WPIAL grads land first-team honors
Tri-State Sports & News Service
James Madison University free safety Jordan Brown hovers around a football field like a hawk staring down his prey. Cool and calculating, this Seneca Valley High School graduate strikes at precisely the right time.
Utilizing the instincts that made him an all-conference quarterback as a prep, Brown has effectively made the Dukes secondary a no-fly zone.
On the strength of his two second-half interceptions in JMU’s 51-16 victory against South Dakota State Saturday in a Football Championship Subdivision semifinal, Brown is the national leader with nine. The senior would like to add to that school-record total in the championship game Jan. 6 against No. 2 North Dakota State (13-1).
Top-ranked JMU (14-0) is the defending national champ and owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 26 games.
“First and foremost I want us to get a ‘W,’” said Brown, the thirdleading tackler at JMU who helped the Dukes produce 10 turnovers in the semifinal win. “And if I can get my 10th interception, that wouldn’t be a bad way to finish off the season.”
Brown is one of four WPIAL alums who earned Associated Press first-team All-America honors this season.
The others are West Mifflin grad Marcus Martin, a senior defensive end at Division II Slippery Rock who set the all-time NCAA record — all divisions — with 56 sacks, and the tandem of record-setting wideout Jesse Zubik (Avonworth) and free safety O’Shea Anderson (Rochester) of Division III Washington& Jefferson.
Like Brown, Anderson collected nine interceptions, tied for the Division III lead. Zubik, meantime, led Division III in receiving yards (1,408) and ranked fourth in touchdowns (17).
This is the first season the AP has selected All-America teams in each of the NCAA divisions. It used to combine Division II and III and the NAIA into the AP Little All-America Team. Martin was a can’t miss. He led the nation with 15½ sacks and 26½ tackles for loss, despite being double-teamed ad nauseam. His third-place finish for the Harlon Hill Trophy (Division II’s version of the Heisman) was the second-highest ever by a defensive player. It had been a decade since a defensive player had made the final 10.
Along with the all-time sack mark, Martin also set the Division II record for tackles for a loss with 92½, easily shattering the old standard of 77.
Playing with a chip on his shoulder (his words) because Football Bowl Subdivision schools shunned him, Martin’s trophy case is expanding by the minute. He was recently named the 2017 NCAA Division II Ron Lenz National Defensive Player of the Year; the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year; and was the runner-up for the Ted Hendricks Award as the best defensive end in the country at all levels.
“They called me a ‘ tweener coming out of high school; I was a victim of the Toos — too small, too short, too slow,” said Martin, 6 feet 3, 245 pounds. “But that’s not the way I played in high school. I dominated on offense and defense. I thought I did everything that a Division I [prospect] was supposed to do, but I was told to my face, multiple times, that I wasn’t cut out for it.”
On Jan. 20 in St. Petersburg, Fla., Martin gets another chance to prove himself when he competes in the East-West Shrine game. The rosters, yet to be finalized, typically feature a large number of FBS players, which will enable Martin to showcase his skills to NFL scouts against higher-level competition.
“I’m going to perform in that game and prove that I can play against all of them,” said Martin, projected as an outside linebacker in the NFL. “I’m doing everything to build my resume; I’m even working on playing fullback like I did in high school. I want to be as versatile as possible. Hopefully, I’ll get an invitation to the [NFL] Combine and then you can watch me on TV.”
At W&J, Zubik’s numbers were nearly as staggering as Martin’s. His 4,756 receiving yards are the third most in Division III history, while his 291 receptions and 54 touchdowns rank eighth and ninth, respectively.
As for Brown, he and former Indiana High stars wideout Riley Stapleton, who had two touchdown receptions in the semifinal, and defensive lineman Darrious Carter, who added two sacks and two forced fumbles, are a victory away from a repeat.
“It would be great for us to win a second ring on such a big stage,” Brown said. “This has been an incredible run.”