MOUNT VERNON – Cornell had five players recognized on the 2017 All-Midwest Conference South Division Football Teams, led by MWC Defensive Lineman of the Year Andrew Joseph (SR/New Orleans, La.).
Joseph was voted the top defensive lineman in the entire 12-team conference. The senior end also earned a spot on the South Division First Team.
Senior Devan Clark (SR/Upland, Calif.) garnered first team honors as a return specialist, and was chosen to the second team at running back.
The Rams had three other second team selections in senior offensive tackle Bryson Whistance (SR/Hudson, Colo.), junior defensive back Milton Spradley (JR/Sorrento, Fla.) and junior linebacker Zachary Yankovich (JR/Cape Coral, Fla.).
Cornell has now fielded 48 all-conference performers in Coach Vince Brautigam's eight seasons at the helm.
Joseph is Cornell's first MWC Position Player of the Year since tackle Sam Cluck (offensive line) in 2014. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Joseph became the 10th Ram to earn all-conference recognition in three different seasons. He was a second team pick in 2016 and 2015.
Joseph led all MWC players with 10.0 sacks during the regular season and finished second with 17.5 tackles for loss, ranking in the top 25 nationally in both categories. His 88 total tackles were good for fifth-most in the league.
Joseph reached double-digit tackles three times this fall, including a season-best 14 with three sacks against South foe Illinois College. He registered 4.5 tackles for loss in the South finale against Grinnell. For the year, Joseph had five quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a blocked kick.
Joseph leaves Cornell's program as the career leader for both sacks (25.5) and tackles for loss (59.0). He wound up tied for sixth in MWC history in career tackles for loss. The four-year starter posted 254 total tackles and 17 quarterback hurries (second-most at Cornell) while playing in a school-record 43 games.
Clark had a terrific senior campaign in which he racked up a school-record 1,659 all-purpose yards, ranking 22nd among Division III players. He returned 25 kicks for 629 yards, third-most on Cornell's single-season list.
Clark accumulated 288 all-purpose yards each in back-to-back MWC games against Illinois College and Lake Forest. He finished fourth on Cornell's all-time list with 3,818 all-purpose yards for his career.
Clark was dynamic in the offensive backfield with 907 rushing yards on 173 carries. That is the best season yardage total by a Ram running back in 16 years. Clark tied for the second-most rushing touchdowns in a season by a Cornell player with 14. Clark's 90 total points rank fourth on the program's season chart.
Clark's 2,111 career rushing yards put him in the career top-10 at Cornell. He scored 29 TDs in 39 career games.
Whistance paved the holes for Clark and company as a key cog at left tackle. The two-year starter helped a Ram offense average 31.6 points per game, four times topping the 40-point mark.
The Rams finished third in the MWC with 27 rushing touchdowns, their highest season total since 1997. Cornell averaged 195.6 yards per game on the ground, fourth in the league. The Rams tied a school record with seven rushing TDs in the Grinnell contest.
Yankovich was a playmaker in the center of Cornell's defense. He delivered 17.5 tackles for loss, tying Joseph for third-most by a Ram player in a season. Yankovich collected 4.0 sacks and was third on the team with 71 tackles.
Yankovich recorded 16.0 tackles for loss in his final seven games, including a career-best 6.0 at Chicago. The middle linebacker will enter his senior season with 194 total tackles, 36.5 for losses.
Spradley ranked fourth in the conference with a team-high 95 tackles from the Ram secondary. The two-year starter led the team with 64 solo stops, 10 coming against MWC champion Monmouth.
Spradley finished with 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, six pass breakups and three blocked kicks. He recorded 57 tackles over the last five games.
The Rams concluded the season at 4-6 overall. They went 2-3 in South Division play.
