University of Albany's Casale, Nguti & Leible on ECAC Football Championship Subdivision All-Star Team - UAlbany Sports

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Cape Cod, Mass. – University at Albany’s Raphael Nguti, Jon Leible and Dave Casale have been chosen to the 2008 ECAC Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-Star Team, as announced by conference office on Thursday, Jan. 8.

Nguti, a 6-foot-7, 330-pound left tackle, has been voted to two All-America squads this season. He was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) first team and voted as a Sports Network honorable mention selection. A senior from Rochester, N.Y., Nguti was a member of the All-Northeast Conference first team for the second year in a row. He led the Great Danes, who finished with a 9-3 record, to their second consecutive NEC championship and a Gridiron Classic victory over Jacksonville.

Leible, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound right tackle, earned first-team All-NEC honors in his first year as a starter. Leible, the program’s most improved player, blocked for an offense that ranked 16th nationally in rushing (200.6 ypg) and led the conference in total offense (363.2 ypg). A senior from Commack, N.Y., Leible paved the way for tailback David McCarty, the nation’s second-leading rusher who broke the school’s single-season record and scored 17 touchdowns.

Casale, a junior free safety, was named to the All-NEC first team after accounting for 74 tackles, including 40 unassisted, and breaking up seven passes. He set the program’s Division I FCS single-season mark with seven interceptions, the highest total by a UAlbany defender since 1990. Casale made a career-high 13 tackles and blocked a field goal in a 22-16 overtime victory at Hofstra in September. Casale, who has 154 career tackles as a collegian, was twice named the NEC defensive player of the week.