Five members of the Eastern Michigan University football team had been selected as All-Mid-American Conference honorees, Athlon Sports said June 19.
Two seniors, offensive lineman Lincoln Hansen and tight end Tyreese Russell, were named to the first team, while senior running back Bronson Hill, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jake Hurcombe and junior defensive lineman Pat O’Connor were selected as third team members.
Hansen, Russell and Hill received their second preseason all-conference honor as the trio was also named to Phil Steele’s preseason All-MAC teams. The trio earned all-league honors from the Mid-American Conference office in 2013.
Russell started in all 12 games in the 2013 season. He led the team in catches with 44 receptions for 594 yards and three touchdowns. His three touchdowns ranked second among the All-MAC tight end nominees. He was also named the 2013 Mid-Season All-MAC by Phil Steele. Russell finished the season with an average of 13.5 yards per catch while also being named to the Midseason Watch List for the 2013 John Mackey Award.
Hansen also started all 12 games for the Eagles at right tackle this past season. He helped EMU rack up 1,896 yards on the ground and 2,137 yards though the air, the twelfth-most in EMU history.
Hill started in seven-of-11 games for the Eagles in the 2013 season. The senior ranked 31st nationally in rushing, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. He became the first EMU running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season since Anthony Sherrell in 2003.
Hill also passed the 2,000-yard plateau in his EMU career to become just the 11th player to reach the mark in program history. During the season Hill carried the ball 196 times for 1,101 yards on the ground, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. In total, he surpassed 100-yards rushing in six games in 2013 and now has nine career 100-yard contests.
Hurcombe was also a major force on the offensive line in 2013, playing in all 12 games and making 11 starts to help EMU total the 12th-most passing and rushing yards in program history.
O’Connor collected 44 tackles through the course of the season, including five sacks to go along with four quarterback hurries and three pass breakups throughout the 2013 campaign as he was awarded the John E. Borowiec Most Valuable Defensive Player Award at the team’s annual end of the year banquet. In each of EMU’s first three games O’Connor picked up a sack while tallying a career-high eight tackles in the Eagles’ home opener victory versus Howard on Aug. 31.
