Moon Township, Pa. - A total of six student-athletes from the Robert Morris University football team earned All-Northeast Conference accolades in a vote of league head coaches, it was announced Wednesday.
Earning a spot on the 2011 All-NEC First Team was senior offensive lineman Brad Rodgers (Irwin, Pa. / Norwin) and junior defensive lineman Nolan Nearhoof (Gibsonia, Pa. / Mars Area).
Tabbed to the 2011 All-NEC Second Team was senior tight end Shadrae King (McKeesport, Pa. / McKeesport), senior center Logan Miles (Scottdale, Pa. / Southmoreland), junior safety Cameron Chadwick (Vista, Calif. / College of Canyons) and senior return specialist Anthony Coleman (Cheltenham, Md. / St. John's College High School).
For Rodgers, Chadwick and Coleman, it marks the first postseason accolade from the NEC in their respective careers. King was honored for the third time, while Nearhoof and Miles have each earned All-NEC status twice in their careers.
The 6'2", 305-pound Rodgers closed out his career at RMU with 31 consecutive starts on the offensive line and 33 overall. He played an important role for an offensive line that allowed former running back Myles Russ (2007-10) to become the program's all-time leading rusher.
Despite missing the final two games of the 2011 campaign with an injury, the 6'2", 280-pound Nearhoof finished fourth for the Colonials in tackles with 60 while posting a team-high seven and-a-half sacks. He also added a pair of pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 2011 and will enter his final season of eligibility in 2012 as RMU's active leader in tackles (137), tackles for loss (23) and sacks (16).
In earning his third All-NEC accolade, King will go down as arguably the best tight end in school history. At 6'3", 225 pounds, King established RMU career records for receptions (145) and consecutive games with a catch (30) in 2011 and also finished his career tied with former wide receiver Tyjuan Massey (2002-05) with the Colonial record for career touchdown receptions (21). King, who established a new RMU single-season record for receptions in 2011, hauled in 51 catches for 524 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. He finished his career only behind Massey in career receiving yards with 1,698.
Miles, 6'3" and 295 pounds, earns his second All-NEC honor in 2011 after starting each of the final 22 games of his career at center for Robert Morris. Overall, Miles earned 26 starting assignments and like Rodgers was instrumental in helping Russ become the program's all-time leading rusher.
In his first season with the program, the 6'1", 215-pound Chadwick made his presence felt immediately. In 11 games, 10 of which were starting assignments, Chadwick finished with a team-high 80 tackles, including 32 solo takedowns. He also recorded an interception and four passes defended to lead the Robert Morris secondary.
Coleman earns his first career All-NEC honor in 2011 at return specialist after a consistent career on special teams. As a senior, the 5'11", 200-pound Coleman broke his own single-season school marks for kickoff returns (41) and kickoff return yards (952). He also owns RMU career records with 110 career kickoffs for 2,422 yards and is tied for fourth all-time in career all-purpose yards with inaugural running back Tim Hall (1994-95) with 3,701. Coleman also added 30 receptions for 399 yards as a wide receiver in 2011.
