GRANVILLE, Ohio (November 16, 2023) – The Denison University football team earned 15 total selections to the 2023 All-North Coast Athletic Conference postseason teams on Thursday morning, including six players on the first-team.

Trey Fabrocini, Josh Aiello, Kevin Stone, Jeff Moore, Clay Denstorff and Jaylin Epps were each named First-Team All-NCAC.

Trey Fabrocini, a senior running back from Lancaster, Ohio, earns his third straight First-Team All-NCAC recognition after rushing 266 times for 1,402 yards, both of which were new career-highs, and scoring 19 rushing touchdowns, the second most in a single-season in program history and just one off the record of 20 rushing touchdowns in one season that he set last year. He averaged 5.3 yards per rush and 140.2 rushing yards per game and had a career-long run of 74 yards that went for a touchdown in Denison's 45-35 season-opening win at Capital University (Sept. 2). During Denison's 70-0 win at Oberlin College (Sept. 16), Fabrocini tied the Denison record of five rushing touchdowns and 30 points scored in one game, previously set by quarterback Cannan Gebele in a 68-66, four-overtime defeat vs. Wittenberg on September 29, 2018. Fabrocini ran for four touchdowns in the first quarter alone before scoring all five of his touchdowns in the first half. Fabrocini also added 21 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown this season, and accumulated four total touchdowns (3 rushing; 1 receiving) in Denison's 38-15 win at Kenyon College (Nov. 4) in its final road game of the season. Fabrocini led the NCAC in rushing by 573 yards in front of the next closest rusher and was first in the conference with 20 total touchdowns, 120 points (12.0 points per game) and 1,527 all-purpose yards (152.7 yard per game). In all of NCAC Division III, Fabrocini was tied for third in rushing touchdowns and was tied for fourth in total touchdowns, fifth in rushing yards, sixth in rushing yards per game, tied for seventh in total points, and 12th in all-purpose yards. Fabrocini rushed a season-high 39 times, which is tied for the third most rushing attempts in one game in program history, and ran for a new career-high of 224 yards while adding two touchdowns as the Big Red defeated the College of Wooster 35-31 in the Battle of the Old Red Lantern (Oct. 21). His 224 yards against the Fighting Scots rank as the 11th most rushing yards in a single game in program history. His 1,402 rushing yards this season rank as the fourth most in a single-season in program history and are good for the 13th most in NCAC history. His 266 rushing attempts this year are the third most in program history while his 651 career attempts are 10th. In addition to finishing his first four years as the Big Red's career leader in rushing touchdowns with 50, Fabrocini ranks fifth in program history in career rushing yards (3,496). Lastly, with a program-record 132 points scored last season to go along with 120 points scored this season, the third most in program history, Fabrocini now ranks first in the Big Red record book in career points with 324.

Josh Aiello, a fifth-year wide receiver from Mansfield, Ohio, earns his first-career all-conference honor after scoring at least one receiving touchdown in each of the first nine games of the season and breaking the Denison record with 15 receiving touchdowns in one season, which is tied for the fourth most receiving touchdowns in one season in NCAC history. In all, Aiello caught 51 passes for 753 yards, both of which were new career-highs, including a long reception of 53 yards that went for a touchdown in Denison's 70-0 win at Oberlin College (Sept. 16). In addition to leading the NCAC in receiving touchdowns and ranking second in total touchdowns, points (90) and points per game (9.0) behind only Fabrocini, Aiello ranked fourth in the conference in receptions and was fifth in receiving yards this season. In all of NCAA Division III, Aiello was tied for seventh in receiving touchdowns and was tied for 24th in total touchdowns and tied for 28th in total points. He averaged 5.1 receptions per game, 14.8 yards per catch and 75.3 receiving yards per game and scored three touchdowns in back-to-back wins over Wabash College (Oct. 14) and the College of Wooster (Oct. 21). He recorded the game-winning touchdown catch with 2:45 left in regulation as Denison pulled out a 28-24 win over the Little Giants, and then the following week against the Fighting Scots he scored three times within the first three quarters of the game and broke the single-season receiving touchdown record with a 25-yard score early in the third quarter. Aiello joins DuShawn Brown and David Weimer as the only Big Red receivers to record three or more touchdowns in a game more than once in a career, and is the only one to do it in back-to-back games. His 753 receiving yards were good for the 11th most in a single season in program history while his 51 receptions are tied for 13th. In addition, Aiello is now tied for second in program history in career receiving touchdowns (23) and is ranked 10th in career receiving yards (1,460) and is tied for 10th in career receptions (105).

Kevin Stone, a fifth-year offensive lineman from Anderson, Ohio, earns his third straight First-Team All-NCAC honor after starting the first four games of the season at left tackle and then starting the last four at left guard after returning from injury.

Jeff Moore, a senior linebacker from Richmond, Virginia, records his third-career All-NCAC recognition after earning second-team all-conference honors last season and being named to the first-team in 2021. Moore started in all 10 games for the third season in a row and led the Big Red with 82 tackles while tying for the team lead with 10 quarterback hurries, finishing third with 8.5 tackles for loss and adding one interception and one forced fumble. In all of the NCAC, Moore was tied for third in total tackles and was seventh in tackles for loss.

Clay Denstorff, a fifth-year defensive end from Perrysburg, Ohio, earns his third-career All-NCAC certificate after being named to the first-team last season and earning a spot on the second-team in 2021. Denstorff started all 10 games for the second season in a row and led the NCAC with 15.5 tackles for loss while tying for the conference lead with a career-high 10 sacks. In all of NCAA Division III, Denstorff was tied for 14th in sacks per game (1.00) and was tied for 37th in tackles for loss per game (1.6). In addition, Denstroff accumulated 31 total tackles, 18 solo tackles, 10 quarterback hurries, two interceptions and a forced fumble.

Jaylin Epps, a junior corner back from Cordele, Georgia, earns his first all-conference recognition as a defensive back after starting in all 10 games and recording a career-high 15 pass breakups and two interceptions to go along with 15 total tackles and 10 solo tackles. He had at least one pass breakup in all but two games this season and was ranked first in the NCAC and tied for second nationally in passes defended (1.70 per game). In Denison's game at Oberlin College (Sept. 16), Epps came up with an interception on the opening drive of the game and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown to start the scoring in what was ultimately a 70-0 win for the Big Red.

Four more Big Red players were named Second-Team All-NCAC, including Brian Stone, Michael Ballenger, Michael Mead and Epps.

Brian Stone, a fifth-year offensive lineman from Anderson, Ohio, earns his third-career All-NCAC certificate after being named to the third-team last season and earning a spot on the second-team in 2021. He started in all 10 games this year at center for the Big Red.

Michael Ballenger, a junior defensive end from Upper Arlington, Ohio, earns his first-career All-NCAC selection after starting in all 10 games and totaling 40 tackles, ranking second on the team with 11 tackles for loss and five sacks, and finishing third with eight quarterback hurries, all of which were career-highs. In all of the NCAC, Ballenger ranked fourth in tackles for loss and was fifth in sacks. He also added a pass breakup on a tip at the line of scrimmage that led to an interception against Wittenberg University (Sept. 30) and forced his first-career fumble during a 35-31 win over the College of Wooster in the Battle of the Old Red Lantern (Oct. 21).

Michael Mead, a senior punter from Locust Valley, New York, earns his first-career All-NCAC certificate after punting 38 times for 1,545 yards and tying for the lead in the NCAC and ranking 18th nationally at 40.7 yards per punt. In addition to a career-long 65-yard punt in Denison's 28-24 win at home over Wabash College (Oct. 14), Mead had five punts over 50 yards this season, led the conference with nine touchbacks, and put seven punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

In addition to being named first-team all-conference as a corner back, Epps records his third-career All-NCAC recognition as a return specialist after earning first-team honors last season and being named honorable mention as a freshman in in 2021. Epps returned 17 kickoffs for 411 yards, including a long return of 51 yards against the College of Wooster (Oct. 21), and averaged 24.2 yards per return and 41.1 return yards per game. He returned 15 punts for 140 yards and averaged 9.3 yards per return and 14.0 yards per game. Epps ranked third in the NCAC in both total kick return yards and in total punt return yards. In all of NCAA Division III, Epps was 38th in yards per punt return, 42nd in yards per kick return, and 48th in combined kick return yards (551). In Denison's narrow 29-26 Senior Day win over Ohio Wesleyan University (Nov. 11), Epps put two points on the board after a blocked extra point kick and recovery by the Big Red led to a lateral handoff at midfield to Epps, who took it the rest of the way to the endzone.

Named Third-Team All-NCAC from the Big Red were Jon Adamson, Ted Dunn, Jack Nimesheim, Roshaune Downie and Collin Murphy.

Jon Adamson, a senior tight end from Barrington, Rhode Island, earns his first-career All-NCAC honor after bringing in 35 receptions for 369 yards overall, both of which were career-highs, and adding two receiving touchdowns during Denison's 55-24 win at Hiram College (Sept. 23). He averaged 10.5 yards per reception and 36.9 receiving yards per game. Adamson ranked 15th in the NCAC in receptions and was 20th in receiving yards.

Ted Dunn, a senior offensive lineman from Marion, Massachusetts, earns his first-career All-NCAC recognition this season after starting in all 10 games, including four at right tackle and six at left tackle.

Jack Nimesheim, a senior linebacker from Northfield, Illinois, earns his first-career All-NCAC certificate after starting in all 10 games and finishing second on the Big Red with 70 tackles. He was fifth on the squad with 4.5 tackles for loss and was one of three players with two interceptions. He also added three pass breakups, one sack and one fumble recovery. It was a career-high in tackles, tackles for loss and pass breakups for Nimesheim. In all of the NCAC, Nimesheim was ranked 13th in total tackles and was tied for 31st in tackles for loss.

Roshaune Downie, a senior corner back from West Palm Beach, Florida, brings home his second-career All-NCAC recognition after earning first-team honors a year ago. Downie started in all 10 games this season and recorded 25 total tackles and 18 solo tackles while ranking third on the Big Red with 10 pass breakups. He had at least one pass breakup in all but two games this season. In all of the NCAC, Downie was tied for fourth in pass breakups and was tied for sixth in passes defended (1.00 per game).

Collin Murphy, a junior safety from Sudbury, Massachusetts, earns his first-career all-conference honor after starting in all nine games he played in and recording 47 total tackles, which was the fifth most on the team, 33 solo tackles, which was the third most, 11 pass breakups, which was the second most, and 1.5 tackles for loss, all of which were career-highs. In all of the NCAC, Murphy was second in passes defended (1.22 per game) and was tied for 32nd in total tackles.

NCAC Release