BLUFFTON, Ohio - A trio of Bluffton University football players were recently named pre-season All-Ohio by OhioCollegeFootball.com. Senior Donovan Brown (Cincinnati/Purcell Marian) and juniors Ryan Aelker (Holgate/New Bavaria) and Austin Speice (Paulding/Wayne Trace) all garnered Second Team All-Ohio honors when the pre-season selections were announced. All three were Second Team All-HCAC honorees following the 2013 campaign.
Donovan Brown had a breakout junior campaign at wide receiver, establishing a new single-season mark with 10 touchdown grabs (2nd in the HCAC). His 676 receiving yards are 7th all-time at Bluffton and his 44 catches are 6th for a season. Brown finished 4th in the HCAC with 15.4 yards per catch and he was 5th in the HCAC with 60 points. His game-winning touchdown catch against #9 Franklin College was selected as the D3Football.com national play of the week and it also was one of three Heartland Conference plays of the week. Brown hauled in three touchdowns of at least 49 yards in Bluffton's narrow loss to Rose-Hulman.
Sophomore Ryan Aelker made his presence known on the defensive line. The second team honoree was second for Bluffton with 13.5 TFL's (7th in the HCAC) for 65 yards, including six sacks (5th in the HCAC) that totaled 39 yards. He broke up a pass, forced a fumble and induced three quarterback hurries. His 47 tackles placed him 4th for the Beavers and his work in Bluffton's 28-0 shutout of Anderson earned him Player of the Week honors.
A transition from linebacker to offensive lineman paid immediate dividends last year as Austin Speice became a fixture up front and took over at left tackle when the Beavers suffered crucial injuries early in the season. He has also worked at long snapper for the past two years. A Second Team All-HCAC honoree, Speice provided big-league protection for a Bluffton offense that shattered the school record for touchdown passes in a season as the Sheehan brothers combined to light up defenses for 23 scoring tosses. The Beavers finished 4th in the conference with 234 passing yards per game.
Bluffton will kick off its 2014 campaign in Salzman Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, with a clash against Ohio Wesleyan at 1:30 p.m. Come out and support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
