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Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The 2023 Jayhawk Conference football champion Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons had a total of 26 players who earned recognition on the All-KJCCC Football teams, which were released on Thursday.
The Blue Dragons had a near complete sweep of the three major awards.
Head coach Drew Dallas was named the conference Coach of the Year. Sophomore defensive end Daniel Brown was named the KJCCC Defensive Player of the Year. Quarterback Samari Collier was named co-Offensive Player of the Year with Highland receiver Benson Prosper.
The No. 1-ranked Blue Dragons (10-0) played 14 players on the all-KJCCC first team, four players on the second team and eight players on the honorable mention list.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - DANIEL BROWN, Hutchinson
A 6-2, 240-pound defensive end from Kansas City, Kansas, Brown has had one of the most dominant seasons in Blue Dragon and KJCCC history.
For the season, Brown accounted for 49 total tackles, 22.5 tackles going for loss.
His 17.5 quarterback sacks, accounting for 136 yards in losses, leads the nation and is second most in Blue Dragon single-season history. He has had at least one quarterback sack in nine consecutive games.
Brown had back-to-back season-high three sacks against both Dodge City and Garden City. Brown also has 11 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and fumble recovery.
Against No. 2 Iowa Wester, Brown had six tackles and two sacks, which included a sack-fumble that was the turnaround play of the game with the Dragons at that point trailing the Reivers 21-7.
Brown is the first Blue Dragon to win league Defensive Player of the Year honors since Roterius Torrence in 2020/21. He is the four Blue Dragon to win the award since 2018, joining Torrence, Latrell Bankston (2019) and Monty Montgomery (2018).
COACH OF THE YEAR - DREW DALLAS, Hutchinson
The fourth-year Blue Dragon head coach won the Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year award for the third time.
Dallas and the Blue Dragons ran the table in the KJCCC for the second-straight season and have won 14-striaght league-designated games and 18 games in a row against league foes including postseason matchups.
Hutchinson took over the No. 1 spot in the NJCAA Rankings after Week 1 and have reeled off 10-straight victories, including wins over five nationally ranked opponents.
The Blue Dragons led the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 10.2 points per game and was No. 2 in the NJCAA in scoring offense at 40.4 points per contest. The Dragons were also No. 1 in rushing defense at 54.9 yards per game.
The 2023 Blue Dragons had 27 all-conference performers this season, including 14 first-team selections.
Dallas is 38-3 with the Blue Dragons, a stretch that includes a national championship, national runner-up and four consecutive league titles (three regular season and one playoff).
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR - SAMARI COLLIER, Hutchinson
A 6-foot-3, 220-point sophomore from DeSoto, Texas, Collier was a true two-way threat at quarterback for the Blue Dragons this season.
Collier combined for 1,727 total yards and accounted for 19 touchdowns for the Blue Dragons this season. Collier completed 77 of 135 passes (57.0 percent) for 1,253 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. Collier averaged 5.3 yards per rush, going for 474 yards on 90 carries with six touchdowns.
Collier had two games with 100-plus yards both rushing and passing. He had 176 passing yards and 107 rushing yards against No. 5 Iowa Central and 136 passing yards and 103 rushing yards against No. 9 Butler.
Collier threw for a season-highs of 236 yards and four touchdowns in a league championship-clinching victory at Independence.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
A total of six Blue Dragons were on the first-team offense.
Running back Tyrell Reed Jr. earned first-team honors. His 12 rushing touchdowns are second in the NJCAA. Reed has a team-high 692 rushing yards on 111 carries. He averages 6.2 yards per carry.
Receiver Zeriah Beason had 27 receptions for 475 yards and five touchdowns.
The Blue Dragons had three offensive linemen earn first-team honors. Jayven Richardson, Mat Glen and Maddox Marcotte helped the Blue Dragons produce the second-best scoring offense in the nation at 39.1 points per game. The Dragons are among the top rushing teams in the KJCCC at 229.2 yards per game.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Linebacker K'Von Sherman was Hutchinson's leading tackler this season. He closed out the regular season with back-to-back KJCCC Defensive Player of the Week awards. Sherman had 64 total tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks.
Freshman safety Ryan Nolan leads the NJCAA with seven interceptions. Nolan had a three interception game against No. 5 Iowa Central and a two-interception game against Highland. Nolan had five passes defensed and was in on 21 total tackles.
Defensive tackle Danny Saili had 18 total tackles, but was disruptive all season long in the trenches with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 quarterback sacks. He also has a blocked field goal to his credit.
Cornerback Jordan Scruggs had 34 total tackles with an interception, fumble recovery and five passes broken up. Safety Malik McConico had four interceptions and 32 tackles this season.
FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
Freshman return specialist Tre Richardson had a huge season, finishing second in the NJCAA in kickoff return average (28.4 yards per return), second in punt return average (17.3 yards per return) and third in the nation in all-purpose yards (141.0 yards per game). Richardson had two punts and a kickoff returned for a touchdown.
Sophomore punter Stefaan Forbes was third in the NJCAA in punting this season at 41.0 yards per punt. He placed 16 inside the 20-yard line and had seven punts of 50 or more yards with a long of 66 yards.
SECOND TEAM AND HONORABLE MENTION SELECTIONS
Blocking tight end Jered Napoli and offensive linemen Brandon Honorable and Chris Cain were second-team all-league selections.
Cornerback Jaymar Mundy had a tremendous season as a cover corner. He had one interception with a pass broken up and 12 tackles.
Eight Blue Dragons earned All-League honors on the honorable mention list.
Tight end Rodrecas Gibbs, receivers Oran Singleton and Tristan Smith and running back Brandon Epton Jr. were offensive players on the honorable mention list. Defensive tackle Xavier Stillman and defensive end Ny'Len Jones were defensive all-league honorable mention selections.