Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum was tabbed the winner of the 40th Vern Smith Leadership Award as the top player in the MAC. Northern Illinois Head Coach Thomas Hammock was selected as the Head Coach of the Year, while Central Michigan running back Lew Nichols III was named Offensive Player of the Year. Western Michigan defensive end Ali Fayad was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year, while Central Michigan's Kalil Pimpleton was selected as the Special Teams Player of the Year. Northern Illinois running back Jay Ducker earned Freshman of the Year honors, rounding out the specialty award selections.
Crum joins running back Eric Wilkerson who earned the Player of the Year honor in 1987 as the only Kent State players to win the award and took home first-team all-conference honors as well. Crum has had a stellar season in which he has thrown for 2,794 yards and 15 touchdowns against four interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes. The quarterback has also been a threat on the ground, running for 565 yards, tops amongst quarterbacks, and 11 rushing touchdowns.
NIU head coach Thomas Hammock guided the Huskies to an 8-4 (6-2 MAC) record, completing a "worst to first" regular season with an eight-game improvement in the win column, winning seven games by one score or less. Hammock is the fifth straight NIU head coach to lead the Huskies to a MAC West Division title and the MAC Championship game. After going 0-6 a year ago, NIU's turnaround has come with a roster that includes 75 players who finished high school in 2020 or 2021 and 11 more who graduated in 2019; of those 86 players, 53 have seen action for NIU in 2021 and 33 are listed on the two-deep this week.
Nichols, a redshirt freshman running back from Detroit, earned the MAC Freshman of the Year Award in 2020. He leads the nation in rushing with 1,710 yards and in all-purpose yardage with 2,010 yards. Nichols is the sixth Chippewa to be named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and the first since Dan LeFevour in 2009.
Fayad leads the Conference and is seventh in the nation in sacks with 11.5. He also leads the league in tackles for loss with 15.0, good for 21st in the FBS. Overall, Fayad has 35 tackles and has recorded at least half a sack in nine of 12 games.
Pimpleton, who hails from Muskegon, leads the MAC in average punt return yardage, 20.25 yards, and returned two punts for touchdowns this season. Both of those returns for touchdowns came in a 42-30 victory at Western Michigan; one covered a CMU-record 97 yards and stands as the third-longest punt return in MAC history. It marks the third time in CMU history that a Chippewa has earned the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year Award. Antonio Brown brought home the honor to Mount Pleasant in 2008-09.
Ducker became the first Huskie since Joel Bouagnon in 2015 to record four consecutive 100-yard rushing games and how has run for more than 100 yards in five of the Huskies’ last six games. He needs 112 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the season and record the 31st 1,000-yard rushing season in school history. He is 156 yards away from the Huskies’ single season freshman rushing record set by Alllen Ross in 1977.
The All-MAC First, Second & Third Teams were also announced and are listed below.
Northern Illinois will meet Kent State in the 2021 Rocket Mortgage MAC Football Championship Game, scheduled for Saturday, December 4 at Ford Field in Detroit. The game will kickoff at Noon EST on ESPN.
2021 MAC Specialty Award Winners
Coach of the Year: Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois
Offensive Player of the Year: Lew Nichols III, RB, Central Michigan
Defensive Player of the Year: Ali Fayad, DL, Western Michigan
Special Teams Player of the Year: Kalil Pimpleton, PR, Central Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Jay Ducker, RB, Northern Illinois
Vern Smith Leadership Award Winner: Dustin Crum, QB, Kent State
2021 All-MAC First Team Offense
Quarterback – Dustin Crum, Kent State
Offensive Lineman – Sidy Sow, Eastern Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Luke Goedeke, Central Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Bryce Harris, Toledo
Offensive Lineman – Mike Caliendo, Western Michigan
Tight End – Christian Sims, Bowling Green
Wide Receiver – Kalil Pimpleton, Central Michigan
Wide Receiver – Dante Cephas, Kent State
Wide Receiver – Jack Sorenson, Miami
Wide Receiver – Skyy Moore, Western Michigan
Running Back – Lew Nichols III, Central Michigan
Running Back – Bryant Koback, Toledo
Placekicker – Nate Needham, Bowling Green
2021 All-MAC First Team Defense
Down Lineman – Troy Hairston, Central Michigan
Down Lineman – Kameron Butler, Miami
Down Lineman – Jamal Hines, Toledo
Down Lineman – Ali Fayad, Western Michigan
Linebacker – Darren Anders, Bowling Green
Linebacker – James Patterson, Buffalo
Linebacker – Troy Brown, Central Michigan
Linebacker – Ivan Pace Jr. Miami
Defensive Back – Bryce Cosby, Ball State
Defensive Back – Elvis Hines, Kent State
Defensive Back – C.J. Brown, Northern Illinois
Defensive Back – Sam Womack, Toledo
Defensive Back – Tycen Anderson, Toledo
Punter – Nathan Snyder, Ball State
2021 All-MAC First Team Specialists
Kickoff Return Specialist – Justin Hall, Ball State
Punt Return Specialist – Kalil Pimpleton, Central Michigan
2021 All-MAC Second Team Offense
Quarterback – Kaleb Eleby, Western Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Curtis Blackwell, Ball State
Offensive Lineman – Jake Fuzak, Buffalo
Offensive Lineman – Bill Kuduk, Kent State
Offensive Lineman – Nolan Potter, Northern Illinois
Offensive Lineman – Brayden Patton, Northern Illinois
Tight End – Tristian Brank, Akron
Wide Receiver – Konata Mumpfield, Akron
Wide Receiver – Justin Hall, Ball State
Wide Receiver – Hassan Beydoun, Eastern Michigan
Wide Receiver – Trayvon Rudolph, Northern Illinois
Running Back – Marquez Cooper, Kent State
Running Back – Sean Tyler, Western Michigan
Placekicker – Chad Ryland, Eastern Michigan
2021 All-MAC Second Team Defense
Down Lineman – Daymond Williams, Buffalo
Down Lineman – Lonnie Phelps, Miami
Down Lineman – Desjuan Johnson, Toledo
Down Lineman – Ralph Holley, Western Michigan
Linebacker – Jaylin Thomas, Ball State
Linebacker – Matthew Salopek, Miami
Linebacker – Jonathan Jones, Toledo
Linebacker – Zaire Barnes, Western Michigan
Defensive Back – Jordan Anderson, Bowling Green
Defensive Back – Devonni Reed, Central Michigan
Defensive Back – Sterling Weatherford, Miami
Defensive Back – Dorian Jackson, Western Michigan
Punter – Jake Julien, Eastern Michigan
2021 All-MAC Second Team Specialists
Kickoff Return Specialist – Trayvon Rudolph, Northern Illinois
Punt Return Specialist – Devin Maddox, Toledo
2021 All-MAC Third Team Offense
Quarterback – Brett Gabbert, Miami
Offensive Lineman – Jack Klenk, Buffalo
Offensive Lineman – Brian Dooley, Eastern Michigan
Offensive Lineman – Nathan Monnin, Kent State
Offensive Lineman – Logan Zschernitz, Northern Illinois
Offensive Lineman – Vitaliy Gurman, Toledo
Tight End – Thomas Odukoya, Eastern Michigan
Wide Receiver – Quian Williams, Buffalo
Wide Receiver – Dallas Dixon, Central Michigan
Wide Receiver – JaCorey Sullivan, Central Michigan
Wide Receiver – Mac Hippenhammer, Miami
Running Back – Dylan McDuffie, Buffalo
Running Back – Clint Ratkovich, Northern Illinois
Placekicker – Andrew Glass, Kent State
2021 All-MAC Third Team Defense
Down Lineman – Karl Brooks, Bowling Green
Down Lineman – Jose Ramirez, Eastern Michigan
Down Lineman – Dominique Robinson, Miami
Down Lineman – James Ester, Northern Illinois
Linebacker – Lance Deveaux, Northern Illinois
Linebacker – Bryce Houston, Ohio
Linebacker – Dyontae Johnson, Toledo
Linebacker – Corvin Moment, Western Michigan
Defensive Back – Devin Taylor, Bowling Green
Defensive Back – Jordan Gandy, Northern Illinois
Defensive Back – Tariq Drake, Ohio
Defensive Back – Maxen Hook, Toledo
Punter – Matt Naranjo, Bowling Green
2021 All-MAC Third Team Specialists
Kickoff Return Specialist – Ron Cook, Buffalo
Kickoff Return Specialist – Marion Lukes, Central Michigan