CLEVELAND - The Mid-American Conference announced its postseason All-MAC awards on Tuesday and 10 Broncos found their name on the list, making Western Michigan one of only two programs to have that many all-conference selections in 2007. Senior offensive guard James Blair and junior wide receiver Jamarko Simmons were named First Team All-MAC Offense for the first time in their careers, while cornerback Londen Fryar was named First Team All-MAC Defense for the second-straight season.
The 10 All-MAC selections are the most during the Bill Cubit era and the three First Team nods are the most since Cubit's first year at Western Michigan when Ameer Ismail, Greg Jennings and Tony Scheffler were all selected First Team All-MAC.
James Blair (Detroit, Mich./Pershing HS) led the team in plays, not only setting a new single-season personal best with his 1,043 plays but almost matching his output from the past two seasons combined (1,381). Blair started every game of this senior season, marking the first time in his career he had started every game of a campaign. He finished his career with 27 starts in 44 games played and he was in one 2,424 plays throughout his career.
Jamarko Simmons (Flint, Mich./Central HS) broke out in 2007 with the second most receptions in a season (84) and 980 yards receiving, which is his the seventh best single-season performance in program history. Simmons opened the campaign with a pair of 14-catch games against West Virginia and Indiana and had four double-digit reception games as a junior. He matched a career-high with 172 yards on 10 catches against Akron and had four 100-yard receiving games this year.
Londen Fryar (Jobbstown, N.J./Holy Cross HS) is one of two Broncos to have back-to-back All-MAC selections over the past two seasons and is receiving his second First Team nod in as many campaigns as a defensive back. The converted wide receiver, who made the change prior to the 2006 season, led the Broncos with 16 pass deflections. That total ranks second in a single-season at WMU and ranked second in the conference this year. Fryar recorded his sixth career interception against Toledo and at one point during the Akron game broke up three-straight pass attempts deep in the red zone to force the Zips to turn the ball over on downs.
Brandon West (Brunswick, Ga./Camden County HS) had a special season as a sophomore, leading the Broncos with 848 yards rushing and capturing a pair of WMU single-season records. West, the only Bronco to earn Second Team All-MAC (Offense and Kick Return Specialist) in two separate categories, broke Rashad McDade's mark of 898 kick return yards, finishing with 906. He also snapped the 24-year old mark of Shawn Faulkner (1,889) with 2,119 all-purpose yards. His season was highlighted by amassing 346 all-purpose yards against Indiana, including a 98-yard kick return for a score, to break both the Western Michigan and MAC single-game record. West had three 100-yard rushing efforts in 2007, including a career-best 171 yards on 21 carries against Ball State.
Zach Davidson (Racine, Wis./Washington Park HS) set the pace for the Broncos in terms of tackles for loss and sacks, en route to earning Second Team All-MAC Defense. Davidson led the team with 12.5 TFLs for a combined loss of 54 yards. He shared the team lead with 6.5 sacks as a junior. Davidson registered 3.0 TFLs against Indiana and 2.0 TFLs in the season finale against Temple. He had one multi-sack game this year, stopping the opposing signal caller behind the line twice against Temple. This is the first postseason all-conference honor of Davidson's career.
Louis Delmas (North Miami Beach, Fla./North Miami Beach HS) registered more than 50 tackles in a season for the second-straight year, finishing with 64 stops (48 solo). He also recorded his eighth-career interception with a pick against Eastern Michigan, to extend his lead over any other active Bronco. Delmas' game grew strength as the season wore one, recording all three of his double-digit tackle games in his last five games. He recorded 10 tackles in each game against Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Iowa. Delmas also added kick return specialist to his resume, ranking second on the team with seven returns for 162 yards (23.1 ypr).
Boston McCornell (Macon, Ga./Georgia Military College) earned Second Team All-MAC Defense in his first season in Division I football. The junior college transfer led Western Michigan with 99 total tackles (46 solo) and ranked third on the team with 8.0 TFLs. He also led the Broncos with 10 or more tackles in four games. He set and matched a career-high in tackles (12) in successive games against Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, respectively, and finished the season with 10 or more stops in three of his last four games.
Robbie Krutilla (Summit, Ill./Mount Carmel HS) has been the staple in the Bronco offensive line for the past four seasons and he was rewarded with a nod for Third Team All-MAC Offense as a senior. Coming into his final campaign in the Brown & Gold, Krutilla had started every one of his 35 career games. Due to late season injury, he was forced out of the line up three times in 2007 and he finished his career with 43 career starts. He finished his senior year with 709 snaps on offense, giving him 3,214 plays for his career.
Branden Ledbetter (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) was named postseason all-conference for the second-straight season, earning Third Team All-MAC Offense. Ledbetter became the programs leader for touchdown receptions by a tight end with a scoring grab in the season finale against Temple. He has now registered six receiving TDs in each of the last two seasons and reached the 1,000-yard career receiving mark with 550 yards in 2007, ranking second on the team. He now has 1,049 yards receiving and 14 TDs on 86 receptions.
