Bucknell University Athletics
Record-Tying 12 Bucknell Football Players Named All-Patriot League
11/22/2011 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 22, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - A program record-tying 12 Bucknell football players were named to the All-Patriot League Teams, the league announced Tuesday. Six Bison were named to the first team, while six more were on the second. The 12 selections tied the 1995 Bucknell squad that lost just one league game for the most Bison honorees in one season.
Eight of Bucknell's 12 honorees were seniors, three were juniors and FB Travis Friend (Mechancisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) was the lone sophomore.
RB Tyler Smith (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) and K Drew Orth (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazleton Area) were the two Bison on the first-team offense, while DL Robert De La Rosa (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township), DL Josh Eden (State College, Pa./State College Area), DB Bryce Robertson (Reserve, La./East St. John) and P Ryan Gutowski (Owings Mills, Md./Calvert Hall) were part of the first-team defense.
Bucknell's second-team selections included Friend, WR Frank DeNick (Middlesex, N.J./Immaculata), OL Anthony Carter (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom), OL Ian Dal Bello (Allen, Texas/Allen), LB Beau Traber (Norman, Okla./Norman North) and DB Sean Rafferty (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial).
De La Rosa, Eden, and Friend were all repeat All-Patriot League selections. Eden became the 20th player in Patriot League history to earn at least three career first-team honors, while he and De La Rosa joined a group of 69 players that have earned three career All-League certificates. De La Rosa was a second-team choice in 2009 and 2010. Friend landed on the second team for a second consecutive year.
Bucknell, which equaled the program record for largest win improvement from one year to the next (+5) with a 6-5 record in 2011, has now had at least one First Team All-Patriot League choice eight straight years. The 12 Bison honored Tuesday exceeds the program's All-Patriot League total (11) of the last three years combined, and the six first-team selections equals the 2001 squad for the most in program history.
A First Team All-Patriot League selection in 2007, 2010 and 2011, Eden finished his Bison career with 192 tackles, 40 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks and 13 pass breakups. He also blocked 11 kicks in his career, tying him for fifth on the NCAA FCS all-time list. Eden's eight blocked extra points are an FCS record.
In 2011, Eden finished fifth on the team with 49 tackles, tied for third in the Patriot League with a career-high 6.5 sacks and was third in the Patriot League with 12.5 tackles for loss. He also forced two fumbles, recovered three and intercepted a pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown in a win at Princeton.
Eden, who also caught a touchdown pass at Lafayette, lists fifth on Bucknell's all-time sacks list.
De La Rosa combined with Eden to make up one of the best defensive line tandems in the league this year. The three-time All-Patriot League honoree posted a career-high 47 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks as a senior. He ranked second in the Patriot League, and 18th nationally, in tackles for loss, and tied Eden for third on the sacks list.
A four-year starter, De La Rosa had the best game of his senior year in a home win over Georgetown when he posted 6.5 tackles for loss, tying him for third on the NCAA FCS single-game ledger. De La Rosa finished with at least one tackle for loss in nine of 11 games this fall and he will graduate one sack shy (15) of joining the program's top-10 list for career sacks.
Another four-year starter, Robertson made national headlines thanks to his interception prowess this year. He came one pick shy of tying the FCS record with 13 interceptions. He posted four multi-interception outings and had at least one interception in nine of Bucknell's final 10 games. Robertson easily broke the Patriot League (9) and Bucknell (10) marks for interceptions in a season, and the next closest person in FCS this year is Alabama State's Kejuan Riley, who has eight interceptions.
Robertson finished the season with more interceptions than Bucknell had turnovers (12), and his 184 interception return yards broke Kevin Eiben's 11-year-old program record.
Robertson totaled 39 tackles this year and finished with 148 for his career. He also turned into a good punt returner, returning 18 punts for a career-high 140 yards in 2011. He finished the year with a career-high 346 all-purpose yards.
A junior, Smith had a couple breakout performances late in the season that propelled him to his first career All-Patriot League honor. After totaling 370 yards rushing over the season's first eight games, Smith put together back-to-back 200-yard outings and ended up leading the league in rushing with a career-high 795 yards. The 416 yards he piled up in consecutive outings at Lafayette and Fordham helped him break the program record for most yards in two straight games. His 212 yards on a snow-covered field at Lafayette were the ninth-most in program history.
A versatile player, Smith finished the year with a career-high 1,609 all-purpose yards, good for fifth in Bucknell single-season history. He totaled 163 yards on receptions and 651 on kickoff returns and boosted his career all-purpose yards total to 3,399, the seventh-most in school annals. Smith currently ranks 18th nationally in kickoff return average and tied for 13th in all-purpose yards per game (146.27) despite missing the majority of the season finale at Colgate with an injury.
Reigning Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week Orth earned his first career All-League certificate after connecting on 12 of 15 field goals in 2011. He didn't take over as the team's primary kicker until week three at Cornell, but still tied for third on the program's single-season field goals made list. A solid kicker throughout his tenure, Orth finished his career 25-for-32 on field goals and 50-for-54 on extra points for a grand total of 125 points.
Orth is Bucknell's first placekicker to be named All-Patriot League since Chris Lundberg in 2000.
Gutowski made it two Bison kickers on the first team as he was one of three punters to earn first-team honors. He punted a Bucknell-record 79 times in 2011 and averaged 36.7 yards per boot. Gutowski recorded seven touchbacks, forced 23 fair catches and pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 22 times. His best outing was against Patriot League champion Lehigh when he averaged 44.3 yards on seven kicks and recorded the third-longest punt (71) in school history.
Friend, who last year became the first Bison since 1993 to earn All-Patriot League honors as a freshman, had a strong sophomore campaign while being used mainly as a blocker and receiver. He rushed just four times all season, but caught 16 passes for 100 yards.
Carter and Dal Bello were both mainstays on the Bucknell offensive line over the last four years. Dal Bello started all 44 games since he set foot on campus in the fall of 2008, while Carter missed just one starting assignment in his career. That duo was part of an offensive line that featured five senior starters at times this year and helped the Bison score their most points since 2008.
DeNick was the only Bison to catch at least one pass in every game in 2011 and he finished with 554 yards receiving on 42 catches, both career highs. His best outing came against Georgetown when he totaled four receptions for 114 yards and two scores, becoming just the 21st player in school history with at least two career 100-yard outings. DeNick, who was a defensive back at the beginning of his career, finished his career with 977 career receiving yards.
Traber earned his first All-League citation in his first year as a starter at linebacker. He was third on the team with 63 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss. Traber was especially strong in the latter part of the year, totaling 24 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss over the final four games.
A team co-captain along with Eden, Rafferty led the Bison with a career-high 70 tackles, which ranked him tied for 13th in the Patriot League. He posted 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and intercepted three passes to rank second on the team behind Robertson. A two-year starter, Rafferty finished his career with 143 tackles and six interceptions.
Bucknell's 12 All-Patriot League selections tied Holy Cross for second-most in the league behind league champion Lehigh's 16. The Mountain Hawks' QB Chris Lum was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while Georgetown's Andrew Schaetzke was named Defensive Player of the Year. Lafayette's Ross Scheuerman was the Rookie of the Year. Georgetown's Kevin Kelly earned his first career Coach of the Year award.
The Bison finished above .500 for the first time since 2006 this fall and had a chance to finish in a tie for second place in the league standings entering the final game of the season.
Bucknell's All-Patriot League Selections
First Team
Robert De La Rosa (DL)
Josh Eden (DL)
Ryan Gutowski (P)
Drew Orth (PK)
Bryce Robertson (DB)
Tyler Smith (RB)
Second Team
Anthony Carter (OL)
Ian Dal Bello (OL)
Frank DeNick (WR)
Travis Friend (FB)
Sean Rafferty (DB)
Beau Traber (LB)
