College Sporting News "Fab Fifty"
Bronx, N.Y. (January 16, 2014) – The best 50 student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision have been named to the College Sporting News 2013 Fabulous Fifty FCS All-America Team it was announced on Wednesday. Included among the top players were three Rams, junior wide receiver
Sam Ajala and junior quarterback
Mike Nebrich, who were both named to the "Fab Fifty" team and junior tight end
Dan Light, who was named Honorable Mention "Fab Fifty".
After catching 26 passes for 312 yards over his first two years at Rose Hill,
Ajala, who earned All-America honors from the Associated Press, Beyond Sports Network, College Sports Madness and The Sports Network and was also named first team All-Patriot League in 2013, had a coming out party this year, hauling in 93 passes for 1,646 yards, both team highs, with 14 touchdowns, tying for the team lead. He broke Javarus Dudley's 2003 school record of 1,439 receiving yards in a season and tied Dudley's school record for receiving touchdowns in a season, also set in 2003. Ajala is second in the NCAA FCS in receiving yards and is second in the Patriot League and fourth in the NCAA FCS in receiving yards per game (117.6). He also ranks among the top 20 nationally in receiving touchdowns (tied for third) and receptions per game (12
th).
Over his career, Ajala has 119 receptions for 1,958 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is sixth on the school's all-time receiving yards list, seventh on the career receptions list and tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns.
Nebrich, a 2013 Beyond Sports Network and College Sports Madness All-American and the 2013 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, enjoyed one of the best regular seasons for a quarterback in school history. He completed 353-of-480 passes (73.5%) for 4,380 yards with 35 touchdowns, and also rushed for 513 yards and nine scores. His completion percentage leads the nation as does his total offense (376.4 yards/game) while he also ranks in the top five nationally in passing yards per game (336.9 - third), passing efficiency (171.3 - second), completions per game (27.15 - third), and points responsible for per contest (20.5 – third). He went 11-0 as the starting quarterback during the regular season in 2013, one of only two FCS signal-callers to put up an undefeated mark for the season. He set every school single season passing record this fall, eclipsing John Skelton's 2009 record of 284 completions for 3,708 yards and Mark Carney's 2001 mark of 27 passing touchdowns. Nebrich also set a Fordham record with 524 passing yards in a win against Holy Cross on Nov. 2.
Light, one of the top tight ends in Fordham history who earned first team all-league honors for the second straight year, caught 66 passes (a school record for tight ends) for 588 yards (the second most receiving yards for a Fordham tight end) and two touchdowns this year. He ranked second among all NCAA FCS tight ends in receptions per game (4.7) and third in receiving yards per game (42.0) and was eighth in the Patriot League in receptions per game (4.7) and tenth in receiving yards per game (33.2).
Over his career, Light has 134 receptions, a school record for tight ends, for 1,209 yards, second best among all tight ends in Fordham history, and three touchdowns.
