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Taylor: Linebacker of the Year; Taylor, Acklin: All-American Honors

December 14, 2017

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By WIU Athletics

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FCS ADA Linebacker of the Year Awarded to Taylor

Western Illinois senior linebacker Brett Taylor was named Thursday (Dec. 14) as the FCS ADA Linebacker of the Year. He is the first Leatherneck to ever win the award

Taylor, who has been invited to the STATS FCS Awards Banquet on Jan. 5 as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, led the nation with 162 tackles, 13.5 stops per game and 96 assisted tackles. The Macomb, Ill., native also tacked on 13.0 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, four breakups, two forced fumbles and one quarterback hurry on the season.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor earned four league Player of the Week awards this season. He concludes his career at Western Illinois as a three-time All-MVFC selection and three-time Academic All-MVFC Selection. His 469 career tackles and 266 career solo stops each rank third in school history. Taylor's 203 career assisted tackles place fourth.

The fifth annual award recognizes the top student-athletes from FCS institutions at 11 different positions. Voting was conducted by a national panel, consisting of media and sports information directors.

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Taylor, Acklin Earn AP All-American Honors

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois senior linebacker Brett Taylor and senior wide receiver Jaelon Acklin have earned Associated Press All-American honors, the publication announced Tuesday (Dec. 12).

Invited to the STATS FCS Awards Banquet as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in the FCS, Taylor is the first Leatherneck since Kyle Glazier (2009, 2010) to earn two AP All-American honors. Named to the Second Team a year ago, Taylor was placed on the AP's First Team this season. Acklin, who was placed on the Second Team, is the first Western Illinois wide receiver to earn AP All-American honors since Stacy Coleman in 2002.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor is the nation's leader in tackles (162), stops per game (13.5) and assisted tackles (96). The native of Macomb, Ill., also logged four Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors and totaled 13.0 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, four breakups, two forced fumbles and one quarterback hurry on the season.

A three-time All-MVFC honoree, Taylor concluded his Western Illinois career with 469 tackles and 266 solo stops, which are each the third-most in school history, respectively. His 203 career assisted tackles rank fourth in program history.

After entering the 2017 campaign with 21 career catches for 364 yards and two touchdowns, Acklin set school single-season records in 2017 with 84 receptions for 1,369 yards. The senior wide receiver's five 100-yard receiving games matched a program record, while his 10 receiving touchdowns tied for fifth.

A native of Mountain View, Mo., Acklin finished the campaign second in the nation in receiving yards (1,369), fifth in receiving yards per game (114.1), seventh in total touchdowns (14), ninth in all-purpose yards per game (135.33), 11th in receptions per game (7.0) and 14th in receiving scores (10). He concludes his career eighth in WIU history with 1,733 receiving yards and tied for 10th with 12 receiving touchdowns.

Both players had historic games on Sept. 30 against South Dakota. Taylor matched a program-record previously set by NFL great Rodney Harrison (1993, at Western Kentucky) with 28 tackles in one contest. His 18 assisted tackles in that game are the second-most in a single game in WIU history. Acklin set single-game school records with 19 catches (MVFC record) for 343 yards (fourth-most in FCS history), scoring three touchdowns.

Posted By: WIU Athletics (SID@wiu.edu)
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