University of Connecticut Athletics
Four Huskies Named All-BIG EAST
12/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
STORRS, Conn. (December 7, 2005) - University of Connecticut senior linebacker James Hargrave (Pleasantville, N.J.) was named to the football All-BIG EAST first team on Wednesday in a vote of the league’s coaches. Huskies earning a place on the All-BIG EAST second team are junior defensive tackle Rhema Fuller (Cocoa, Fla.), senior defensive tackle Deon McPhee (Abaco, Bahamas) and junior tight end Dan Murray (Gloucester, Mass.). It is the second time in two years as league members that the Huskies have had a first-team All-BIG EAST selection at linebacker after Alfred Fincher earned that honor in 2004.
Fuller, Hargrave and McPhee were all cogs in a Husky defense that ranked amongst the nation’s top 10 for almost the entire season, including two weeks at No. 1 in total defense. UConn’s 297.2 yards per game in total defense this past fall was its lowest average since 1979 when the Huskies allowed 289.4 yards per game.
Hargrave, a team co-captain, was the only linebacker to start all 11 games for UConn this year, several of them with a broken thumb. Hargrave was third on the team with 62 tackles while leading the Huskies with both his 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He also forced two fumbles, recovered one, broke up three passes and made just the second interception of his career during UConn’s 15-10 win over South Florida.
Fuller started all 11 games and was named to the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District I team as he carries a 3.54 cumulative GPA as a finance major in addition to his fine work on the field. Fuller was a disruptive force in the trenches and came out with 33 tackles, 4.5 of them for a loss, including one sack. He also both forced and recovered two fumbles.
Voted the team’s Most Valuable Player by his peers, McPhee was one of the team’s leaders as a co-captain and a rock in the middle of UConn’s defensive front, eating up blockers. The senior started all 11 games and recorded a career-high 31 tackles in 2005, including 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He also broke up a pass, forced a fumble, and recorded the team’s only safety of the season.
Murray, a wide receiver in high school, continued to steadily improve his blocking in 2005 while also ranking fourth on the team with 23 receptions, good for 296 yards and three touchdowns. His 12.9 yard per catch average was second only to speedster Brandon Young’s 13.2 amongst Huskies with at least 10 receptions this year. With nine career touchdown catches, Murray ranks fourth in school history amongst tight ends.
