University of Delaware Athletics
Pair of Blue Hens Named Stats Perform All-Americans
12/20/2022 11:50:00 AM | Football
NEWARK, Del. – The postseason honors keep rolling in for University of Delaware football student-athletes Johnny Buchanan and Kedrick Whitehead. For the second time in as many weeks, the duo earned All-America recognition as they were named 2022 Stats Perform FCS All-Americans. Buchanan, who has received three All-American accolades this postseason, was selected to the first team, while Whitehead earned a second team nod.
Buchanan, who was also named a HERO Sports All-American and was selected to the AP All-America First Team last week, had a fantastic 2022 season, leading all of FCS with 150 total tackles. The All-CAA First Team selection tied for second on the Delaware defense with 8.5 TFL and also added 1.5 sacks along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He tied a program record in the season opener as he registered 23 tackles in UD's 14-7 win at Navy. In 13 games in 2022, Buchanan had eight games with at least 10 tackles and five games with at least 15 takedowns.
A finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the best defensive player in FCS, Buchanan finished just three tackles shy of tying the Delaware single-season record and ends his career ranked 11th in the UD record books with 327 total tackles. The Brick, New Jersey native was twice named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week this season and earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors after his 23-tackle performance at Navy.
Whitehead, who was an AP All-America Third Team selection a week ago, earns his seventh career All-America honor. The Middletown, Delaware native had a very strong finish to his UD career, receiving his fourth All-CAA recognition and third-straight nod to the first team in 2022 after ranking third on the team with 73 tackles to go along with 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks and five pass breakups. A force in the takeaway department, Whitehead tied for the team lead with two interceptions while also forcing a fumble and recovering another.
Named to the Buck Buchanan Watch List in the preseason, Whitehead has now earned All-America honors in four-consecutive seasons. Along with this year's two selections, he was named to the Stats Perform FCS All-American Third Team following the 2021 season after being named a Stats Perform, AP and Athlon Sports First Team All-American following the 2020-21 Spring campaign and a HERO Sports Sophomore All-American in 2019.
The Blue Hens finished the 2022 season, the first of the Ryan Carty era, with an 8-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the CAA. Delaware opened the year with its 16th all-time win over an FBS program and ended the season with its 18th appearance in the FCS Championship. UD defeated Saint Francis (Pa.) in the first round, 56-17, before falling to No. 1 seed South Dakota State in the second round.
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