Eight Huskies Make All Big East Teams, Three On First Team

By On December 6, 2012 · 14 Comments

Congrats to all who made it, would liked to have seen linebacker Jory Johnson’s name on the second team..

From UConn….

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (December 6, 2012) – University of Connecticut senior defensive end Trevardo Williams (Bridgeport, Conn.) was honored as a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, released by the conference on Wednesday morning. Joining Williams on the First Team defense are redshirt senior linebacker Sio Moore (Apex, N.C.) and redshirt sophomore linebacker Yawin Smallwood (Worcester, Mass.).

Overall, eight Huskies were honored with selections to the All-BIG EAST squads. On offense, redshirt senior guard Adam Masters (Bethesda, Md.) and redshirt senior tight end Ryan Griffin (Londonderry, N.H.) were named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team along with senior wide receiver Nick Williams (Windsor, N.J.), representing the Huskies as a return specialist.

Redshirt seniors Dwayne Gratz (Piscataway, N.J.) and Blidi Wreh-Wilson (Edinboro, Pa.) were selected as the cornerbacks on the All-BIG EAST Second Team defense.

Trevardo Williams, a Second Team selection a year ago, totaled a team-high 11.5 sacks and led the league with 0.96 sacks per game. He finished his four year career at UConn as the all-time leaders in sacks with 30.5. Williams was also third on the team with 13.5 tackles for loss and ranked tied for fourth in the BIG EAST with 1.12 per game.

Moore, playing at outside linebacker, and Smallwood, at inside linebacker, formed a tough linebacking unit for the UConn defense this season. Moore finished second on the team with eight sacks and second in the league with 0.67 per game. He was also first on the team with 15.5 TFLs and second in the league with a 1.29 average, while Smallwood was second on the team at 15.0 and third in the league at 1.25. Smallwood also led the Huskies with 120 total tackles, averaging 10.0 per game, good enough for third best in the league.

Masters earned the nod to the Second Team, despite playing just seven games this season; all starts at right guard. He started 30 games over the course of his career, playing in 37 overall.

For Griffin, it is his second straight season being named the Second Team tight end. He caught 29 passes in his final season for 484 yards, averaging 16.7 yards per reception. Griffin caught his team-leading sixth touchdown pass of the season on a career-long 74 yard reception against Cincinnati last Saturday. His 116 career receptions ranks 10th all-time at Connecticut and are the second most among tight ends, while his 1,500 yards are 12th overall and second for a tight end. For his career, Griffin caught 10 touchdown passes, which ties him for second most among tight ends and his six this season also tie him for second most in a single season.

Nick Williams was perhaps the most versatile weapon for the UConn offense this season, but made his biggest impact on special teams. On 21 punt returns, he averaged 12.0 yards per return and score two touchdowns, including a career-long 80-yard return in a win over Pittsburgh (Nov. 9). He also ran back a 58-yard return for a score in a win at Maryland (Sep. 15). On kick returns, Williams ran back 24 kick-offs for an average of 20.4 per return, ranking fourth in the league. In his career, he also ran back a pair of kick returns for touchdowns, making him the only player in program history with two punt and kick returns for a touchdown. Williams’ 2,045 career kick return yards are the most in UConn history and his 25.9 average ranks second.

Williams also caught 30 passes for 334 yards and ran the ball 10 times for 40 yards, including a three-yard score in a win at No. 18 Louisville (Nov. 24). He ranked 10th in the BIG EAST for all-purpose yards at 93.0 per game.

In the secondary, Gratz, a repeat Second Team selection, and Wreh-Wilson were mainstays over their four year careers. Gratz started 41 games, while Wreh-Wilson started 39. Gratz led the Connecticut defense with three interceptions this season, including a 37-yard pick returned for a touchdown in the season opening win over Massachusetts (Aug. 30). For his career, he totaled eight interceptions for 152 return yards, including a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown against Oklahoma in the 2011 Fiesta Bowl.

Wreh-Wilson picked off one pass in his final season and it came in the third overtime of the win at Louisville to set up UConn’s game-winning field goal. He too collected eight career interceptions, totaling 171 return yards and ran back a pair for scores in 2010.

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14 Responses to Eight Huskies Make All Big East Teams, Three On First Team

  1. Adam says:
    December 7, 2012 at 10:21 am

    First and foremost, congrats to the UConn players honored. Just goes to show that the ridiculous comments from our coaching staff questioning the talent level was even more absurd than how it sounded during the season. I can’t think of a better way to alienate your team than making comments like that as a head coach and/or offensive coordinator. You got to wonder what was going through our kids’ minds when they hear public comments like that in the media!!

    Second, there is no excuse why this team shouldn’t be bowl eligible given the talent level that DOES exist here and our VERY weak schedule in 2012. NC State, Western Michigan, Temple, and USF were all winnable games against teams with equal talent or less talent than what was on our 2012 Husky squad. Win 1 or 2 of those games and this team could have gone bowling.

    • husky66 says:
      December 7, 2012 at 7:50 pm

      completely agree. talent was there. maybe not across the board, but enough to win a few more games, esp w/ that schedule. Offensive coaching was horrid.

  2. Publicus says:
    December 7, 2012 at 9:52 am

    Well, it’s time for all the whiners to go to sleep until next season. The only reasonable opinion I’ve read on this blog is that Manuel should be fired. At least that might save the basketball program. Calhoun built a great program from nothing and sustained it for 26 years. In less than one year, Manuel has begun destroying it by hamstringing Ollie with a 7 mo. contract.

  3. John says:
    December 6, 2012 at 9:51 pm

    How about be happy for these kids who busted their tails for years to accomplish this. No one, and I mean no one, wanted to be 5-7 this year. congrats to these guys.

  4. Artie A... says:
    December 6, 2012 at 9:44 pm

    Hello Jerk…Sit back and look at the positions…
    Our QB? our RB? Those that produce points? Yes the entire team produces the points but we all know of key positions.
    Please note only three players are 1st team the others second. This in a much diminished conference.
    Please also note they only have a coach of the year and not a progressive order of who put their players in the best possible position to succeed.
    On the D side we did well on the O we would have been deep down the chart on that one…
    Just say’n, very happy for those that got a pat on the back….
    Realize you are talking 22 positions along with possibly that many substitutions or more over the season. We were not what you would call overloaded with talent. The numbers are what they are and they are not pretty as in triple digits amoung D-1 schools.
    Always love your comments though…

  5. TheJerk says:
    December 6, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    I said this back in August after media days….. most of these all conference selections were picked in Aug. None of these guys are a big surprise by anyone, including local and national media who voted. But how is UCONN got voted to finish anywhere from 5th-8th in conference with all this talent? What do the talking heads know that we dont? what do they know that apparently our AD doesnt for that matter

  6. Artie A... says:
    December 6, 2012 at 6:14 pm

    Nice and deserved. Congrats dogs! Great that YS returns!
    Good luck to all in the future and thank you for representing our state U so well.
    GO DOGS!!!!!

  7. vidtp says:
    December 6, 2012 at 5:47 pm

    two of the most over used sayings in new england sports……

    they only need(fill in amount) more wins to be bowl eligible !!!
    and….

    the red sox are only(fill in amount)(1-28)games out of the wild card !!

  8. ray says:
    December 6, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    Wow, 8 players……Shows we had talent, but no coach.

  9. Yonick Bush says:
    December 6, 2012 at 3:36 pm

    And the team was still lousy!

    Time for PP to go!

  10. joesimsbury says:
    December 6, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    This is no small accomplishment for players on a 2-5 squad. Don Brown did a great job overall on defense and it shows with his kids garnering honors. As far as Griffin, Masters and Williams go, it shows that you can be a bright shining star in the most boring offensive scheme and under the most dire circumstances. Bravo Huskies one and all! All we have to do is get you good coaching on both sides of the ball!

  11. Ed says:
    December 6, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    Congrats to all 8 tough year, but well deserving