RECORD 10 BLUE DRAGONS NAMED NJCAA FOOTBALL ALL-AMERICANS
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The 2020-21 national champion Hutchinson Community College Football team raked in a record number of NJCAA All-Americans on Monday as 10 Blue Dragons were named to the first, second and honorable mention teams.
The Blue Dragons received a record six first-team All-America selections after going 8-0, winning the Jayhawk Conference championship and defeating Snow College 29-27 in the NJCAA Football Championship game on June 5 in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the program's first national football championship.
The previous high number of All-Americans in a single season was four (1969, 2014 and 2019). The previous high for first-team All-Americans in a single season was three (1969 and 2014).
The Blue Dragons garnered four first-team offensive All-Americans – running back Tye Edwards, tight end Ivan Thomas, offensive lineman Kingsley Ugwu and offensive lineman Aric Harris. Two Blue Dragons earned first-team All-America honors on defense – defensive back Roterius Torrence and linebacker Jurriente Davis. Linebacker Tre Pinkney was a second-team linebacker. Offensive lineman Dennis Wilburn, defensive lineman Demeco Roland and defensive back Deonte Stanley were honorable mention selections.
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TYE EDWARDS – 1st Team Running Back
Edwards, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound redshirt freshman from Palatka, Florida, was the Blue Dragons' leading rusher with 710 yards on 107 carries with eight touchdowns and a 6.6 yard-per-carry average for the season. Edwards was named the NJCAA Championship Game Most Valuable Player with 139 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.
IVAN THOMAS – 1st Team Tight End
Thomas is a 6-4, 230-pound tight end from Miami, Florida. He caught 20 passes for the season for 353 yards with six touchdowns. He had a season high six catches for 71 yards against Butler on April 3. Thomas had two catches for 28 yards in the national championship game.
KINGSLEY UGWU – 1st Team Offensive Line
Ugwu – a 6-4, 311-pound offensive lineman from Tucson, Arizona – was a two-year starter for the Blue Dragons. As part of one of the best offensive lines in program history, Ugwu helped the Blue Dragons rank second in the NJCAA in scoring offense (45.4 points per game), fourth in total offense (472.8 yards per game) and second in rushing offense (273.5 yards per game).
ARIC HARRIS – 1st Team Offensive Line
Harris, a 6-4, 294-pound center from Pensacola, Florida, made the move to center this season and the move paid huge dividends. Harris started all eight games. Harris protected a pair of quarterbacks who combined for 58 percent passing for 1,594 yards and 19 touchdowns to five interceptions and paved the way for a group of running backs, who averaged 6.4 yards per carry and 26 rushing touchdowns.
ROTERIUS TORRENCE – 1st Team Defensive Back
Torrence, a 6-3, 195-pound cornerback from Bessemer, Alabama, adds a first-team All-America honor to his 2020-21 KJCCC Defensive Player of the Year performance. Torrence's numbers weren't eye-popping, but he earned the respect of the KJCCC coaches by allowing only one player to catch a pass against him this season in the regular season. Torrence had 26 total tackles, five passes broken up and one interception, which came in the NJCAA Championship Game. During the regular season, he was hardly targeted over the final five games of the regular season.
JURRIENTE DAVIS – 1st Team Linebacker
Davis, a 6-foot, 235-pound linebacker from Greensboro, North Carolina, was the second-leading tackler on the team this season with 43 total tackles. That included 7.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, four quarterback hurries, five passes broken up and an interception. Davis was the leading tackler in the NJCAA Championship game with nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback sack.
TRE PINKNEY – 2nd Team Linebacker
Pinkney, a 6-1, 225-pound redshirt freshman linebacker from Atlanta, Georgia, was the nation's leader in quarterback sacks this season with 9.5. Pinkney led the Blue Dragons this season with 46 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss with two forced fumbles, four quarterback hurries, three passes broken open and a game-clinching interception with 1:04 remaining in the NJCAA Championship game against Snow College.
DENNIS WILBURN – Honorable Mention Offensive Line
Wilburn, a 6-3, 320-pound sophomore from Humble, Texas, was one of six offensive linemen to earn all-KJCCC honors. Thanks to Wilburn and the offensive line, the 2020-21 Blue Dragons failed to rush for more than 200 yards in a game only once, going for 366 against Dodge City and 350 against Butler. Snow was the top-ranked defensive rushing team in the nation. Wilburn helped the Dragon offensive line go for 232 yards and four touchdowns against the Badgers.
DEMECO ROLAND – Honorable Mention Defensive Line
Roland, a 6-3, 340-pound defensive tackle from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was a big part in the putting together and No. 3 scoring defense and No. 6 rush defense in the NJCAA this season. Roland played in all eight games and had 12 tackles with four tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
DEONTE STANLEY – Honorable Mention Defensive Back
Stanley, a 6-2, 193-pound cornerback from Dillon, South Carolina, had a solid season with 33 total tackles and one interceptions. He was also credited with a fumble recovery, three passes broken up one forced fumble and two tackles for loss.