Moon Township, Pa. -- Freshman wide receiver James O'Quinn (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) of the Robert Morris University (RMU) football team was named the 2008 Northeast Conference Offensive Rookie of the Year in a vote by league head coaches Monday. Five other Colonials football players garnered a spot on either the All-NEC First Team or the All-NEC Second Team.  

O'Quinn, 6'2" and 170 pounds, is the fourth Colonial in the 13-year history of the NEC to garner Offensive Rookie of the Year accolades, joining former running back Archie Wannamaker (1996), former quarterback Tim Levcik (1998) and former tight end Brent Hockenberry (2000).

In 2008, O'Quinn led the Colonials in receiving yards (622) and touchdown catches (6) while ranking second on the club in receptions (22). A three-time NEC Rookie of the Week, O'Quinn averaged 23.0 yards per catch, which led the conference and ranks second in the Colonial single-season record book.

Joining O'Quinn with postseason accolades from the NEC is junior safety Michael Landers (Springdale, Pa./Springdale), who was named to the All-NEC First Team, while sophomore linebacker Alex DiMichele (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sto-Rox), senior wide receiver Sherrod Evers (Philadelphia, Pa./Mastbaum Area), sophomore running back Myles Russ (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca) and junior defensive lineman Mark Szymanski (Cadogan, Pa./Ford City) were each tabbed to the All-NEC Second Team.   The 6'1", 210-pound Landers ranked third for RMU in 2008 with 74 tackles and also posted five interceptions to rank second in the NEC. He also forced two fumbles and recovered three, returning one for a touchdown. Landers also recorded a league-high 15 passes defended in 2008 thanks to 10 breakups to go along with five picks.

James O'Quinn

In 2008 DiMichele, 6'2" and 240 pounds, established a new RMU single-season record for tackles with 116 (11.6 per game), despite sitting out RMU's final game of the season due to injury. Of his 116 stops, 45 were solo, including one sack, and he also recorded three pass breakups and three quarterback hurries. 

Despite missing four games due to injury in 2008, the 6'3", 200-pound Evers earned a spot on the All-NEC Second Team after leading the Colonials in receptions (34) while ranking second in receiving yards (506) and third in touchdown receptions (4). Evers opened the season with back-to-back 100-yard receiving performances and on the season averaged 14.9 yards per catch.

Russ, 5'8" and 170 pounds, broke through in a sophomore campaign that saw him compile 1,255 yards on the ground on 215 attempts, an average of 5.8 yards per carry. He ranks fourth in the NEC and 15th in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with an average of 114.1 yards rushing per game. Twice during the season Russ finished with over 200 yards rushing in a game, and his six touchdown runs were tops on the team in 2008.  

The lone Colonial to earn his second postseason league honor from the NEC is Szymanski, who earns All-NEC Second Team accolades for the second straight year. The 6'2", 255-pound defensive lineman finished with 54 tackles in 2008, including a team-high 11 for losses that totaled 31 yards. Szymanski finished second on the club in sacks with two and-a-half and also posted a pair of quarterback hurries.  

Led by Joe Walton, the only head coach in the 15-year history of Robert Morris football, the Colonials won four of their final six games of the 2008 campaign to finish with an overall record of 5-6. Robert Morris finished with a mark of 4-3 in the Northeast Conference, good enough to tie for third with both Central Connecticut State and Sacred Heart.

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