CLEVELAND – Senior safety Evan Horn (Lebanon, Pa.) was named Friday to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-CAA First Team to headline nine University of New Hampshire football players honored by the publication.

Junior offensive lineman Patrick Flynn (Hanover, Mass.), senior defensive end Brian Carter (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and senior kicker Jason Hughes (Atkinson, N.H.) were tabbed to Phil Steele’s All-CAA Second Team.

All-CAA Third-Team Wildcats include junior wide receiver Brian Espanet (Hopedale, Mass.), senior offensive lineman Matt Mascia (East Meadow, N.Y.), junior defensive tackle Niko Kvietkus (Southington, Conn.), sophomore linebacker Oleh Manzyk (Langhorne, Pa.) and junior defensive back Pop Bush (Nocatee, Fla.).

“We are proud of our nine Wildcats deservedly named to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-CAA Team,” head coach Sean McDonnell said. “Even though we aren’t starting the season as soon as we’d like, we know this group of leaders will be a big part of our success when we get going this spring.”

Horn, a 2019 Phil Steele All-CAA Third Team selection, led the Wildcats in total tackles (70) and solo tackles (51), including 4.0 sacks, from his starting safety position last season. The 6-foot, 206-pound DB notched a team-leading four interceptions, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Among his season highlights were a 50-yard Pick-6 against Elon on Oct. 5, and in the Nov. 23 win against Maine, a career-high 11 tackles, including 10 solo stops, a personal-best two sacks and a forced fumble to help return the Brice-Cowell Musket to the UNH locker room. He was subsequently named the STATS National Defensive Player of the Week and CAA Defensive Player of the Week.

Flynn, a 2019 Phil Steele All-CAA Second Team representative, started all 11 games at left tackle to anchor a Wildcats’ offensive line that yielded just 19 sacks in 11 games to rank third in the CAA in fewest sacks allowed. The 6-foot-3, 281-pound lineman started all 11 games of his redshirt freshman season at center in 2018.

Carter is No. 1 on the depth chart at defensive end with the expectation of starting on the edge for a third straight season. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound DE registered 23 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss (3.0 sacks). Carter set a career high with eight tackles at Florida International (09/14) and equaled a career best with 2.0 sacks among his six total tackles in a win against Duquesne (09/28).

Hughes, a 2019 Phil Steele All-CAA Third Team kicker, was the Wildcats’ top scorer with 62 points on 14 field goals and 24 PATs. The 5-foot-9, 193-pound placekicker made 14 of 17 field goal attempts (82.4 percent), including 7-for-8 from 40-plus yards, to set the school’s all-time record for single-season kick percentage. Hughes hit a career long of 45 yards three times, connected on his last seven attempts of the season with five kicks of 42-plus yards, and hit UNH’s first game-ending field goal since 2002 with a 29-yarder that lifted the ‘Cats past Rhode Island, 27-24, on Sept. 21.

Espanet, a junior, is the leader among returning WRs on the heels of a season in which he made 25 receptions for 340 receiving yards and a team-leading five touchdown catches. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver made at least one reception in 10 of 11 games with a career-high 79 yards in a win against No. 11 Villanova (11/02) and a two-TD effort in a triumph at No. 22 Stony Brook (10/12).

Mascia, a senior, is primed to start on the offensive line for the third year in a row. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound OL started all 11 games last season, shifting to center for the final 10 after an opening-game assignment at right guard, his primary position his first two seasons. Mascia has started 22 of his 23 career games.

Kvietkus, a junior, fortified the middle of the DL in his first season as a starter with 45 tackles, which led all Wildcats’ defensive linemen, and a team-leading 5.5 sacks in 11 starts. The DT tied for second on the team in TFL (8.0), recovered two fumbles, forced a fumble and recorded four-plus tackles seven times.

Manzyk, a 2019 Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America Third Team member, burst upon the scene his true-freshman season by compiling 49 tackles (27 solo) in nine starts. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound middle linebacker had a monster game in the home win against Elon with career highs in tackles (8.0) and sacks (3.0) to go along with a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown. For that performance, Manzyk was named the STATS FCS National Freshman Player of the Week, the CAA Football Rookie of the Week and won that week’s New England Football Writers Gold Helmet Award.

Bush, a first-year starter in a secondary loaded with experience, proved he belonged by totaling 69 tackles (second on team) while starting all 11 games. The 6-foot, 187-pound strong safety tied for the Wildcats’ lead in assisted tackles (27), nabbed an interception, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery. Bush’s season highlights included a nine-tackle in his first career start at Holy Cross (09/07), a career-best 10 tackles at Delaware (10/19) and a 29-yard INT return against Rhode Island.

In conjunction with its league partners the America East Conference and the CAA, the UNH Department of Athletics announced on July 17 that no Wildcat fall sports teams will compete in intercollegiate athletics in the upcoming semester as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. UNH and the CAA are embarking on a plan to pursue the feasibility of playing a football season in spring 2021.

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