YSUsports.com - Football: Ferlando Williams Newcomer of the Year; Five on All-Newcomer Team

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Nov. 28, 2007

Football: Ferlando Williams Newcomer of the Year; Five on All-Newcomer Team

St. Louis, Mo. – Junior wide receiver Ferlando Williams (Warner Robins, Ga.) became the second player Youngstown State player in the past three years to be named Gateway Newcomer of the Year, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Williams was joined on the all-newcomer team by redshirt freshman defensive tackle Torrance Nicholson (Columbus, Ohio), sophomore punter Ben Nowicki (Gilbert, Ariz.), return specialist/cornerback De'Angelo Wilson (Sacramento, Calif.) and junior tailback Kevin Smith (San Diego, Calif.).

Williams joins for Penguins standout tailback Marcus Mason as a Gateway Newcomer of the Year selection. Mason earned the award as a junior transfer from Illinois in 2005. Prior to Mason, no Penguin had been named the Newcomer of the Year.

All five players had successful seasons for the Penguins.

After redshirting in 2006, Williams caught a team-high 42 passes for a team-leading 499 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 464 yards on 74 attempts and had nine scores. Williams was named a first-team all-conference selection on Tuesday. He became the first YSU wide receiver to be selected to the first team since the Penguins joined the league in 1997.

Another 2006 redshirt who had a breakthrough campaign was Nicholson. Nicholson started nine of the final 10 games for the Penguins finishing with 42 total tackles, including 28 solo stops playing alongside first-team All-Gateway selection Mychal Savage. Nicholson was named Honorable-Mention All-Gateway yesterday.

Nowicki proved to be one of the best directional punters in the conference in his first year. After coming to YSU from Mesa Community College, he punted 47 times for an average of 37.1 yards a kick. Of his 47 attempts, 19 (40.4 percent) pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line. He also had four punts longer than 50 yards, including a 57-yarder.

Another junior college transfer to step in and make a major contribution was Smith. Smith became the Guins' primary running back during Gateway play and finished the year with 610 yards on 123 carries. He scored a team-high 10 touchdowns and went over 100 yards against Missouri State and Indiana State.

Wilson, a transfer from Nevada, made an impact as a punt returner and cornerback. He returned 27 punts for an average of 10.5 yards a return. He also returned a team-high 11 kickoffs. He started all 11 games at cornerback finishing with 39 total tackles while tying for team lead in interceptions.

WR | #1 Ferlando Williams, 6-0, 195, Jr.; Warner Robins, Ga.

Caught a team-high 42 passes for 499 yards and two touchdowns…averaged 11.9 yards per catch…also rushed for 464 yards on 74 carries and had nine touchdowns…played 675 snaps (497 at wide receiver and 178 at quarterback)…caught at least one pass in the final 10 games…season-high eight catches vs. UNI and Western Illinois…season-high 133 receiving yards vs. WIU…season-high 87 yards rushing at Southern Illinois.

DT | #94 Torrance Nicholson, 6-3, 285, RFr.; Columbus, Ohio

Played in all 11 games, starting nine…credited with 42 total tackles, including 28 solo stops…played 494 snaps…four tackles for losses and two sacks on the year…had a season-high eight tackles against Southern Utah…posted seven stops against Western Illinois…had six tackles at UNI…credited with five at Southern Illinois.

P | #36 Ben Nowicki, 5-10, 175, So.; Gilbert, Ariz.

Punted 47 times for an average of 37.1 yards per kick…placed 19 kicks inside the opposition’s 20-yard line…long of 57 was longest YSU punt since against Pitt in 2005…had four punts long than 50 yards…placed four punts inside 20 vs. Stony Brook and three vs. Southern Utah and Western Illinois…YSU ranked second in the league in net punting overall and was first in league games.

RS/CB | #4 De’Angelo Wilson, 5-10, 190, Jr.; Sacramento, Calif.

Returned 27 punts for 284 yards averaging 10.5 per return…long was 76 against Illinois State …had a 39-yarder against South Dakota State…returned 11 kickoffs for 266 yards averaging 24.2 yards per return…long was 38 against Illinois State…started all 11 games at cornerback…credited with 39 total tackles, including 21 solo stops…had two interceptions and five pass breakups…high of eight tackles against Missouri State.

TB | #31 Kevin Smith, 5-10, 195, Jr.; San Diego, Calif.

Rushed for team-high 610 yards on 123 carries…scored 10 touchdowns…seven of 10 TDs and 461 yards came in Gateway play…season-high 122 yards at Indiana State…had 102 yards and three touchdowns against Missouri State…had two scores against Illinois State and Western Illinois…caught 13 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown…had two touchdowns against Stony Brook.