Pitman, N.J. (11/19/21) – Sophomore Donte Jamison and head coach Dan Garrett earned New Jersey Athletic Conference yearly accolades as 10 players were named to the all-conference team.
Jamison was tabbed as the Special Teams Player of the Year in addition to earning two spots on the first-team (offense and special teams). Garrett was named as the Co-Head Coach of the Year.
Five Cougars in total were selected to the first-team as Dante Capozzoli (defense), Aaron Cottrell (defense), Kyeon Taylor (defense) and Nick Firth (special teams) all join Jamison.
Myles Toppin (offense), Jamma Ndiaye (defense), and Anthony Bassani (defense) were tabbed to the second-team while Josh Harris (defense) and Nas Neal (defense) rounded out the honorable mention team.
Jamison becomes the third player in program history to earn Special Teams Player of the Year honors. He recorded 310 punt return yards and three touchdowns on 18 returns. In addition, he tallied 482 yards on 26 kick returns. On the offensive side of things, Jamison led all receivers with 560 yards on 55 catches with a touchdown while adding 185 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Garrett collects Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career (2006, 2011). Kean was predicted to finish last (seventh) in the preseason coaches' poll and after an 0-3 non-conference start to the season, the Cougars turned the season around and finished second in the conference with a 4-2 mark. The Cougar defense led the NJAC in interceptions (12) and red zone defense, while finishing third in penalties.
Capozzoli collects NJAC first-team honors for the fourth straight season as he led the team, and was second in the NJAC, in tackles with 84 while adding nine tackles for a loss, one and a half sacks, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery and eight quarterback hurries.
Cottrell earns NJAC honors for the first time in his career as he finished with 78 tackles on the season (second on the squad). He tallied three tackles for a loss, one forced fumble, one recovery and one hurry.
After earning honorable mention accolades in 2019, Taylor led the NJAC by a wide margin in interceptions with eight this fall (next player had three). He added eight breakups, 32 tackles and three and half tackles for a loss.
Firth collected first-team honors for the first time as he led the NJAC with five punts over 50 yards and with 16 punts inside the 20. Overall he had 67 punts for 2,467 yards.
Toppin earns All-NJAC honors for the third time in his career. He led the team with five receiving touchdowns while averaging 13 yards per catch. In total he had 20 catches for 260 yards.
Ndiaye was named an All-NJAC member for the second straight season. He finished with season with 40 tackles, two and a half for a loss, a breakup, hurry and a fumble recovery.
Bassani, the 2018 Defensive Rookie of the Year, was selected to the All-NJAC team for a third time overall. He played all nine games with 63 tackles, four for a loss, two interceptions, one breakup, one hurry, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
Harris was selected to the squad for the first time and had 21 tackles in eight games. He added one blocked kick on special teams.
Neal rounds out the selections after recording 62 tackles in nine games. He broke up seven passes, brought down an interception, forced two fumbles, recovered one, blocked a kick and had five and a half tackles for a loss.
