WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Senior free safety
Brandon Watters led a group of three Slippery Rock University football student athletes named Wednesday as Daktronics, Inc. All-Super Region One performers in voting by sports information directors in the four-conference super region.
Watters, who hails from Wilkinsburg and is a graduate of Woodland Hills High School, was named to first-team honors after he tied with the Daktronics, Inc., Super Region One Defensive Player of the Year, Rontez Miles of California (Pa.), for the most votes received by a safety.
As a first-team all-super-region one selection, Watters is eligible for Daktronics, Inc., All-America honors. The All-America team will be announced Dec. 13.
Two of Watters' Rock teammates, redshirt junior offensive center
Austin Fedell and sophomore punter
James McCombie received second-team Daktronics, Inc. all-super-region status.
The trio helped lead The Rock to a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference runner-up finish, an 8-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in PSAC-Western Division competition that earned the Green and White a share of their first division title since 2000.
Watters led the PSAC in passes defended with 18 and ranked second in interceptions with a school-record-tying eight. He had 87 yards in interception returns, including a 50-yard TD sprint in the season opener at Seton Hill. Watters recorded 44 total tackles (24 solo, 20 assisted), forced one fumble and blocked one kick.
A three-year starter for the Green and White and first-team All-PSAC-Western Division performer, Watters finished his four-year career with 14 interceptions, the third-highest total in school history.
Fedell was a third-year starter for The Rock last fall. He stepped into the all-important center role formerly filled by
Brandon Fusco, a sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in last April's NFL draft, after starting two seasons at guard.
A first-team All-PSAC-West selection and SRU's candidate for the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award, Fedell teamed with second-team All-PSAC-West offensive tackle
A.J. Hopp to provide the foundation for a solid offensive-line effort. The line's performance helped The Rock score 29 points per game, the fifth-best average in the conference, and paved the way for senior quarterback
Cody Endres time to set SRU single-season passing attempts, completion and yardage records.
Fedell was named earlier this month as first-team Academic All-District performers in voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He was a second-team Academic All-District selection in 2010.
McCombie ranked second in the PSAC in punting with a 41.0 yards per punt average in 2011, but was overlooked when it came time to select the All-PSAC-West squad. He had five yards that traveled 50 or more yards, highlighted by a 74-yard howitzer at Edinboro that was only two yards shy of the school record for longest boot. Just less than half (20 of 43) of his punts landed inside the opponents' 20-yard line and only five of his kicks resulted in touchbacks.
Daktronics, Inc. is an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. Voting for the Daktronics, Inc., all-super-region and All-America teams are powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM.
