Temple University Athletics
Ten Football Players Selected in Football's All-Conference Honors
12.2.15 | Football, T. Matakevich - All-American Candidate, Jahad Thomas - All-American Candidate, Kyle Friend - All-American Candidate
PHILADELPHIA – The #22 Temple Owls saw seven players make the first-team All-American Athletic Conference in the season honors announced today. This number is the most of any team in the conference and a historic high for the program (in 2009, Temple placed seven players on the all-MAC first team). Overall, ten different Owls received all-conference honors.
Senior Tyler Matakevich, a three-time first-team choice, was the only unanimous selection, as voted by the conference's coaches (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players), in addition to being named Defensive Player of the Year. Matakevich won top defensive player honors in four of the 12 weeks in which the Owls played and accumulated a 10-2 record, winning the East Division. Matakevich is the first Owl to receive unanimous all-conference honors since Dan Klecko was named All-Big East in 2002. Three teammates join him on the first-team defense: redshirt senior Nate D. Smith and senior Matt Ioannidis earned slots on the defensive line, while senior Alex Wells was named at safety.
On offense, three Owls made the first-team. Senior center Kyle Friend and senior guard Eric Lofton took spots along the offensive line. Junior running back Jahad Thomas adds first-team running back to his breakout season, accumulating over 1,000 yards and 17 TDs on the ground.
Two Owls found spots on the second team, one on each side of the ball. Junior tackle Dion Dawkins earned a spot on the offensive line, while sophomore defensive back Sean Chandler took a slot in the secondary. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Haason Reddick earned honorable mention.
Following the announcement of the American Athletic Conference honors, here are what the players had to say:
Senior LB Tyler Matakevich on being named Defensive Player of the Year: "It's quite an honor. I said it before and it's no different now. I'm able to make plays because my coaches put me in the right position and my teammates take on blockers to free me up. I'm prouder that Temple had more all-conference selections than any single award I have received."
Senior OL Kyle Friend on being named first-team all-conference: "It's good to get recognition and bring positive recognition to the school."
Senior DL Matt Ioannidis on being named first-team all-conference: "It feels great. It's a great honor, especially in this conference. This conference is highly competitive. There's a lot of great athletes in this conference and I'm just honored to bring this sort of recognition to my school.
On Temple's offensive line having three all-conference selections: (The offensive line) has become the heart of the offense and all the success this year has been a testament to them and their hard work."
Senior OL Eric Lofton on being named first-team all-conference: "It feels great, considering where I've come from last year. It's just a credit to my coach, Coach Wiesehan. He was on me all offseason, during camp, and even in the season now. It's really a credit to him how much better I've gotten, him and Coach Rhule."
Senior DE Nate D. Smith on being named first-team all-conference: "It feels wonderful. All of this couldn't have been done without my coaches and the rest of my team, all of the praise goes to them. I never thought this would happen – I'm not a big statistics or accolades guys, I just want to go out there and play."
Junior RB Jahad Thomas on being named first-team all-conference: "It means a lot, knowing the work that the team and I put in during the offseason, to have the success we're having over the year, and having the chance to play for a championship this week. It's been great. We're having so much fun this season and I love everybody here, and how hard they push me and how we've pushed each other to get to this point in the season."
Senior DB Alex Well on being named first-team all-conference: "I actually prayed for this before the season started. It seems like a prayer came true. I'm not showing it right now, I'm trying to be humble, but I'm actually really happy right now. All the hard work is showing right now. I'm glad I got the accolade but I'm happier we're having a great season. That just shows how our team is, very talented. It showed this year, going 10-2. We lost a close one to Notre Dame. It showed we have some of the top players in the country and we play as a team. It just shows how talented we are and when we got out there, we showcased our talent. For Coach Snow, it's just proven every time he's one of the best coaches in the nation. He taught me when I came up from junior college, he taught me a lot of things I know at safety now, made me smarter, made a lot of people smarter, puts us in the best position that we're supposed to be in, and we just showcase our talents from there."
Sophomore DB Sean Chandler on being named second-team all-conference: "It's big, it just shows that I'm getting better. I think having so many players on the All-conference list shows that we're becoming a better team and everyone is noticing, and we're just going to keep getting better."
Junior OL Dion Dawkins on being named second-team all-conference: "First of all, I feel good because my running back made it, and that's the big thing because the O-line protects the running backs. It feels really good to be noticed and to know that since I'm trusting the coaching, it's paying off, and that's going to lead to something great in the future.
On taking over the leadership from Kyle Friend next season:
"I plan to take whatever I'm coached, take the next step, and to help the young guys become all-conference and to be the best player they can possibly become."
Redshirt junior DL Haason Reddick on being named an all-conference honorable mention: "It feels good. I put in a lot of hard work coming out here with the guys at practice, trying very hard to get this year to go in the right way from past years. It just feels good that all my hard work is being recognized; people can see what I can do and what the team can do, and that I'm out here contributing and helping the team the best way I can."
Senior Tyler Matakevich, a three-time first-team choice, was the only unanimous selection, as voted by the conference's coaches (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players), in addition to being named Defensive Player of the Year. Matakevich won top defensive player honors in four of the 12 weeks in which the Owls played and accumulated a 10-2 record, winning the East Division. Matakevich is the first Owl to receive unanimous all-conference honors since Dan Klecko was named All-Big East in 2002. Three teammates join him on the first-team defense: redshirt senior Nate D. Smith and senior Matt Ioannidis earned slots on the defensive line, while senior Alex Wells was named at safety.
On offense, three Owls made the first-team. Senior center Kyle Friend and senior guard Eric Lofton took spots along the offensive line. Junior running back Jahad Thomas adds first-team running back to his breakout season, accumulating over 1,000 yards and 17 TDs on the ground.
Two Owls found spots on the second team, one on each side of the ball. Junior tackle Dion Dawkins earned a spot on the offensive line, while sophomore defensive back Sean Chandler took a slot in the secondary. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Haason Reddick earned honorable mention.
Following the announcement of the American Athletic Conference honors, here are what the players had to say:
Senior LB Tyler Matakevich on being named Defensive Player of the Year: "It's quite an honor. I said it before and it's no different now. I'm able to make plays because my coaches put me in the right position and my teammates take on blockers to free me up. I'm prouder that Temple had more all-conference selections than any single award I have received."
Senior OL Kyle Friend on being named first-team all-conference: "It's good to get recognition and bring positive recognition to the school."
Senior DL Matt Ioannidis on being named first-team all-conference: "It feels great. It's a great honor, especially in this conference. This conference is highly competitive. There's a lot of great athletes in this conference and I'm just honored to bring this sort of recognition to my school.
On Temple's offensive line having three all-conference selections: (The offensive line) has become the heart of the offense and all the success this year has been a testament to them and their hard work."
Senior OL Eric Lofton on being named first-team all-conference: "It feels great, considering where I've come from last year. It's just a credit to my coach, Coach Wiesehan. He was on me all offseason, during camp, and even in the season now. It's really a credit to him how much better I've gotten, him and Coach Rhule."
Senior DE Nate D. Smith on being named first-team all-conference: "It feels wonderful. All of this couldn't have been done without my coaches and the rest of my team, all of the praise goes to them. I never thought this would happen – I'm not a big statistics or accolades guys, I just want to go out there and play."
Junior RB Jahad Thomas on being named first-team all-conference: "It means a lot, knowing the work that the team and I put in during the offseason, to have the success we're having over the year, and having the chance to play for a championship this week. It's been great. We're having so much fun this season and I love everybody here, and how hard they push me and how we've pushed each other to get to this point in the season."
Senior DB Alex Well on being named first-team all-conference: "I actually prayed for this before the season started. It seems like a prayer came true. I'm not showing it right now, I'm trying to be humble, but I'm actually really happy right now. All the hard work is showing right now. I'm glad I got the accolade but I'm happier we're having a great season. That just shows how our team is, very talented. It showed this year, going 10-2. We lost a close one to Notre Dame. It showed we have some of the top players in the country and we play as a team. It just shows how talented we are and when we got out there, we showcased our talent. For Coach Snow, it's just proven every time he's one of the best coaches in the nation. He taught me when I came up from junior college, he taught me a lot of things I know at safety now, made me smarter, made a lot of people smarter, puts us in the best position that we're supposed to be in, and we just showcase our talents from there."
Sophomore DB Sean Chandler on being named second-team all-conference: "It's big, it just shows that I'm getting better. I think having so many players on the All-conference list shows that we're becoming a better team and everyone is noticing, and we're just going to keep getting better."
Junior OL Dion Dawkins on being named second-team all-conference: "First of all, I feel good because my running back made it, and that's the big thing because the O-line protects the running backs. It feels really good to be noticed and to know that since I'm trusting the coaching, it's paying off, and that's going to lead to something great in the future.
On taking over the leadership from Kyle Friend next season:
"I plan to take whatever I'm coached, take the next step, and to help the young guys become all-conference and to be the best player they can possibly become."
Redshirt junior DL Haason Reddick on being named an all-conference honorable mention: "It feels good. I put in a lot of hard work coming out here with the guys at practice, trying very hard to get this year to go in the right way from past years. It just feels good that all my hard work is being recognized; people can see what I can do and what the team can do, and that I'm out here contributing and helping the team the best way I can."
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