MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Northern Illinois University senior offensive tackle
Nolan Potter (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington HS) earned honorable mention All-America honors from Phil Steele and was one of three Huskies named to Steele's 2023 All Mid-American Conference first team on Monday. In all, 10 Huskies received first, second or third team recognition, including seven who will return for NIU in 2024.
"Phil Steele has a lot of respect in the coaching community as someone who works hard and does his homework," said NIU head coach
Thomas Hammock from Montgomery, where the Huskies traveled Tuesday in advance of Saturday's Camellia Bowl game. "I believe he has put together an All-MAC postseason team, that, from an NIU standpoint, accurately reflects what we saw in our team this year. I'm pleased for these 10 guys to earn that recognition."
Potter, a three-time All-MAC selection by league coaches and a 42-game starter who has played in 55 total games in his six seasons as a Huskie, is the first NIU player named to an All-America team since defensive lineman Jack Heflin made Pro Football Focus' honorable mention team in 2019. Current Cincinnati Bengals' offensive lineman Max Scharping was the last Huskie offensive lineman All-American in 2018.
"
Nolan Potter is very deserving of honorable mention All-America honors," Hammock said. "He's been a pillar of this program for us up front for the last six years. We have one more game with him and we're certainly going to miss him."
Potter was joined on Phil Steele's All-MAC first team by junior running back
Antario Brown (Savannah, Ga./Beach HS) and senior defensive tackle
James Ester (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech). Brown ranked second in the MAC and is 19th in the country in rushing yards with 1,164 on the season, while Ester has led the Huskie defense to its best season in 11 years with a career best 48 tackles and a team-leading four sacks.
Wide receiver
Trayvon Rudolph (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee HS), center
Pete Nygra, safety
Nate Valcarcel (Greenfield, Wis./Whitnall HS) and long snapper
Isaac Hatfield (Georgetown, Ind./Floyd Central HS) were named to Phil Steele's second team All-MAC squad, while offensive guard
J.J. Lippe (Milwaukee, Wis./Whitefish Bay HS), defensive end
Raishein Thomas (Racine, Wis./Washington Park HS) and cornerback JaVaughn Byrd (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King HS) collected third team honors.
Rudolph returned from a knee injury that sidelined him in 2022 to lead NIU in receiving with 504 yards on 46 catches and is the Huskies' third-leading rusher. His 900 all-purpose yards, including a 20.0 average on 11 kickoff returns, are second on the team. Lippe and Nygra joined Potter as stalwarts on a line that led the way for the No. 2 rushing offense in the MAC.
Valcarcel, Thomas and Byrd each made major contributions to the Huskies' defensive success. In his first year as a starter at safety, Valcarcel made a team-leading three interceptions to go with 42 tackles. Byrd enjoyed a breakout season at cornerback with 28 tackles and five pass break-ups for a Huskie defense that ranks sixth nationally in fewest passing yards allowed, 11th in defensive passing efficiency and 21st in total defense. Thomas, meanwhile, leads NIU in tackles with 68, which leads all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) defensive linemen in stops. He would become the first defensive lineman to lead the Huskies in tackles all-time.
Hatfield, a sophomore, represents the NIU special teams as Steele's second team long snapper. The second-year starter handles all punt and placekick snaps for the unit that includes placekicker
Kanon Woodill and punter
Tom Foley.
The Huskies won five of their last seven games on the season to finish the regular season with a 6-6 record and earn a bowl bid for the 12th time in the last 16 seasons. NIU will meet Arkansas State in the 10th Annual Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama on Saturday, December 23. The game will air on ESPN with kickoff at 11 a.m. (CT).
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