Football Claims Three CAA Major Awards, 14 All-Conference Nods

RICHMOND – The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) today announced its end of year football awards. The University at Albany football team claimed three major awards and 14 All-Conference nods, the most in a single season since joining the CAA in 2013.

Head Coach Greg Gattuso was named the 2023 CAA Coach of the Year, the second time he has taken home the honor (2019). Senior linebacker Dylan Kelly was named the Defensive Player of the Year and rookie running back Griffin Woodell was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

Gattuso has coached the Great Danes to a 9-3 overall record, going 9-1 against FCS opponents. Under Gattuso, the program recorded its first ever CAA regular season championship this past week after defeating Monmouth, 41-0, and finishing with a 7-1 conference record. The UAlbany defense is the best in the CAA and the defensive front leads the nation as the best run stopping corps in the FCS. Under Gattuso, UAlbany was awarded the No. 5 seed in the FCS postseason – the highest mark in school history. In addition to being named Coach of the Year, Gattuso was also named an Eddie Robinson Award finalist, which is given annually to the National Coach of the Year in the FCS.

Kelly finished the regular season with 145 total tackles, second in all of the FCS. He recorded 23 stops in an Oct. 7 matchup at Towson, a career-best and more in a single-game than any other player in the FCS this season. The senior linebacker added eight TFLs for 31 yards, three sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble. His total tackles number broke the UAlbany single-season record, a mark set in 1974 by Ken Schoen. Kelly, along with teammate Anton Juncaj, were both named Buck Buchanan Award finalists, which is given annually to the National Defensive Player of the Year in the FCS. 

Kelly’s award marks the first time in program history that a Great Dane has been named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year. 

Woodell has played in all of UAlbany's 12 games, netting 694 yards on the ground over 143 attempts for an average of 4.9 yards per carry. He's averaging 57.83 yards per game and has compiled six rushing TDs. Through the air, Woodell has brought in 24 receptions for 231 yards and an additional four TDs to bring his season total to an even 10. He has been named CAA Rookie of the Week four times and was also named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given annually to the National Freshman of the Year. 

Five standouts were named to the CAA Football First Team Defense – Anton Juncaj, AJ Simon, Aamir Hall, Larry Walker Jr., and Kelly. In addition, Ori Jean-Charles was named to the Second Team Defense.

The Great Dane defense was the best in the CAA, allowing a league-low 17.2 points per game. The rushing defense was stout, leading the entire FCS in rushing yards allowed per game at 79.1. The defensive monsters were even more dominant at Casey Stadium, where they allowed an average of just 8.2 points per game and shut out the conference’s best offense in Monmouth to close out the regular season. It was the first defensive shutout for the Great Danes dating back to 2017. 

Juncaj led the CAA in sacks with 13, a mark that puts him second in the FCS. Second in the CAA is AJ Simon, finishing with 10.5. In the secondary, Hall led the CAA and finished third in the FCS in passes defended with 17. The heart of the defense, Walker Jr. earns First Team honors after finishing with 60 total tackles. 

On the offensive side of the ball, four Great Danes were named to the CAA Football Second Team Offense in Reese Poffenbarger, Brevin Easton, Julian Hicks, and Ozzie Hutchinson. Lineman Will Marotta was named to the Third Team Offense and tight end Ian Renninger was named Honorable Mention. 

Poffenbarger led the entire FCS in passing TDs with 31, throwing for 2,860 passing yards while adding another three TDs on the ground. He threw four TD passes in a single game five times this season and recorded at least one TD, either through the air or on the ground, in every game. 20 of Poffenbarger’s TD throws went to wideouts Hicks and Easton. Hicks led the CAA in TD receptions with 11, third overall in the FCS. Easton finished just behind him with nine, tied for second most in the CAA and sixth in the FCS. 

The UAlbany offense as a whole finished fifth in the conference, averaging 29.6 points per game. The unit scored 30+ points in seven games, including five of its last six. The best outing of the year came to close out the regular season – a 41-point performance against Monmouth in which the offense put up six TDs. 

The selections of Hutchinson and Marotta mark the first time in program history that multiple offensive linemen have been named CAA All-Conference in the same season. Hutchinson’s CAA Second Team nod is also the first in program history. 

On Special Teams, punter Tyler Pastula was named to the CAA Second Team and kicker John Opalko was named to the Third Team. Pastula was third in the CAA in punting averaging, knocking the ball 42.4 yards per attempted. He punted 48 times throughout the year with a long of 68 yards. Opalko finished the season with 16 field goal attempts, knocking 12 through for a success rate of 75%. He was nearly perfect on PATs, going 43-44 with the second most made in the conference. 

For a full list of UAlbany award winners, see below. 

Major Award Winners

Coach of the Year – Greg Gattuso

Defensive Player of the Year – Dylan Kelly

Offensive Rookie of the Year – Griffin Woodell

First Team Defense

Dylan Kelly

Anton Juncaj

AJ Simon

Aamir Hall

Larry Walker Jr. 

Second Team Offense

Reese Poffenbarger

Julian Hicks

Brevin Easton

Ozzie Hutchinson

Second Team Defense

Ori Jean-Charles

Second Team Special Teams

Tyler Pastula

Third Team Offense

Will Marotta

Third Team Special Teams

John Opalko

Honorable Mention

Ian Renninger

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