Four Big Green Players Named to All-New England Football Team

HANOVER, N.H. — The New England Football Writers' Association revealed its selections for the All-New England Football Team on Tuesday, and four Dartmouth players were honored with their inclusion — center Jacob Flores, cornerback Vernon Harris, linebacker Will McNamara and defensive tackle A.J. Zuttah. Both McNamara and Zuttah are repeat selections for the Big Green from a year ago.

Comprised of football student-athletes from Division I schools — both FBS and FCS — in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, Dartmouth's total of four selections was bested only by Harvard, which had five. The University of New Hampshire was the only program with three while eight schools had two and three others one apiece.

Flores, who was a second-team selection at left tackle a year ago, earned this honor after moving over the ball as the Big Green center. The 6-4, 290-pound senior was a big part of the line that helped this year's squad score nearly 29 points and gain 410 yards per game. A product of Arlington, Texas, Flores started every game on the line the last three years, helping Dartmouth post a 23-7 record while protecting quarterback Dalyn Willliams on his march to Big Green career records for passing yards and total yards.

Harris, a 6-2, 195-pound senior from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was generally considered to be the Ivy League's top cover man. The first Big Green player ever to start 40 games in a career, the cornerback tied for fifth in the conference with three interceptions — two in a 34-18 victory at Brown — while recording 50 tackles, the third-most on the Dartmouth defense. One of those stops went for a six-yard loss, and he also broke up three other passes throughout the season. Harris ended the season as the Big Green's active career leader with 190 tackles, 4.5 going for a loss, with six interceptions and 22 others broken up as well as two forced fumbles and another recovered.

A two-time unanimous All-Ivy League First Team selection and a finalist for the Bushnell Cup (given to the top offensive and defensive players in the conference), McNamara led the team in tackles (69) once again while ranking fifth in the league. The Chicago native also ranked second in the Ivy League with four interceptions, two coming against nationally ranked Harvard, and broke up four other passes throughout the season while contributing 3.5 tackles for a loss with one sack. The 6-1, 235-pound senior captain finished his career with 188 tackles, 11.5 for a loss, eight interceptions of which three he returned for a touchdown, two forced fumbles and seven passes broken up.

Zuttah, a 6-2, 295-pound senior from Edison, New Jersey, was a two-time All-Ivy League First Team member as well. He played in all 40 games in his career, starting the last 30, and this year led all Ivy League linemen with 44 tackles, seven of which went for a loss, including 3.5 sacks. The product of Cheshire Academy in Connecticut also batted down five passes at the line of scrimmage, forced one fumble and recovered two others, plus blocked a pair of kicks. His final career numbers include 134 tackles, 11.5 for a loss and 14 passes batted away.

Dartmouth finished the 2015 season 9-1 overall and tied atop the Ivy League standings with a 6-1 mark, earning a share of its first conference crown (and 18th overall) since 1996.

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