Nov. 4, 2010
BALTIMORE, MD -- The Johns Hopkins University football team, which will enter Saturday's game at Franklin & Marshall with a 5-3 overall record, placed seven players on the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District Football Team, which was announced today. The seven selections are the most among all teams in District II and give the Johns Hopkins football program 43 Academic All-District selections in the last eight years and 69 selections since 1991. The seven overall selections also tie the Johns Hopkins record for most in one year as the 2003 and 2009 teams also placed seven players on the team. Of JHU's seven selections, three made the first team and four were named to the second team.
Two of Johns Hopkins' three first team selections also made the team last year as junior wide receiver Sam Wernick (Dallas, TX/Dallas Jesuit) and junior linebacker Ryan Piatek (Sewell, NJ/Bishop Eustace) are repeat honorees. Wernick garnered first team honors a year ago, while Piatek was a second team pick last season. They are joined on the first team by senior offensive lineman Ryan Lino (Middletown, NJ/Mater Dei). This is Lino's first selection to the team. As first team selections, Wernick, Piatek and Lino will now go on the ballot for national Academic All-America honors. The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Football Team is due to be announced on November 23.
Rounding out JHU's selections this season are senior defensive back D.J. Hartigan (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo), junior running back Nick Fazio (McMurray, PA/Peters Township), junior offensive lineman Doug Drummond (White Plains, NY/Iona Prep) and junior linebacker Kale Sweeney (Schnecksville, PA/Parkland), who were all named to the second team.
Wernick, a political science major with a 3.52 cumulative grade point average, is enjoying one of the finest seasons in school history by a wide receiver as he has 51 receptions for 903 yards and a school-record 13 touchdowns on the year. He also leads the team with 22 kickoff returns for 449 yards (22.5) and counts a team-high 1,359 all-purpose yards to his credit. In addition to two selections to the Academic All-District First Team in football, Wernick was also a second team pick in baseball last spring as he hit .367 in helping lead the Blue Jay baseball team to a fifth-place finish at the Division III College World Series.
Piatek is majoring in economics and carries a 3.38 cumulative grade point average. He is the unquestioned leader of the Blue Jay defense from his spot at middle linebacker and currently leads the team with 78 tackles and 11 tackles for losses. He also counts 3.0 sacks and three interceptions to his credit and is JHU's career active leader in tackles (160). Piatek completed an internship with Merrill Lynch in the Private Wealth Management Division last summer and is a member of the Host and Security Ministry Team at his church.
Lino is the only senior offensive lineman on the team and anchors a unit that is paving the way for an offense averaging 36.5 points and 426.8 yards per game. He has started 21 straight games dating back to the start of the 2009 season. An economics major with a 3.44 cumulative grade point average, Lino is also an accomplished member of the Johns Hopkins track team. He holds the JHU record in the indoor shot put and was the 2009 Centennial Conference Outdoor champion in the shot put as well. Lino is a member of the Johns Hopkins Student Athlete Advisory Committee and spent last two summers as an intern at MF Global in NYC in their Fixed Income Division.
Hartigan made the move from wide receiver to defensive back this season after the Blue Jays suffered some injuries in the preseason and he has excelled as a starting cornerback. He carries a 3.51 cumulative grade point average in economics and counts 25 tackles, three pass breakups and two interceptions to his credit. He was a Finance & Accounting intern at Golden Tree Asset Management last summer and tutors inner city kids through JHU's Penn Lucy program. In addition, Haritgan is the lead singer in a band that has played at various events and he is a member of the Executive Board of the Johns Hopkins University Student Alumni Society.
Fazio has developed into JHU's short-yard and red zone running back as he has rushed for 179 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns on the year. An economics major with a 3.40 cumulative grade point average, Fazio also has five receptions on the year. His eight rushing touchdowns are tied for the eighth-highest single-season total in school history.
Drummond is in his second full season as a starter on the Johns Hopkins offensive line and is helping lead the way for an offense that is averaging 36.5 points and 426.8 yards per game. He boasts a 3.31 cumulative grade point average as an economics major and has been very active off the field. He served as a summer accounting intern at Gulliver's Travel Associates in New York City and tutors children in inner city Baltimore as part of the PLYP Partnership. Drummond is also a member of the Johns Hopkins Student Athlete Advisory Committee and served as a clerical assistant at a law firm during his last two semester breaks (summer, 2009/winter, 2010).
Sweeney, who has recently added some spot duty at running back to go along with his normal chores as a linebacker, is majoring in public health and carries a 3.33 cumulative GPA. Despite playing only on offense in the last two games, he ranks fifth on the team in tackles (34) and counts 3.0 tackles for losses, three pass breakups and 1.5 sacks to his credit. Sweeney is the secretary and volunteer mentor with Athlete's Care - working with foster children to develop an interest in athletics. He has also volunteered with a local charity book drive to donate books to an inner city elementary school. During semester breaks, he has also worked as a teaching assistant with special education students.
The District II region includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Athletes named to the first team qualify for the national ballot. To be nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.3 or higher cumulative grade point average and be a starter or significant reserve.
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