July 30, 2010
The Sports Network Preseason NCAA All-America Team
Phil Steele's 2010 Preseason All-Conference Teams
Bronx, N.Y. -
The honors keep rolling in for Fordham University seniors Jason Caldwell (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's) and Stephen Skelton (El Paso, Tex./Burges) who were both named 2010 First Team Preseason All-America by both The Sports Network and Phil Steele's College Football Preview. It is the second All-America award for Skelton, who was also named an Honorable Mention NCAA FCS Preseason All-American by Consensus Draft Services, while both players where listed among the Top Ten receivers in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for the upcoming 2010 season by The Sports Network.
In addition to the All-America honors, both Skelton and Caldwell were named First Team, Preseason All-Patriot League by Phil Steele's College Football Preview. They are joined on the First Team by senior defensive lineman Jordan Bledsoe (LaGrangeville, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes), senior linebacker Nick Magiera (Carpentersville, Ill./Barrington) and sophomore punter Patrick Murray (Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) while senior defensive back Isa Abdul-Quddus (Union, N.J./Union) was named to the Second Team.
Caldwell enjoyed a successful season last fall, being named NCAA FCS Honorable Mention All-America by the College Sporting News as well as Second Team FCS All-America by The Sports Network and Third Team Associated Press FCS All-America.
The 2010 team captain turned in one of the most productive season for a Fordham wide receiver in 200, catching 79 passes for 1,252 yards and nine touchdowns. The 79 receptions and 1,252 receiving yards are both the second best single season total in school history while his nine touchdown catches ties him for third. Caldwell leads the Patriot League in receptions per game (7.2) and receiving yards/game (113.8). He finished second in the NCAA FCS in total receiving yards, third in receiving yards/game, tied for tenth in the in receptions/game and 27th in all-purpose yards/game.
On the year, Caldwell recorded seven 100-yard receiving games, including a nine-catch, 254-yard, four-touchdown game at Cornell, tying Javarus Dudley's single-game mark for touchdown receptions in a game and finishing one shy of Dudley's school mark for receiving yards in a game.
Caldwell brought his career totals to 115 receptions for 1,733 yards and 15 touchdowns this year. He is sixth on the Fordham all-time receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns lists.
Skelton emerged as a pass-catching tight end in 2009, hauling in 63 passes from his brother John, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals, for 634 yards and six touchdowns. The 63 receptions are the most all-time for a Fordham tight end and the fifth best total in school history. Skelton had two 100-yard receiving games last fall, a ten-reception, career-high 138-yard game against Old Dominion on October 3rd and a career-high 13-catch, 102 yard contest against Holy Cross on October 31st. Skelton ranked fourth in the Patriot League in receptions per game (5.7), 31st in the NCAA FCS, and ninth in the conference in and 81st in the NCAA receiving yards per game (57.6)
Over his career, Skelton has 85 receptions for 870 yards and seven touchdowns.
Bledsoe, a 2010 team captain who moved over to the defensive line after playing on the offensive line his first two years at Fordham, led the Rams in tackles for loss with nine and was second in sacks with 4.5, earning Second team All-Patriot League honors. On the year, he recorded 39 total tackles, 23 solo, while also registering a pass deflection. Bledsoe is seventh in the Patriot League in sacks (0.41/game) and tenth in tackles for loss (0.82/game). His best game in 2009 was a nine-tackle effort at Lafayette on October 17th, which included 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Over his first two years at Rose Hill, Bledsoe appeared in 17 games on the offensive line, starting seven at left guard as a junior in 2008. He was a member of the offensive line that helped Xavier Martin become the sixth Ram to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season and protected record-setting quarterback John Skelton.
Magiera, a 2010 captain and two-year starter at linebacker who received Second Team All-Patriot League honors last fall, led the 2009 Rams in tackles, compiling 80 total stops, 44 solo, including eight for loss and two sacks. He also recorded two pass deflections, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. Magiera tied for eleventh in the Patriot League in tackles for loss (0.73/game) and ranked 13th in tackles (6.8/game). He recorded four games with a double digit tackle total, including each of the final three contests. His season-high was a career-high 12-tackle game at Lafayette on October 24th, which included two tackles for loss, and he matched that with another 12-tackle game against Bucknell on November 7th.
Over his three-year career, Magiera has registered 172 total tackles, 89 solo, including 23 for loss and ten sacks. He also has eight pass deflections in his career.
Murray, a 2009 First Team All-Patriot League selection, enjoyed a successful freshman season, punting 36 times for 1,507 yards, an average of 41.9 yards/punt, tops in the League and the fourth best single season average in Fordham history. His 41.9 average was also tenth best in the NCAA FCS. Murray had a long punt of 73 yards in the Colgate game on September 26th, tying him for the second longest punt at Fordham (the school record is 85 yards by Len Eshmont in 1939), and had eight punts that traveled more than 50 yards and seven that landed inside the opponent's 20.
Murray was named Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week following his collegiate debut against Columbia where he punted six times for 274 yards, an average of 45.7 yards/punt. Two of Murray's kicks landed inside the Columbia 20, helping the Rams trap the Lions in their own end, while his long on the day was a 54-yarder.
Abdul-Quddus, a two-year starter in the defensive backfield, started all eleven games at cornerback for the Rams as a junior in 2009. He recorded 58 total tackles, 43 solo, including four for a loss and broke up five passed, picked off three and forced two fumbles. Abdul-Quddus intercepted three passes, tying a Fordham record, returning them for a combined 81 yards, and made seven tackles in the win at Cornell while also forcing a fumble in the game. Following the Cornell game, he was named The Sports Network's National Defensive Player of the Week as well as Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week.
Over his career, Abdul-Quddus has 115 total tackles, 78 solo, including 11.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He also has three interceptions and six pass breakups.
The Rams open the 2010 season on Saturday, September 4th, as they travel to Smithfield, R.I., to face Bryant University at 3:00 p.m.
