Date: Monday, December 3, 2001

FOUR FOOTBALL JUMBOS NAMED TO ALL-EAST REGION TEAM

MEDFORD – Four players from the 2001 Tufts University football team that finished 6-2 were named to the 2001 Football Gazette Division III All-East Region Team announced on Friday. A total of 76 players were selected from the 50 schools that sponsor football in the East Region.

On offense for Tufts, senior guard Mike Willey (Sherborn, MA/Dover-Sherborn) was named to the First Team and junior running back Keven Kelley (Natick, MA/Natick) was named to the Second Team. Defensively, sophomore return specialist Mark Tilki (Derby, CT/Derby) was named to the Second Team and sophomore defensive tackle Caleb Hudak (White River Jct., VT/Hartford) was named to the Third Team. The First and Second Team selections will be put on a national ballot to choose the 2001 Football Gazette All-American Team.

Willey was the only New England player named to the First Team offense. The 6-4, 297-pound co-captain anchored the line for a Tufts offense that scored 22 points per game. The Jumbos were the top rushing team in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) with 227.0 yards per game. On December 15, Willey will play for the U.S. Team against a squad of Mexican college all-stars in the 2001 Aztec Bowl in Santillo, Mexico.

Kelley led the NESCAC with 1,079 rushing yards, a new single-season record at Tufts. He returned to the Jumbos after a two-year hiatus as was the focal point of the offense every week. The 6-foot, 240-pound back was a two-time NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week, and that doesn't include the week he rushed for 214 yards in a 9-7 win over Trinity. He is the first Tufts back to rush for 1,000 yards since Paul Dresens set the old rushing record of 1,070 yards in 1988.

In addition to being a starting corner on defense, Tilki seemed to make a big play every game on special teams. He averaged 23.2 yards on nine kickoff returns, with a long of 48 yards. He also blocked two kicks on the punt return team, one that was recovered in the end zone for Tufts' first touchdown in a 34-0 win over Bowdoin on October 6.

In four of its eight games this season, the Tufts defense held its opponent to seven points or less. Hudak was the young leader of a defensive unit that ranks fourth in the nation with just 10.4 points per game allowed in the most recent NCAA Statistics. The Jumbos allowed just 3.2 yards per carry on the ground, with Hudak leading the team with seven tackles for losses and four sacks to keep that number low. He also batted down six passes at the line.

#