Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
ST. LOUIS -- Indiana State sophomore Connor Underwood led a group of five Sycamores who earned All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors as announced today (Dec. 2) by the league office. The All-MVFC squads are determined by a postseason vote of conference head coaches, sports information directors and a media panel.
Underwood was named to the All-MVFC First Team while senior FN Lutz III was a second team selection. Seniors Russell Jones, Tanner Riley and sophomore Mark Sewall were named to the All-MVFC Honorable Mention Team.
Connor Underwood, a sophomore defensive lineman, followed up his redshirt freshman campaign in 2012 that saw him take All-MVFC Newcomer Team and Honorable Mention All-MVFC selections with a 2013 campaign that netted him a place on the All-MVFC First Team. He was the team's fourth-leading tackler with 76 total tackles, including a team-best 18 for a loss and nine quarterback sacks. Underwood added a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown in the season opener at Indiana and was credited with five pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries as well as one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
He owned three double digit tackle performances on the year, including a season-best 13 against Western Illinois and recorded six tackles for a loss at Tennessee Tech, with four quarterback sacks which tied a school record. Underwood ranked tied for 17th in total tackles in the league and was tied for third in quarterback sacks and tied for second in tackles for a loss. In MVFC contests only, Underwood ranked tied for 15th in tackles, fourth in quarterback sacks and tied for fifth in tackles for a loss.
FN Lutz III picked up a spot on the All-MVFC Second Team after being a first team selection in 2011 as well as an honorable mention pick in 2010. Lutz III is also a two-time All-MVFC Academic selection in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, Lutz returned from missing the entire 2012 campaign by playing and starting in all 12 games for the Sycamores at the center position along the offensive line. The Sycamore offense averaged over 20 points per game in 2013.
Russell Jones, a senior defensive lineman, was named to the All-MVFC Honorable Mention Team after finishing as the Sycamores' second-leading tackler with 89 total tackles, including 14 for a loss and five quarterback sacks. Jones had one fumble recovery as well as two forced fumbles and posted a career-best 14 total tackles in his final game against Southern Illinois while recording multiple tackles in every game this season. He had a season-best three tackles for a loss versus SIU while his 7.4 tackles per game ranks tied for ninth in the MVFC and his .88 tackles for loss average ranked tied for 12th. Jones posted 8.2 tackles per league contest which ranked eighth while his 3.0 quarterback sacks in league play ranked 16th. He was tied for fifth for most tackles for loss in MVFC contests while he was tied for 3rd in most fumbles forced per MVFC contest.
Tanner Riley, a senior wide receiver, was named to the All-MVFC Honorable Mention Team after finishing as the Sycamores' leading receiver with 42 pass receptions for 397 yards and one touchdown. He added seven punt returns for 97 yards, averaging 13.9 yards per punt return and added six kickoff returns averaging over 21 yards per return. Riley caught at least two passes in all but one of his 12 games as a senior. He had a season-best six pass receptions twice (Quincy and at Missouri State) and owned a season-best 63 receiving yards at Purdue. Riley had a 61-yard punt return against Youngstown State. Earlier in his career, Riley was a MVFC All-Academic selection in 2012 and earned MVFC and National Special Teams Player Of The Week last season for his 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Missouri State.
Mark Sewall, a sophomore defensive back, was named to the All-MVFC Honorable Mention Team after finishing as the Sycamores' third-leading tackler with 87 total tackles, including five tackles for a loss. He paced the Sycamores with three interceptions and owned four pass breakups. He recovered one fumble and blocked a punt against Southern Illinois. Sewall finished the season with three consecutive double digit tackle performances, including a career-high 18 total tackles versus the Salukis. He had a pair of tackles for a loss against Youngstown State and posted interceptions at South Dakota, at Missouri State and versus Western Illinois. Sewall ranked 11th in the league for total tackles and tied for 17th in passes defended. In MVFC contests only, Sewall ranked third with 9.2 tackles per contest and ranked tied for ninth in passes defended and tied for third in interceptions. Sewall was an All-MVFC Newcomer selection in 2012.
