NEWTON, Mass. -- Three members of the Mount Ida College football team were among the players named to the USA Football All-American Team for the 2014 season.
Junior defensive lineman Dom Spaulding (W. Hartford, Conn.) was named to the Second Team, senior defensive back Jovan Wilkins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) earned Third Team recognition, and freshman punter Devin Broadley (Hyannis, Mass.) was tabbed as a member of the Freshman All-Star squad.
Spaulding was already named to the First Team of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) and was selected as All-New England by the New England Football Writers and a North All-Star by the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC).
He racked up 10.5 sacks to lead the ECFC, and 17 of his 45 tackles went for a loss, placing him 22nd in the country in tackles for a loss per game (1.9). He led the conference in yards from tackles for a loss (78) and in forced fumbles, with four. Against Becker, Spaulding had three of Mount Ida's program-record nine sacks and set a new Mustang football record with eight tackles for a loss.
Coming to the end of his spectacular Mount Ida career, Wilkins was named to the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) First Team for the third straight season in 2014. He has consistently been one of the most difficult players to throw against, and he had four interceptions and five pass breakups this season, while ending his Mustang career with 18 interceptions, far and away the statistical leader in Mount Ida history. .
As a freshman, Broadley led the conference in average yards per punt (35.8), and punts downed inside the 20, with 17. He downed four inside the twenty against both Becker and Anna Maria, and was named ECFC Rookie of the Week after booming nine punts against the Hawks.
Along with the three Mustangs, there were a handful of ECFC conference members named to the All-American team, including defensive back Chris Klass from SUNY Maritime, offensive lineman Alex Young from Husson, defensive back Stephen Dance, also from Husson, and Kyle Funesti from Norwich.
Return specialist Kevin Alberque from Castleton State was also a second teamer, while Luke Washburn and John Smith from Husson and Eric Decker from Castleton State joined Broadley on the Freshman All-Star squad.