Bulldogs place three on All-NEC teams

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Redshirt junior Jean Constant (Delray Beach, Fla.) became just the second Bulldog in DI program history to earn multiple all-league honors in the same season as the Bryant University football team had three players selected to the All-Northeast Conference teams announced on Wednesday.

Constant earned All-NEC First Team honors as a return specialist and All-NEC Second Team honors as a wide receiver for the second-straight season. Senior LB Thomas Costigan (Stamford, Conn.) and junior Tomas Wright (St. Augustine, Fla.) were named to the All-NEC First Team on defense.

One of the best kick returners in the country, Constant joins Jordan Brown (2011, 2012) as the only player in DI program history to earn multiple All-NEC honors twice in their career. Constant finished the regular season as the national leader with 39.1 yards per return and a program-record three kick return scores. He bookended his superlative season with kick return scores as he returned the opening kickoff of the 2018 season 100 yards for a score and then went 88 yards for a score on his last return of the season at Howard. He also posted a 97-yard return score vs. Wagner and finished the year with 626 return yards.

As a wide receiver, Constant led the team with seven touchdown receptions and finished second in receptions (43) and receiving yards (477). Constant opened the season with a career-high 10 catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns and caught multiple passes in all but one game. He had 95 yards and a pair of TDs vs. Marist before ending the season with six catches for 55 yards and a score. Constant finished the year with 10 total touchdowns and 1,110 all-purpose yards.

Costigan picks first team honors for the second-straight season after he set a single-season program record with 109 tackles. One of the nation's premier linebackers, Costigan also added 5.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception. He posted at least seven tackles in all 11 games, including a career-high-tying 16 tackles vs. Robert Morris. Costigan also collected at least one tackle for a loss in all but two games and had a season-high two sacks as Bryant held eventual league champion Duquesne to one total yard of offense in the fourth quarter. He finished his career with a program-record 285 tackles, 26 sacks, 46.5 TFLs, 13 forced fumbles and three interceptions.

Wright came into his own this fall for the Black and Gold and lived in the opposing backfield all season. He finished second in the league with a single-season program record 12.5 sacks and also added 17.5 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles and three pass breakups. Wright posted at least one sack in seven of the 11 games and at least one TFL in all but two. He enjoyed the best game of his career in Bryant's victory over eventual league champ Duquesne, posting three sacks, 4.5 tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. Wright has 21.5 sacks in just three years with the Black and Gold, one of only four players in program history to record as many as 20 sacks in a career.