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Bridgewater, NJ — Two Northeast Conference (NEC) football standouts were placed on FCS Football Central All-America teams. Merrimack sophomore Donovan Wadley (Newark, NJ/Weequahic) was named to the First Team as a return specialist while LIU redshirt sophomore Eric O'Neill (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville), a defensive lineman, garnered Second Team honors. 

FCS players representing all 13 conferences and 59 schools comprised the organization's All-America Team.

Wadley had a breakout season for the Warriors. The Newark, NJ native offered a triple threat for Merrimack as he packed a lethal running, receiving and kick return game. As a result, the wide receiver became the first Warrior in program history to be named the NEC Offensive Player of the Year. He also dipped his toe in the All-NEC First Team pool twice, earning the honor as both a wide receiver and a return specialist.

A lethal blend of speed, grit and explosiveness coupled with a keen sense of field awareness made Wadley one of the most versatile and valuable performers in the NEC this season. He became the first wide receiver to garner the Offensive Player of the Year honor since Saint Francis U’s Kamron Lewis in 2016, but simply calling Wadley a wideout does not paint the full picture.
  
Wadley currently leads the nation in two special teams categories, and is third in another. He ranks first with three kick returns for touchdowns and an astronomical 37.9 yards per return, while his 645 kickoff return yards, which are the most by a conference player in nearly half a decade, are good for third in the FCS. Three of the longest kickoff returns on the FCS charts this season have Wadley’s name inked next to them, as he is the only specialist in the entire nation to have three returns of 90-or-more yards. All of those returns went for touchdowns, including a 90-yard score against LIU (Oct. 21), a 94-yard haul to the end zone against Wagner (Sept. 23) and a 95-yard house call against UMass (Nov. 4).

Wadley did it all for an explosive Merrimack offense. Shredding defenses to the tune of 26 catches for 471 yards and five touchdowns, he showcased his versatility by rushing for 216 yarsd and three scores. The 5-foot-9 Garden State product ranked in the NEC top-10 in receiving yards (8th), touchdowns (t-3rd), yards per catch (18.1, 6th) and yards per game (42.8, 8th).

One year after he made history as LIU’s first-ever major award winner, O'Neill added another entry to the recordbook by becoming the first-ever Shark to secure the NEC Defensive Player of the Year award. A Stats Perform Buck Buchanan Award finalist and preseason All-American, O'Neill was second in the circuit in sacks (5.5 per game) and was first in the NEC in tackles-for-loss (23.5) over the course of the regular season. In addition, his 2.14 tackles-for-loss per contest are good for second overall on the FCS leaderboard. The 6-foot-3 defensive lineman was also credited with 80 tackles, one forced fumble, seven quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and one interception.
 
The Staten Island native made a plethora of noteworthy plays against prime competition. He opened the season by making 3.5 tackles-for-loss at FBS opponent Ohio University, which finished second in the East Division of the MAC, before he contributed 2.0 tackles-for-loss at FBS member Baylor. In more than half of his NEC appearances, O’Neill produced 2.0-or-more tackles-for-loss, including a league-leading 4.5 against Merrimack, the top offense in the circuit.