Hofstra University senior linebacker Renauld Williams (Westbury, NY/Friends Academy) was a first team selection and senior receiver Ricky Bryant (Farmington Hills, MI/Harrison) was named to the second team as the 2003 Atlantic 10 Football All-Conference Teams were announced today in Philadelphia.

Williams, who was also named to the All-Atlantic 10 Football first team in 2002, recorded 97 tackles including 56 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks for  -19 yards, eight tackles for losses for -25 yards, one interception, three forced fumbles and recovered two fumbles. Bryant, who was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Football third team in 2002, led the Pride in receptions for the second consecutive season recording 60 catches for 897 yards and three touchdowns. Bryant also led the team in kickoff returns (15-333-0TD) and punt returns (22-165-0TD) in 2003.

Williams has been invited to play in the inaugural I-AA All-Star Game at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on December 30. Bryant has been invited to play in the Las Vegas All-American Classic at Sam Boyd Stadium on January 17, 2004.

Delaware quarterback Andy Hall has been named the Atlantic 10 Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year and defensive end Shawn Johnson of Delaware has been named Defensive Player of the Year in voting conducted among the league's head coaches. In that same vote, Rhode Island's Wendall Williams was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Atlantic 10's Special Teams Player of the Year Award, Maine quarterback Ron Whitcomb earned Rookie of the Year honors, and Mark Whipple of Massachusetts was chosen as Coach of the Year.

Hall is the first Delaware player to earn Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year laurels since quarterback Leo Hamlett was honored in 1995. The senior from Cheraw, SC, enters this weekend's NCAA playoff game with Southern Illinois second in the Atlantic 10 in passing efficiency with a rating of 146.6. His 195 completions (of 303 attempts) and 2,285 passing yards rank fourth in the Conference, while his 64.4 completion percentage is second. Hall has also thrown 21 touchdown passes and rushed for 630 yards (second on the Delaware team), including eight touchdown carries. He is one of two players in Atlantic 10 history (the other being third-team All-Conference selection Mike Granieri of New Hampshire) to pass for 2,100 yards and rush for 600 yards in a season. A finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the top player in I-AA, Hall led the Blue Hens to a share of the Atlantic 10 title with an 8-1 record and an overall mark of 11-1. Delaware is the second seed in the I-AA playoffs.

Whereas Hall led the Blue Hens' offense, Johnson led the defense. The senior from Fairport, NY, enters Saturday's game leading the Atlantic 10 with 12 quarterback sacks and 21 tackles for loss. Johnson, who is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as I-AA's top defensive player, has 54 tackles on the season, 34 of which are solo stops. He leads a Blue Hens' defense that sits atop the Atlantic 10 in rushing defense (114.2 ypg) and ranks third in total defense (334.8 ypg). He joins Brian McKenna (2000) as the only Delaware players to garner A-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Williams is one of only two players in the Atlantic 10 to rank among the top five in the Conference in both kick return average and punt return average and one of only two players to return a punt and kickoff for a touchdown in 2003 (Arel Gordon of Maine is the other in both instances). The speedster is fourth in the Conference with a 10.7 average on punt returns and fifth with a kickoff return average of 22.6 yards. A senior from Greenbelt, MD, Williams also leads the Rams with 23 catches, 436 yards, and four touchdown receptions.

Whitcomb ended the season as the Atlantic 10's third-leading passer, averaging 220.7 yards a game to establish an Atlantic 10 freshman record. He was 186-329 with 21 touchdown tosses. The East Rochester, NY, native also set an Atlantic 10 freshman record when he threw for 432 yards on Saturday at New Hampshire. With Whitcomb at the helm, Maine posted a 5-4 league ledger - tying for fourth in the Conference - and a 7-5 overall mark. He is the third player in program history to be named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, joining Carl Smith (1988) and Rich LaBonte (1981).

Notables on the All-Conference first-team offense include Maine running back Marcus Williams, a Payton Award finalist who leads the Atlantic 10 with 1,284 rushing yards; Northeastern running back Tim Gale, one of five rushers to surpass 1,000 yards this season (1,061); William & Mary wide receiver Rich Musinski, who leads the Conference with 63 catches and 888 receiving yards, and had 21 games of 100 or more receiving yards, second only to Jerry Rice in I-AA history; and kicker Shane Laisle of Rhode Island, who ended his career with 32 career field goals and 106 consecutive extra points.

Notables on the first-team defense include Villanova linebacker Brian Hulea, who leads the Atlantic 10 with 101 solo tackles and is second in the Conference with 141 total stops; Northeastern linebacker Liam Ezekiel, a finalist for the Buchanan Award who amassed 140 tackles this season; and James Madison lineman Jerame Southern, who is second in the Conference with 20 tackles for loss.

Bobo, Brower, Chila, Ezekiel, Haugabrook, and Wilson earn All-Conference honors for the third straight season, while Musinski is the fourth wideout in league annals to be a three-time first-team All-Conference pick (2001-03). The others include Bill Brooks of Boston University (1983-85), Dameon Reilly of Rhode Island (1983-85), and New Hampshire's Curtis Olds (1986-88).

Whipple earns his first Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor for leading Massachusetts to a share of the regular season title with an 8-1 Conference mark. UMass enters this weekend's I-AA playoff game at Colgate with a 10-2 record, with the two losses coming at Kansas State (Sept. 13, 38-7) and in triple overtime at Delaware (Nov. 15, 51-45). The 10 regular season wins are a school record, as are the eight Atlantic 10 wins. UMass is currently ranked fifth in The Sports Network/CSTV top 25 and has been ranked for all 14 weeks of the 2003

season. A 1979 graduate of Brown, Whipple is in his six season at UMass, where he has put together a 49-25 record and led the Minutemen to the 1998 national championship. In a 16-year career, which includes stops at New Haven (1988-93) and Brown (1994-97), Whipple owns a 121-58 mark.

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