Tuesday, December 01, 2015

McNamara A Bushnell Finalist

From the Ivy League Office:

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Dartmouth senior linebacker Will McNamara, Harvard senior quarterback Scott Hosch and Penn senior linebacker Tyler Drake and sophomore wide receiver Justin Watson have been announced as the four finalists for the 2015 Asa S. Bushnell Cup, which honors the Ivy League Football Players of the Year.

Hosch and Watson are finalists for Offensive Player of the Year, while McNamara and Drake are finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.

The 2015 Bushnell Cup Presentation, co-hosted by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and presented by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, is set for Monday, Dec. 7 at 12:30 p.m. ET with a special press conference and reception in the Vanderbilt Room of the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The presentation will be shown live and free of charge on The Ivy League Digital Network (ILDN).

2015 ASA S. BUSHNELL CUP FINALISTS 

Will McNamara
A unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection for the second-consecutive season, McNamara (Chicago) once again led the Dartmouth defense to new heights. The tri-captain was the team leader in tackles for a second-straight year, ranking fifth in the League with 7.7 stops per game (8.3 in conference play alone), with 3.5 going for a loss including a sack in the win over Yale. He was also second in the League with four interceptions, two of which came against a ranked Harvard squad and another went for a touchdown in the season opener at Georgetown. He also broke up four other passes to rank among the League's top 10 in passes defended.

On 12 occasions, McNamara made a play on third or fourth down that left the opponent short of a first down, while ending four other drives with his interceptions. Not only did he pick off two passes against Harvard, he also recorded a game-high 14 tackles, one of which concluded the incredible goal-line stand in the fourth quarter that kept Harvard from scoring on five tries from the one-yard line. In the season finale with Dartmouth needing a victory to earn a share of the conference crown, McNamara came through with 10 more stops, his eighth career game in double figures. Five times he led the team in tackles this fall (13 times in his career) as Dartmouth led the nation in scoring defense at 10.1 points per game and turnovers gained with 32, ranked second in red zone defense, third in pass efficiency defense and fourth in rush defense.

McNamara finished his career with 188 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, eight interceptions (three of which he returned for touchdowns), seven pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one sack over 32 games.

Tyler Drake
A unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection, Drake (Plantation, Fla.) finished the 2015 season as the Ivy League's leader in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (12.5), while sharing the League lead in forced fumbles with four. At the conclusion of the regular season, his 8.5 sacks were 12th among all NCAA Football Championship Subdivision players. He also added two interceptions, tied for third on Penn's defense.

Drake had three games in 2015 where he reached double figures in tackles, including a career-high 15 against Dartmouth and 12 tackles against Fordham and Harvard. His six-tackle, one-sack, one-forced fumble, one-interception effort against Yale earned him Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 26. He registered at least one sack in half of Penn's games this past season and his four sacks against Fordham were the most by a Penn player since 2003. His 8.5 sacks for the season were also the most since 2003, and second-most by a Penn defender since 1999.

Drake will graduate with 17.5 career sacks, fifth-most in school history. His 80 tackles during the 2015 campaign were the most by a Quaker since 2011, and second-most since 2006. A two-time All-Ivy selection, Drake was named one of 25 finalists for the STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Year Award.


Scott Hosch
A first-team All-Ivy selection, Hosch (Sugar Hill, Ga.) set the Harvard single-season passing record by tossing for 2,827 yards this fall. His 22 touchdowns was the second most for a single-year in program history and he finished eighth in the school's records book with 4,255 career passing yards and tied for sixth with 30 career touchdown passes. Hosch totaled 3,033 yards as a senior, good for second most in school history and he finished his career fourth in career completion percentage (.619) and ninth in career total offense (4,567). He was 15-1 as Harvard's starting quarterback over the last two seasons.


Hosch was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week three times this fall and helped the Crimson pace the Ancient Eight in total offense (474.2), passing offense (303.5) and rushing offense (170.7). Hosch threw for a career-high four touchdowns in the win over Yale. He also threw for third most passing yards in school history (437), going 29-of-40 and two touchdowns vs. Princeton.
For his stellar senior season, Hosch was named one of 25 finalists for the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Justin Watson
A unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection, Watson (Bridgeville, Pa.) posted one of the finest seasons by a receiver in Penn's football history. The Ivy League's leader in receptions (74), receiving yards (1,082) and receiving touchdowns (9), Watson finished the regular season ranked seventh among all FCS receivers in receiving yards. His 108.2 yards-per-game ranked fifth in the FCS. He totaled seven 100-yard games in 2015, just the fourth Ivy League player to do so. His five consecutive 100-yard games to close the 2015 season mark just the third time in Ancient Eight history that a player posted five straight games with 100 yards receiving.


Watson was twice named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, first earning the honor after scoring two touchdowns in Penn's win at No. 5/4 Villanova and then following an outstanding 249 all-purpose yard effort with two touchdowns in the win at No. 12/14 Harvard.

Watson made his mark on the school's records book in 2015, becoming just the third receiver in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark when he took over second place with his 1,082 yards. Through just two seasons, Watson already ranks seventh all-time at Penn in receiving yards with 1,579. His 74 receptions this season rank fourth all-time by a Quaker and his 116 receptions through two seasons are already seventh-most by a Penn player in program history. Watson consistently found the endzone in 2015, finishing with 10 total touchdowns – nine via reception. His nine touchdown catches in a single season are third-most in program history, and he is already tied for eighth-most touchdown receptions in a career by a Quaker.