Wayne State University Athletics

Football 11/19/2019 2:05:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Nicholas and Winters Receive GLIAC Of-The-Year Awards

16 Football players recognized with All-GLIAC selections.

DETROIT -- Wayne State University head football coach Paul Winters and graduate student running back Deiontae Nicholas (Chesterfield, Mich. / L'Anse Creuse North) were selected as GLIAC Coach-of-the-Year and GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year, respectively in voting by the league head coaches earlier today. In addition, 16 Warriors were selected to All-GLIAC teams.

Winters led the Warriors to a remarkable turnaround winning eight of their final nine games in 2019 after suffering through a 1-11 stretch in the previous 12 contests. This is Winters' third GLIAC Coach-of-the-Year award having previously been the recipient in 2006 and 2008. WSU was predicted to tie-for-fifth by the league coaches prior to the 2019 campaign and finished second notching a 7-1 record with the only setback to Super Region 3 top seed Ferris State. Wayne State played the fifth-toughest schedule in Division II with an opponents winning percentage of .604 (64-42) and the three losses were to teams that went a combined 30-2. The eight wins were the most since the 2011 team went 12-4 on its way to the national championship game, while the second-place finish was the best since the 2011 squad tied-for-second. One key improvement for the Warriors was in turnover margin as the 8-3 2019 team was +5, compared to the 2-9 2018 squad that was -6. In addition, Wayne State was ranked 28th nationally in the final regular-season poll by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

Nicholas returned from back-to-back injury filled seasons to finish third in the GLIAC in rushing yards at 847; had the second-highest yards per carry (6.0) of anyone with at least 75 rushing attempts; and ranked second in all-purpose yards (992) in league play. The sixth-year graduate student concluded his collegiate career with 1,735 rushing yards and 3,560 all-purpose yards, which ranks 10th in school history. His 7.54 yards per carry (230-1735) for a career is the best in program history of anyone with at least 75 rushing attempts. In fact, his 7.54 yards per play is also tops in the WSU annals for anyone with at least 150 plays. Nicholas, who became just the third three-time captain in the 102 years of WSU football, was also one of three players recognized nationally (Oct. 22) for the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award. Nicholas selection as GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year was the first for WSU since Joique Bell earned that recognition in 2006 and 2007, before his GLIAC Player of the Year honor in 2009, when Bell also won the Harlon Hill.

The four Warriors voted to the All-GLIAC First Team were Nicholas, wide receiver Darece Roberson, Jr. (Muskegon, Mich. / Mona Shores), left tackle Landin Mitchell (Goodrich, Mich.) and linebacker Leon Eggleston (Sylvania, Ohio / Southview).

Selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team were running back James Hill (Livonia, Mich. / Clarenceville), right guard Adam McJunkin (Allen Park, Mich.), left guard Lane Potter (Hudsonville, Mich.), defensive end Jalen Lewis (Pontiac, Mich. / West Bloomfield), outside linebacker Brandon Tuck-Hayden (Akron, Ohio / Buchtel) and cornerback Greg McDade (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson).

Named to the Honorable Mention All-GLIAC Team were fullback Stephen Charron (Palm Harbor, Fla.), defensive tackle Damani Green (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King), quarterback Dakota Kupp (Waterford, Mich. / Mott), tight end Nick Poterack (Byron Center, Mich.), cornerback Myron Riley-Brown (Harvey, Ill. / Thornton) and safety Kyle Toth (Hudsonville, Mich.).

The eight wins by Wayne State ties-for-third in program history just behind the 2010 squad's 9-2 mark, and the 12-4 record by the 2011 team. The other eight win seasons were in 1975 (8-3), 1976 (8-2) and 2008 (8-3).

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Players Mentioned

#34 Stephen Charron: FB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior

#36 Leon Eggleston: OLB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior

#97 Damani Green: NT; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore

#32 James Hill: RB; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

#12 Dakota Kupp: QB/H/P; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

#99 Jalen Lewis: DE; 6' 2"; Senior

#3 Greg McDade: CB; 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior

#69 Adam McJunkin: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior

#78 Landin Mitchell: T; 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior

#4 Deiontae Nicholas: RB; 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#34 Stephen Charron
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior
: FB

#36 Leon Eggleston
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Senior
: OLB

#97 Damani Green
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore
: NT

#32 James Hill
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: RB

#12 Dakota Kupp
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: QB/H/P

#99 Jalen Lewis
: 6' 2"; Senior
: DE

#3 Greg McDade
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior
: CB

#69 Adam McJunkin
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#78 Landin Mitchell
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior
: T

#4 Deiontae Nicholas
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student
: RB