Freed (Souderton/Souderton), a redshirt senior, had 120 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception in his final season for the Warriors as he wrapped up one of the top careers in school history.
Freed, the only defensive player among the 24 candidates for the Harlon Hill Award for the top player in Division II, will be one of four players on the ballot for the Daktronics Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was also voted to the All-Region first team for the third straight season and is a two-time first team All-American.
Quarterback Zach Amedro of West Liberty (W.V.) also repeated as the region’s Offensive Player of the Year after setting the Division II record with 14,733 career passing yards, breaking the old standard of 14,350 held by ESU’s Jimmy Terwilliger (2003-06). Amedro ranks second behind Terwilliger with 126 career touchdown passes and 14,598 yards of total offense.
The voting for the Daktronics All-Region team is conducted by the sports information directors in the region, which is comprised of the Pennsylvania State Athletic, West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic, Northeast 10 and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conferences. The first team selections from each of the nation’s four regions advance to the national ballot.
Freed finished his career ranked third in school history with 399 tackles and had 45 tackles for a loss, 22.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and five interceptions as a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter. His 228 career solo tackles and 5.3 solo tackles per game are both in the top 10 in Division II since 2000, and he ranks 13th in total career tackles.
As a senior, Freed hit double-figures in tackles in eight of the Warriors’ 11 games. His top performances included 17 tackles, 1.5 TFL and a sack at Bloomsburg; 11 tackles, 4.0 TFL and a career-high 3.0 sacks vs. Kutztown; 11 tackles, 2.0 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble at Millersville; and 14 tackles and a sack at Edinboro in his final career game.
He was second in the PSAC and ninth in Division II with 10.9 tackles per game during the regular season, and led the conference and ranked fourth in the nation with 6.1 solo tackles per game (67 in 11 games). He compiled 80 tackles, 10.5 TFL and 6.5 sacks in seven games against the PSAC East.
In his 34 career starts, Freed had 24 games with 10+ tackles and 31 games with eight or more stops. He never had fewer than six tackles in a game over the past three years and had at least one tackle for a loss in 21 of 23 games in the past two seasons.
Freed was recognized as last year’s regional Defensive Player of the Year after posting 132 tackles, 18.0 TFL and 10 sacks while leading the Warriors to their fourth-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. He had 126 tackles, 11.0 TFL, four sacks and four interceptions to earn first team All-America status in his first year as a starter as a redshirt sophomore in 2008.
Freed’s additional career honors include two first team Academic All-America awards and a pair of selections to the Associated Press Little All-America third team. He can become the first player in school history to earn three AP Little All-America honors when the teams are announced later this month.
Offensive Player of the Year – Zach Amedro, West Liberty
Defensive Player of the Year – Matt Freed, ESU
Offense – 1st Team
QB – Zach Amedro, West Liberty
RB – Franklyn Quiteh, Bloomsburg*
RB – Walter Sanders, St. Augustine’s
WR – Jamal Smith, Millersville*
WR – Trevor Kennedy, Mercyhurst*
TE – Ryan Travis, West Liberty
OL – Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock*
OL – Dan Jordan, California
OL – Nick Piccirillo, California
OL – Pat Casey, Bloomsburg
OL – Nick Madia, West Liberty
OL – Larry Wriedt, West Liberty
K – C.J. Bahr, Slippery Rock
RET – Trevor Kennedy, Mercyhurst
Offense – 2nd Team
QB – Kevin Morton, Kutztown
QB – Travis Rearick, Mercyhurst
RB – Akeem Satterfield, Slippery Rock
RB – Alfonso Hoggard, Clarion
WR – David Canney, Assumption
WR – Erik Frazier, Kutztown
WR – Darnel Williams, C.W. Post
TE – Mike Slattery, Bentley
OL – Matt Sidebottom, Assumption
OL – David Bellmont, Merrimack
OL – Aaron McGlynn, Kutztown
OL – David Stedman, New Haven
K – Dan Fisher, Bloomsburg
RET – Deante Steele, Shepherd
Defense – 1st Team
DL – Malcolm Jenkins, Elizabeth City State*
DL – Xavier Brown, C.W. Post
DL – Fred Hale, Mercyhurst
DL – Tony Johnson, Merrimack
LB – Bryan Boyce, Mercyhurst*
LB – Matt Freed, ESU
LB – Mike Varanavage, Bloomsburg
LB – Shawn Loiseau, Merrimack
CB – Keon Robinson, Shepherd*
CB – Desmond Anderson, New Haven
S – Nick Sipes, Clarion*
S – Ian Wild, Mercyhurst
P – Ben Landis, Fairmont State
Defense – 2nd Team
DL – Jonas Celian, WV Wesleyan
DL – Daniel Allen, Southern Conn. State
DL – Kevin Bolinsky, Kutztown
DL – Mike Gee, IUP
DL – Barrington Morrison, Clarion
LB – Clay Beeler, West Liberty
LB – Brucelee Sterile, Lincoln
LB – Brian Taylor, Shepherd
LB – Zach Sheridan, Slippery Rock
LB – Brett Diamond, California
CB – Robert Doiley, Slippery Rock
CB – Chris Cook, Gannon
S – Dewey McDonald, Fairmont State
S – Erik Harris, California
P – Derek Fiorenza, California
* indicates that player was top vote-getter at position
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