 97.0 yards per game.  His per carry and per game averages rank 20^th and 21^st in the Football Bowl Subdivision, respectively, while his yardage total is 18^th. Brown rushed for 150 or more yards in four games while seven of his 10 touchdowns have come on runs of 24 yards or more.
 
"AB made some explosive and dynamic plays for our offense, and we saw what he could do when he was able to stay healthy and play the whole season," Hammock said. "I'm happy to see him recognized and know he can be even better.
 
"When you have a runner able to do what AB did and a team that had the top rushing offense in the league in MAC play, you know that it wasn't just Nolan clearing the way up front so I want to recognized the other four guys on our offensive line – Pete Nygra didn't miss a snap at center, J.J. Lippe and John Champe at the guards and Evan Malcore, a freshman. Those guys all did a great job."
 
The Huskie defense, one of the most improved units in the FBS this year, finished the regular season ranked 22nd nationally in total defense and 29th in total defense while allowing opponents just 163.9 passing yards per game, good for sixth in the country.
 
Ester, a senior defensive tackle from Detroit (Cass Tech HS), earned his third All-MAC nod. Named to the third team in each of the past two seasons, the 41-game starter joined first-time All-MAC recipient Byrd on the second team in 2023. Ester made a career high 48 tackles in 2023 with four sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss to lead a Huskie defensive line that was one of the strongest units in the MAC.
 
"James Ester is a senior who has gotten better each year in our program and developed himself into the player he is," Hammock said. "He played his best football as a senior; he led our defensive line and our defense into the number 22 defense in the country and our defensive line was a huge part of that."
 
Milwaukee's Byrd (Rufus King HS) played a similar role to Ester on the back end of the Huskie defense from his cornerback position. Often called to cover the opponents' top threat at receiver, he made 28 tackles, intercepted two passes and broke up five as a junior.
 
"JaVaughn Byrd is a young man who has played since he was a freshman," Hammock said. "He made a huge jump this year in terms of his discipline, his work ethic and it showed as he was a lock down corner for us. When you have a top 10 passing defense, your corners have to play really well, and he was special."
 
Like Potter and Ester, Trayvon Rudolph was named to an All-MAC team for the third time as he was a second team choice in 2020 and 2021 before missing the entire 2022 campaign with a knee injury.  The Crete, Ill. (Crete-Monee HS) product returned to play in every game in 2023 and led the Huskies in receiving with 46 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns. He also ranks third on the team in rushing with 20 carries for 176 yards for an 8.8-yard average and returned 11 kickoffs for 220 yards.
 
"Coming back from the injury, it took Trayvon some time to get up to full speed but after about the fourth game, he moved into high gear and made a lot of plays for our offense, and a lot of explosive plays," Hammock said. "He is a versatile player and we tried to get him the ball in as many ways as we could."
 
The Huskies finished the 2023 regular season with a 6-6 record and were 5-3 versus MAC opponents after winning five of their last seven games. NIU will play in a bowl game for the 11th time in the last 15 years. The Huskies will learn their bowl destination on Sunday, December 3rd.
 
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