Hobart College junior quarterback Shane Sweeney headlined seven Statesmen who garnered 2016 ECAC North All-Star honors. His record-breaking season earned him the ECAC North Offensive Player of the Year award as well as a spot on the ECAC North All-Star first team.
 
Junior wide receiver Brandon Shed, senior center Nick Testani, and senior defensive end James Hedger joined Sweeney on the first team, while senior wide receiver Jack Pfohl, senior linebacker Marcus Jemison, and junior punter Rio Schmidt received second team recognition.
 
Sweeney, who was also the Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year, was 266-of-442 passing for 3,436 yards and 36 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He led the Liberty League in completions, pass attempts, passing yards, passing TDs, and yards of total offense (3,430). Nationally, Sweeney is fifth in passing touchdowns, seventh in passing yards, 14th in points responsible for (216), 16th in passing yards per game (312.4), and 20th in completions per game (24.18).
 
Sweeney was named the Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week twice. He became the first Hobart quarterback to pass for more than 400 yards in a game more than once, torching Brockport for 420 yards and Merchant Marine for 416 yards. Sweeney broke Hobart game records for completions (32 vs. Merchant Marine) and attempts (57 vs. Mount Union), and season records for completions, attempts, yards, and TDs.
 
One of the top receivers in the nation, Shed broke the Hobart season records for receptions with 74, receiving yards with 1,284, and receiving touchdowns with 17. He had seven 100-yard receiving games, including a Hobart record 241 yards on a record-tying 12 receptions at St. Lawrence. Shed ranks in the top 10 in the nation in receiving TDs (3rd), receiving yards (5th), and receiving yards per game (9th).
 
Testani is a three-year starter at center for the Statesmen. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder helped clear the way for an offense that gained a Liberty League leading 4,433 yards and scored a league-high 48 touchdowns. Testani and his fellow linemen allowed just 41 tackles for loss this season, an average of 3.73 per game, which is the third lowest total in Division III.
 
Hedger led Hobart with eight sacks, ranked second with 8.5 tackles for loss, and was third with 62 tackles. He notched a career-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and a sack, at Brockport. Hedger produced five tackles, including two sacks, and had three quarterback hurries in the win at St. Lawrence.
 
Pfohl finished his final campaign with 58 receptions for 705 yards and nine touchdowns. Only four players in Hobart history have caught more TD passes in a season, while his receptions rank seventh all-time and his yards are ninth.  Pfohl caught the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of regulation twice this season. His 57-yard catch and run with 19 seconds remaining lifted Hobart to a 38-35 win over Merchant Marine, while his 18-yard TD with three seconds to go beat WPI 35-31. Pfohl had a Hobart record-tying 12 receptions for 197 yards against the Engineers.
 
Jemison finished sixth on the team in tackles, despite missing four games due to injury. He logged 52 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, an interception, and two pass breakups. Jemison had a career-high 16 tackles against Merchant Marine. He was named the Liberty League Special Teams Performer of the Week after blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown at WPI.
 
Schmidt led the Liberty League and ranks 21st in the nation in punting, averaging 40.9 yards per punt. As a team, the Statesmen were 30th in the country in net punting (35.78 yds). Schmidt landed 16 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line, second in the league. He boomed six punts that traveled 50 yards or more, including a Hobart record tying 68-yarder against Springfield.
 
The Statesmen finished the season with a 9-2 record. Hobart won a share of the Liberty League title and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 6-1 mark.  The Statesmen were ranked in at least one of the two major national polls for eight weeks. Hobart was No. 21 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll and No. 22 in the D3football.com Top 25 at the end of the regular season.
 
ABOUT THE ECAC
In the 77 years since its inception, the ECAC has emerged as the nation's largest Conference, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri. In 2015-16, the ECAC hosted nearly 100 championships in men's and women's sports as the sponsors of over 5,800 varsity teams and 111,000 student-athletes. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.