The Hobart College football team had 12 players earn 14 awards when the 2023 All-Liberty League teams were announced this afternoon. In a vote of the league's coaches, five Statesmen were elected to the first team, four earned a spot on the second team and five were All-Liberty League honorable mention.
 
Two Statesmen earned two spots on the teams at two positions. Senior Rayshawn Boswell was the first team pick for athlete and second team return specialist. Junior Tobias Wefering was recognized as the second team punter and honorable mention placekicker.
 
Hobart's other first team picks were senior cornerback Abdoulaye Diallo, senior defensive end Connor Gunn, junior linebacker Jaimen Bliss and junior left guard Ethan Kowalski.
 
Junior defensive end Alex Karpawich and junior linebacker Anthony Romano also received second team accolades.
 
Senior running back Tim Denham Jr., sophomore linebacker Mike McGhee, sophomore left tackle Ashton Mejias and sophomore cornerback Mekhi Rodgers garnered honorable mention.
 
Boswell earned first team honors for the fourth consecutive season. He was also the first team athlete as a first-year. This season, Boswell contributed a team-high 1,156 all purpose yards, more than twice as many yards as his nearest teammate. After rushing for 96 yards and two touchdowns at Alfred, Boswell broke loose for a career-high 147 yards and two TDs against Morrisville State, earning a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week. Despite ranking seventh in the Liberty League in carries (127), Boswell is second in rushing touchdowns (12) and sixth in rushing yards (612). He leads the Statesmen in receptions with 22 and in kickoff return average (25.0 y/r).
 
In 42 career games, Boswell has 400 carries for 2,320 yards and 37 touchdowns, 80 receptions for 933 yards and four touchdowns, and a 29.8 yards per kickoff return average with three TDs. On Hobart's all-time lists, he ranks 12th in rushing yards, fifth in rushing touchdowns, fourth in yards per carry (5.8), 18th in receptions, fifth in all purpose yards (4,575), fifth in points scored (266), fifth in total touchdowns (44) and first in kickoff return yards (1,187) and kick returns for touchdowns (3).
 
Wefering leads the Liberty League in punting average at 41.0, highest percentage of punts inside the opponent's 20 (42.4%, 14-of-33 punts inside the opponent's 20) and most punts traveling 50 or more yards, eight, including a season-long 59 yarder at Union. He also led the conference in field goal percentage, going 9-of-12 this season. Wefering booted a season-long 42-yarder at Union. His nine field goals made this season are tied for fifth on Hobart's single season list. The season record is 12. Wefering also went 39-of-41 on PATs and is the second highest scoring kicker in the league (6.6 ppg).
 
In 32 career games, Wefering is 77-of-83 on PATs, 17-of-27 on field goals and averaging 38.4 yards per punt. Last season, he was All-Liberty League honorable mention as a placekicker.
 
Earning his first all-conference award, Diallo played in nine games this season, recording a career-high 29 tackles. He also had six passes defended and scored a touchdown in the win at Alfred, scooping up a fumble and racing 44 yards to the end zone. Diallo recorded a season-high seven tackles at Union.
 
In 30 career games, Diallo has produced 48 tackles, 18 pass breakups and an interception and a fumble recovery. An exceptional scholar, he is a four-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree, a two-time Arthur Ashe Jr Sports Scholar and a semifinalist for the 2023 Campbell Trophy, college football's academic Heisman Award.
 
The Liberty League leader in sacks, Gunn counted 4.5 quarterback takedowns among his 28 tackles this season. He also contributed three pass breakups and forced a fumble. Gunn logged a season-high five tackles, including two sacks, in Hobart's win over Rensselaer.
 
In 28 career appearances, Gunn has 59 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
 
Bliss earns his second all-league award, making the jump from honorable mention in 2022 to the first team this year. A three-year starter, he is second on the team with 66 tackles and 3.5 sacks this season. Bliss ranks third on the team with six tackles for loss. He earned Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week honors after notching seven tackles, including 1.5 sacks, against RPI. Bliss posted a career-high 12 tackles in the win over Keystone and also hit double figures with 10 stops at Union.
 
In 31 career games, Bliss has amassed 155 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.
 
Kowalski and Mejias formed the nucleus of an offensive line that began the season largely untested, but emerged as a team strength. Hobart is 15th in the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.7/g), 19th in sacks allowed (0.8/g) and 26th in fourth down conversion (62.5%). The Statesmen offense is averaging 351.1 yards per game, including 190.1 yards rushing. Hobart leads the Liberty League in red zone offense, scoring on 81.8% of its trips inside the opponent's 20.
 
A two-time all-league pick, Karpawich has 35 tackles, a team-leading seven tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks in nine games. He logged a season-high six tackles three times this year, including six stops with two for loss at nationally-ranked Ithaca.
 
In 29 career games, Karpawich has 85 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries.
 
A two-time all-conference selection, Romano leads Hobart with 71 tackles to go with 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass breakups, a fumble recovery and an interception. He has three games this season with 10 or more tackles, including a season-high 13 at Ithaca.
 
Through 32 career games, Romano has 180 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, four interceptions, four pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
 
A four-time all-league honoree, Denham is second on the team in rushing yards (493) and rushing touchdowns (6) despite missing three games due to injury. In his first game back from injury, he ran for 73 yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries against St. Lawrence. The following week, Denham notched his ninth career 100-yard game, finishing with 100 yards exactly on a season-high 27 carries.
 
In 40 career games, Denham has 555 carries for 2,692 yards and 31 touchdowns, 50 receptions for 320 yards and four TDs and 27 kickoff returns for 613 yards and two touchdowns. On Hobart's all-time lists, he ranks ninth in rushing yards, eighth in carries, ninth in rushing TDs, ninth in all purpose yards (3,625), seventh in points (222), seventh in total touchdowns (37) and second in kickoff returns for touchdowns (2).
 
In his first season as a full-time starter, McGhee has 37 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries (3rd on Hobart's single season list), four pass breakups and an interception. Hobart ranks 10th in the nation in defensive touchdowns with four and McGhee has scored two of them. He had a 31-yard scoop and score against Buffalo State and a 48-yard scoop and score last week at Rochester.
 
In 20 career games, McGhee has 68 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, four fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and an interception.
 
Rodgers has 20 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions this season. He recorded a season-high four stops at Union and matched that total last week at Rochester.
 
Through 18 games, Rodgers has 29 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, and three interceptions.
 
Hobart finished the regular season with an 8-2 record. The Statesmen went 4-2 in Liberty League play finishing third in the standings behind NCAA playoff teams Ithaca and Union. Hobart earned its fourth consecutive bowl bid and will host Utica (8-2) in the ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl Saturday, Nov. 18. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.