CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Bucknell junior punter Alex Pechin was selected as the 2017 Patriot League Football Corvias Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was one of the 14 student-athletes named to the football Academic All-Patriot League Team when honors were announced on Wednesday.
The Corvias Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Academic All-Patriot League Team honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the field and has 14 student-athletes to equal one-half the size of the All-Patriot League Football First Team. The awards are nominated and voted on by the Patriot League Football sports information directors.
Pechin, a First-Team All-Patriot League selection, led the League and finished third in the FCS in punting (45.1 yards/punt), while pinning 34 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. He had 26 punts of more than 50 yards, with a long of 67. In the classroom, the biomedical engineering and management for engineers major carries a 3.94 cumulative grade point average (GPA). He is a two-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection and an Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society member. He also serves on the Bucknell Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a football team peer tutor.
Six student-athletes on the Academic All-Patriot League are multi-year honorees, including two from Bucknell, with senior wide receiver Jack Horan (3.79 GPA, financial management) and senior tight end Andrew Podbielski (3.58 GPA, environmental studies). Colgate junior punter Josh Cerra (3.61 GPA, political science), Georgetown senior cornerback Jelani Williamson (3.49 GPA, economics and anthropology) and senior wide receiver Jim McLaughlin (3.67 GPA, economics) and Lehigh senior defensive lineman Jimmy Mitchell (3.48 GPA, finance and accounting) all made the academic all-League team for the second-consecutive season.
Bucknell senior linebacker Mark Pyles (3.63 GPA, economics) makes the academic all-League team for the first time. Pyles, a three-time All-Patriot League selection, earned first-team all-League honors on Tuesday, after accumulating 73 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and one interception. The senior linebacker was also selected as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy - presented to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation by the National Football Foundation - earlier in the season.
Six more football student-athletes earned their first placement on the academic all-League team, including Fordham senior defensive lineman Jonathan Dimon (3.78 GPA, applied accounting and finance), Holy Cross junior linebacker Ryan Brady (3.41 GPA, political science) and senior tight end Jayke Simsheuser (3.56 GPA, political science), Lafayette junior defensive back Trent Crossan (3.61 GPA, economics) and junior defensive lineman Andrew Chuma (3.9 GPA, economics) and Lehigh junior defensive lineman Harrison Kauffman (3.55 GPA, finance).
Overall, Bucknell placed four members on the squad, while Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Lehigh each had two selections apiece. Colgate and Fordham both had one member on the Academic All-Patriot League Team.
To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their school are not eligible for the honor.
The Corvias Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each individual sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Corvias Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. Those honors, bestowed upon one male and one female are awarded over the summer.
Corvias Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Alex Pechin, Bucknell, Jr., P
Football Academic All-Patriot League Team
Alex Pechin, Bucknell, Jr., P
Jack Horan, Bucknell, Sr., WR
Andrew Podbielski, Bucknell, Sr., TE
Mark Pyles, Bucknell, Sr., LB
Josh Cerra, Colgate, Jr., P
Jonathan Dimon, Fordham, Sr., DL
Jelani Williamson, Georgetown, Sr. CB
Jim McLaughlin, Georgetown, Sr. WR
Ryan Brady, Holy Cross, Jr., LB
Jayke Simsheuser, Holy Cross, Sr., TE
Trent Crossan Lafayette, Jr., DB
Andrew Chuma, Lafayette, Jr., DL
Jimmy Mitchell, Lehigh, Sr., DL
Harrison Kauffman, Lehigh, Jr., DL