Umunakwe Tabbed NEC Defensive Player Of The Year By Phil Steele
Senior linebacker earned first team alongside Nasir Smith
Complete Phil Steele FCS All-Conference selections
Central Connecticut senior Chizi Umunakwe was named the 2022 Phil Steele Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was joined on the organizations First Team All-NEC by Nasir Smith.
Umunakwe, an All-New England selection this fall, is a two-time All-NEC honoree, earning First Team honors from the league's coaches this season. A finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award finalist, Umunakwe. He finished the year with a league-best 94 tackles and led the league, ranking 22nd nationally, with 9.4 tackles per game. Umunakwe tallied six double-digit tackle games in 2022, with back-to-back 14 tackle games versus Saint Francis and Brown. He recorded 10.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 1 QBH and a forced fumble on the year.
Smith, an All-NEC First Team coaches selection and All-New England honoree, rushed for 1,219 yards, the seventh-best total in a single season in program history, to capture the NEC rushing title. His 110.8 yards per game, 14 total touchdowns and 13 rushing touchdowns also led the league in 2022. Smith posted two of the top-three single-game rushing efforts in the league this fall, including a career-best 218-yard effort in the season finale at Stonehill. He finished the year with four consecutive games of 127 yards or more and had six 100+ yard rushing games. Smith had at least one touchdown in six straight games to end the season, with a career-high four scores in his collegiate finale.
The Blue Devils had five players named to the All-NEC Second Team. Offensive lineman Craig Wood and Reis Spicer were honored for their efforts in leading Smith's charge to the 1,000 yard mark. On the defensive side of the ball, Noah Washington, defensive line, and defensive backs Jonathan Cabral-Martin and Jahlil Brown were recognized.
Kyren Petteway, Cole Escoto and Aidan Clark were all tabbed as Third Team All-NEC as specialists, while Jermaine Williams was also recognized at defensive line.
