Constant named Phil Steele All-American, 11 earn All-NEC
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University football redshirt junior Jean Constant (Delray Beach, Fla.) was named a Phil Steele First Team All-America return specialist and the Phil Steele Northeast Conference Special Teams Player of the Year on Friday.
In addition to his player of the year honors, Constant was also one of 11 Bulldogs to be named to the Phil Steele All-NEC teams.
Constant, the only player in program history to earn All-America honors in multiple seasons, has now earned three All-America citations this postseason – STATS FCS, Walter Camp and Phil Steele. He finished the year tied for the national lead in kick return TDs (3) and led the country with a 39.1 return average. Constant posted kick return scores of 100, 97 and 88, bookending the season with return scores in the first game of the year and the season finale. He returned just 16 kicks on the year but posted 626 return yards, becoming the program's all-time leader in return yards with 1,694.
Constant also earned All-NEC honors from Phil Steele as a return specialist and a wide receiver. He was named to the second team as a wideout after finishing the year with 43 catches for 477 yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns. Constant opened the season with a career-high 10 catches, for a career-high 118 yards and four total TDs vs. New Haven.
Junior defensive end Tomas Wright (St. Augustine, Fla.) and senior linebacker Thomas Costigan (Stamford, Conn.) also earned first team honors. Wright, an All-NEC and All-ECAC First Team selection, set the Bryant single-season record with 12.5 sacks and finished the year with 45 tackles and 17.5 TFLs. He recorded at least a half sack in seven of Bryant's 11 games.
Costigan wrapped up his illustrious defensive career with a single-season program record 109 tackles this fall. He also collected 5.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Costigan had at least seven tackles in all 11 games and finished his career with a program record 285 tackles. He finished 19th in voting for the FCS Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the best defensive player in the country.
Bryant placed five players on the second team as redshirt senior QB Price Wilson (Marietta, Ga.), Constant, senior Vincent Nisivoccia (Nutley, N.J.) and classmates Andrew Jones (Kennett Square, Pa.) and Jordan Laube (Westhampton Beach, Fla.) were honored. Wilson led the NEC in passing, finishing the year with 2,374 yards (237.4/g). He appeared in nine games and the Bulldogs were 6-2 when he played the full game. Wilson completed 208 passes and threw 20 TDs opposed to just eight INTs. He ended his two-year career third all-time in passing yards and completions and fourth in TD passes.
Nisivoccia, who also earned third team honors as a return specialist, teamed with Constant to create one of the league's top 1-2 punches. He led the Bulldogs in catches (50) and receiving yards (691) and finished second behind Constant in TDs (6). Nisivoccia also posted 1,353 all-purpose yards, the 10th-most in a single season in program history. He posted a pair of 100-yard receiving games and also returned 22 kicks for 496 yards and a touchdown.
Jones started all 11 games as Bryant's center this season, helping the Black and Gold average 32.5 points per game and 411 yards of total offense per game. Laube was Bryant's long snapper on punts and was successful on all 54 snaps this fall.
Senior Brenden Femiano (Northport, N.Y.), sophomore Mike Andrejco (Wall, N.J.), junior Robert Brown (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) and sophomore Andre Brackett (East Windsor, Conn.) were all named to the third team. Femiano had a career-year, finishing with 778 yards and six touchdowns on 151 carries. He posted the first three 100-yard games of his career, including 101 yards and two touchdowns in the final game of his career.
Andrejco started all 11 games at left tackle for the Bulldogs and helped pave the way for one of the NEC's top offenses. Bryant averaged 32.5 points per game and scored a DI program record 56 points in the 2018 finale.
Brown did a little bit of everything defensively for the Black and Gold this fall, posting 70 tackles, six TFLs, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an interception, five pass breakups and a blocked punt. He had three TFLs, a force fumble, returned a fumble 46 yards for a touchdown and tipped a pass that was intercepted in Bryant's win over league champion Duquesne.
Brackett was one of Bryant's top defensive backs in 2018, posting 39 tackles, seven pass breakups and a forced fumble.