Despite a lack of team success, the East Carolina football team has racked up its share of individual honors this season.
Wednesday, senior defensive end Nate Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year for a record-setting performance in which he set a conference record with 24 tackles for losses.
In addition to Harvey, two other Pirates — wide receiver Trevon Brown and placekicker Jake Verity — were also named to the All-AAC first team.
Harvey, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound native of Knightdale, is a converted fullback who came to ECU as an invited walkon after two seasons at Georgia Military College. Be burst onto the scene this season by leading the nation in TFLs and ranking third nationally with 13.5 sacks. With one game still to play, he is just 1.5 sacks shy of the Pirates’ school record of 15 set in 1997 by Rod Coleman and one away from the AAC mark of 14.5 by Louisville’s Marcus Smith in 2013.
His 24 TFLs surpassed the old AAC record of 23, set by Houston’s Ed Oliver.
Brown, a second-team All-AAC selection last year, put together another strong season by leading ECU in six statistical categories, including receptions (71), receiving yards (1,075), and receiving touchdowns (nine). He has amassed 100 or more all-purpose yards six times this season and has scored in six of his last eight games.
Verity, meanwhile, leads the AAC in field goals per game (1.64) and field goal percentage (90.0) while connecting on 18 of his 20 attempts, including a career-long 52-yarder against Memphis. His 38-yard field goal against Old Dominion was the first game-winning kick of his career.
Here is the complete list of AAC postseason awards:
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF (Jr., Kapolei, Hawaii)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nate Harvey, DE, ECU (Sr., Knightdale, N.C.)
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Isaiah Wright, WR/KR, Temple (Jr., West Hartford, Conn.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati (Fr., Louisville, Ky.)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
| Pos. | Player | School | Cl. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown |
| WR | Trevon Brown 2 | ECU | Sr. | 6-2 | 215 | Wilmington, N.C. |
| WR | Marquez Stevenson | Houston | So. | 6-0 | 190 | Shreveport, La. |
| WR | James Proche | SMU | Jr. | 5-11 | 190 | Dallas, Texas |
| OT | Dino Boyd | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-4 | 300 | Newark, N.J. |
| OT | Jake Brown | UCF | Jr. | 6-3 | 305 | Encinitas, Calif. |
| OG | Cole Schneider | UCF | Fr. | 6-4 | 312 | Fort Myers, Fla. |
| OG | Dustin Woodard | Memphis | Jr. | 6-2 | 285 | Chandler, Ariz. |
| C | Jordan Johnson 1 | UCF | Jr. | 6-2 | 320 | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| TE | Mitchell Wilcox | USF | Jr. | 6-5 | 245 | Tarpon Springs, Fla. |
| QB | McKenzie Milton 1 | UCF | Jr. | 5-11 | 185 | Kapolei, Hawaii |
| RB | Darrell Henderson * 2 | Memphis | Jr. | 5-9 | 200 | Batesville, Miss. |
| RB | Ryquell Armstead | Temple | Sr. | 5-11 | 215 | Millville, N.J. |
| DL | Cortez Broughton 2 | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-2 | 290 | Warner Robbins, Ga. |
| DL | Nate Harvey | ECU | Sr. | 6-1 | 225 | Knightdale, N.C. |
| DL | Ed Oliver 1 1 | Houston | Jr. | 6-3 | 292 | Houston, Texas |
| DL | Michael Dogbe | Temple | Gr. | 6-3 | 280 | Morris Plains, N.J. |
| LB | Nate Evans | UCF | Jr. | 6-1 | 241 | Waggaman, La. |
| LB | Perry Young | Cincinnati | Jr. | 5-11 | 215 | Birmingham, Ala. |
| LB | Austin Robinson | Houston | Sr. | 6-3 | 240 | Pearland, Texas |
| LB | Shaun Bradley | Temple | Jr. | 6-1 | 225 | Mt. Holly, N.J. |
| CB | Nevelle Clarke | UCF | Jr. | 6-1 | 187 | Miami, Fla. |
| CB | Rock Ya-Sin | Temple | Sr. | 6-2 | 190 | Decatur, Ga. |
| S | Richie Grant | UCF | So. | 6-0 | 194 | Fort Walton Beach, Fla. |
| S | Delvon Randall 1 | Temple | Sr. | 6-1 | 210 | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| K | Jake Verity | ECU | Jr. | 6-1 | 185 | Bremen, Ga. |
| P | James Smith 1 | Cincinnati | So. | 6-5 | 220 | Wangaratta, Australia |
| RS | John “Pop” Williams | Memphis | Jr. | 5-9 | 172 | Destrehan, La. |
| RS | Isaiah Wright | Temple | Jr. | 6-2 | 220 | West Hartford, Conn. |
* unanimous selection
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
| Pos. | Player | School | Cl. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown |
| WR | Gabriel Davis | UCF | So. | 6-3 | 212 | Sanford, Fla. |
| WR | Damonte Coxie | Memphis | So. | 6-3 | 200 | Reserve, La. |
| WR | Ventell Bryant | Temple | Gr. | 6-3 | 200 | Tampa, Fla. |
| OT | Wyatt Miller 2 | UCF | Sr. | 6-4 | 306 | Douglas, Ga. |
| OT | Trevon Tate 1 | Memphis | Jr. | 6-4 | 295 | Houston, Texas |
| OG | Jovahn Fair | Temple | Jr. | 6-2 | 300 | Akron, Ohio |
| OG | Tyler Bowling 2 2 | Tulsa | Jr. | 6-6 | 325 | Yukon, Okla. |
| C | Garrett Campell | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-5 | 315 | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| TE | Josiah Deguara | Cincinnati | Jr. | 6-3 | 242 | Folsom, Calif. |
| QB | D’Eriq King | Houston | Jr. | 5-11 | 195 | Manvel, Texas |
| RB | Michael Warren II | Cincinnati | So. | 5-11 | 218 | Toledo, Ohio |
| RB | Adrian Killins Jr. 1 | UCF | Jr. | 5-8 | 164 | Daytona Beach, Fla. |
| DL | Titus Davis | UCF | Sr. | 6-3 | 250 | Atlanta, Ga. |
| DL | Marquise Copeland 2 | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-3 | 290 | Cleveland, Ohio |
| DL | Brendon Hayes | UCF | Jr. | 6-3 | 293 | New Orleans, La. |
| DL | Kimoni Fitz | Cincinnati | Sr. | 6-3 | 257 | Ringgold, Va. |
| DL | Patrick Johnson | Tulane | So. | 6-3 | 255 | Chattanooga, Tenn. |
| LB | Pat Jasinski | UCF | Sr. | 6-1 | 236 | Roswell, Ga. |
| LB | Bryce Huff | Memphis | Jr. | 6-3 | 245 | Mobile, Ala. |
| LB | Khalid McGee | USF | Sr. | 5-10 | 213 | Miami, Fla. |
| LB | Zachery Harris | Tulane | Sr. | 6-0 | 220 | New Orleans, La. |
| CB | T.J. Carter 2 | Memphis | So. | 5-11 | 180 | Nashville, Tenn. |
| CB | Donnie Lewis Jr. H | Tulane | Sr. | 6-0 | 195 | Baton Rouge, La. |
| S | James Wiggins | Cincinnati | So. | 6-0 | 202 | Homestead, Fla. |
| S | Roderic Teamer Jr. | Tulane | Sr. | 6-0 | 205 | New Orleans, La. |
| K | Matthew Wright 2 | UCF | Sr. | 6-0 | 179 | Lancaster, Pa. |
| P | Thomas Bennett | Tulsa | Jr. | 6-3 | 180 | Carlsbad, Calif. |
| RS | Adrian Killins Jr. | UCF | Jr. | 5-8 | 164 | Daytona Beach, Fla. |
