LANCASTER, Pa. – Four members of the Ursinus College football team landed spots on the All-Centennial Conference Team, released Tuesday by the league office.
Junior center Grant Nulty joined senior linebacker Tim Rafter and freshman safety Jack Spingler on the second team, while senior safety Prince Patterson earned honorable mention. All four are first-time all-conference selections.
Nulty started every game in the middle of an offensive line that helped the Bears make major improvements on the offensive side of the ball. After averaging just 292.1 yards and 16.9 points per game a year ago, Ursinus bumped those averages up to 344.9 and 21.0, respectively. Nulty also helped pave the way for the Bears to average 109.5 yards per game on the ground, nearly 30 more than last season's total.
Rafter scripted a strong senior season, leading Ursinus in tackles (68) to move all the way up to seventh on the program's all-time list with 246. The co-captain registered career highs in sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (7.5) and added two interceptions, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup, and a blocked kick. Rafter had a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 33-32 loss to Moravian and finished his career with eight picks.
Spingler was a standout rookie from the first snap. The freshman weak-side safety paced Ursinus in solo tackles (52) and landed one total stop behind Rafter with 67. He led the Bears with three interceptions, including one in the season-ending rout of Dickinson in addition to trying for the top spot in pass breakups (6). Spingler collected six tackles for loss and forced a pair of fumbles to tie for third in the conference.
Patterson notched a career-high 45 tackles in 2016, chipping in six pass breakups and a fumble recovery that he returned 32 yards to the house in the season opener against Gettysburg.
Additionally, senior quarterback Sal Bello was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team. In six games, Bello completed 67.8 percent of his passes (80-for-118) for 800 yards with three touchdowns.