SPORTS
Five Wildcat Football Players Earn All-Conference Academic Honors
Senior quarterback Tyler Phelps throws a pass in the FCS post-season game vs. Jacksonville State University.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Five Wildcats were named to the 28th Academic All-Pioneer Football League Team, announced by the conference Wednesday.
Davidson senior quarterback Tyler Phelps made the grade for the second consecutive season, jumping from the second to first team. Joining Phelps was junior punter Evan Pritchard.
Three ‘Cats were voted to the second team; senior offensive lineman Will Berkey, junior safety Dreylan Hines and sophomore slot receiver Bradyn Oakley.
Phelps started in 37 of 40 games played in throughout his impressive career guiding the Davidson offense. The Wildcats were the FCS statistical champions in rushing for the second time in three seasons and top-five in third down conversion percentage for the third consecutive campaign. A NFF Hampshire Honor Society honoree, Phelps will graduate with a degree in economics in May.
Pritchard, a physics major, has been consistent in his two years flipping the field position for the Wildcats. He averaged 41.5 yards-per-punt this season, pinning the opposition inside the 20-yard line five times and booted four kicks over 50 yards.
Berkey helped anchor one of the top offensive lines in the country as Davidson averaged 280.0 rush yards-per-game. The Atlanta Ga., native will receive his diploma in chemistry in May.
A PFL Co-Freshman Defensive Player of the Year in 2018, Hines has been a staple on defensive coordinator Jon Berlin‘s defense for three seasons and has proven strong in the classroom, too. The Arlington, Texas, product enters his senior season in the fall majoring in biology.
Oakley emerged as a viable threat during his second season, scoring a pair of touchdowns, both on the ground and threw the air. He totaled 302 yards all-purpose yards and will declare a major next semester.