So, here are (in jersey number order), the 2016 seniors of Leatherneck Football:
#1 WR Joey Borsellino
Borsellino’s name will probably always be paired with Lance Lenior’s as the best receiving duo in Leatherneck history, but while Lenoir’s name is going to finish at the top of many of the WIU receiving record books, Joey by himself is still one of the most productive WIU WRs in the history of Leatherneck football, starting in 2013 as a true freshman, and playing all 48 games over his entire 4 years. Borsellino is a Marketing major.
- 62 receptions in 2015, 7th best season in WIU History
- 182 career receptions, #2 in WIU History
- Caught at least 1 pass in 34 straight games
- 2,363 career receiving yards, #3 in WIU History and 16th in MVFC history
- 5 100+ yard games, tied for 8th in WIU history
- 13 career TDs, tied for 8th in WIU history
- Had a career high 187 yards receiving against Indiana State on November 14th, 2015
Gilmore came to Western this season as a grad transfer from Temple University. Played in 10 of 11 games this season, accruing 157 rushing yards and 5 rushing TDs, as well as 193 receiving yards and 2 receiving TDs. He also handled a few kick/punt return duties occasionally. He had a season-high 2 rushing TDs in the game at Missouri State. Gilmore graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Temple last year.
#7 WR Lance Lenoir
The other half of the top receiving duo in Western history, like Borsellino, Lenoir started as a true freshman in 2013 and played all 48 games through his 4 years. Lenoir, a LEJA major, finishes his Leatherneck career as the most productive receiver in the history of Leatherneck football.
- Caught at least one pass in 41 straight games, a WIU record
- Holds the #1, #4, and #7 spots for receiving yards in a season at Western, and the #12 spot on the same list for the MVFC
- Holds the #3, #4, and tied for #7 marks for receiving yards per game in a season in WIU history
- 3,796 receiving yards in his career, #1 in WIU history (and 1,370 ahead of #2) and will be #3 for career receiving yards in MVFC history
- 28 receiving TDs (7 every year that he played) is #1 in WIU history, 7 ahead of #2, and tied for #7 in MVFC history
- 273 total career receptions, #1 in WIU and MVFC history, #14 in FCS/I-AA history
- 14 100+ yard games, #1 in WIU history
- 2 200+ yard games (both in 2016), tied for #1 both in a season and in a career
- 79.08 yards per game career average is #2 in WIU history
- The only receiver since ‘81 (they don’t list prior to then, so I don’t know how far back this goes) to lead the team in receiving yards all 4 years of his career.
- Had a career high of 231 receiving yards against Northern Arizona on 9/10/16
Redshirted in 2012 and then played 2013-2016, Williams has a total of 394 receiving yards on 31 receptions. His season-high was 325 yards in 2015 (25 yards per game), and his high for a game was 82 yards against Illinois State on 10/24/15. His career best for receptions was 6 against Indiana State on 11/14/15. Played in a total of 38 games in his Leatherneck career.
#14 QB Trenton Norvell
Norvell began his collegiate football career at Cincinnati, redshirting in 2012. He transferred to Western and started as a redshirt freshman in 2013 as well as his sophomore and junior years, 2014 and 2015. Despite losing the starting QB job his senior year, to his credit, Norvell decided to stick it out at Western, contributing during the SDSU game this season. Because of his performance over his first 3 years, Norvell is near the top of many WIU QB records.
- Has the #5 spot for yards in a season with 2,891 yards in 2014
- #3 for most TDs in a season with 24 in 2014
- 7,187 career passing yards is #2 in WIU history and 15th in MVFC history
- 216.0 passing yards per game career average is #1 in WIU history (the only time a WIU QB has passed for 200+ ypg his entire career)
- 582 completions and 1,061 attempts are both #2 in WIU history
- 53 passing TDs is #2 in WIU history
- Career-high yards in a game, 370 at Coastal Carolina on 9/19/15
- Career-high TDs in a game, 5 at South Dakota (11/8/14)
- Norvell graduated last May with a Bachelor of Business degree in Marketing
Devon, a Business Engineering Technology major, redshirted in 2012 and was on the active roster from 2013-2016. He had 713 rushing yards in his career on 183 attempts. Moore’s career high yardage game was 98 against South Dakota on 11/8/14 and he had 2 TDs in a game against Eastern Illinois on 9/3/15.
#33 K/P Nathan Knuffman
Redshirted in 2012, Knuffman handled mostly FGs and punting throughout his four years at Western, playing in all 48 games during that time. Knuffman had 37 made field goals in his career (#5 in the WIU record books), with a long of 43 twice. Knuffman’s 142 successful XPs is 3rd in Western history, and total kick scoring of 253 points is the 4th best for WIU. In his punting, Knuffman had a total of 230 punts for a total of 8,650 yards for a career average of 37.6 yards per punt (10th in WIU history). Knuffman also handled kickoffs in his first 2 ½ years, kicking 110 times for 6549 total yards (59.5 yards per kick average). Nathan Knuffman is in the process of completing his Master’s degree in Exercise Science.
#65 OL Andrew Nichols
Andrew Nichols played his first two years at Highland Community College (KS) before transferring to Western as a Junior in 2015. He played in 6 games in 2015 and all 11 games in 2016, starting in the final two games this season and contributed to a 2016 offense that ranked 2nd in the conference at sacks allowed and in the top 25 of the FCS in tackles for loss allowed. His personal highlight was getting to play four different line positions (LG, C, RG, and RT) in the South Dakota State Game. Andrew is on track to graduate in May with a degree in Accounting and hopes to get a Grad Assistant position that would allow him to coach at some level in the future.
#73 OL Matt Zobrist
Matt Zobrist was redshirted in 2012 and was an active member of the team from 2013-2016. He was a member of the MVFC Academic Honor Roll his R-Freshman season and was Honorable Mention All-Conference his sophomore year, starting all 12 games at tackle. His junior year he started all 13 games, 11 at right tackles and 2 at right guard, and his senior year he started all 11 games and contributed to a 2016 offense that ranked 2nd in the conference at sacks allowed and in the top 25 of the FCS in tackles for loss allowed. Zobrist was named MVFC O-Lineman of the Week following the Week 3 win over Northern Illinois this season. Matt graduated last May with a Bachelor of Business degree in Accountancy.
#79 OL Nick Ziegenbein
Ziegenbein is Broadcasting major who was part of the “AZ connection” that brought quite a few decent players to Western. He began his career with two years at Glendale CC in Glendale, AZ and helped them win the 2012 Valley of the Sun Bowl. He came to Western as a Junior, and was redshirted his first year here (2014) and named to the MVFC Academic Honor Roll. His first playing year was 2015 where he played in 8 games as OT and on special teams. In 2016 he saw playing time in two games.
#96 DL Steve Mercado
Mercado only spent one year with the Leathernecks, but contributed significantly in his time here. He spent four years with the Lafayette University football program, playing in 24 games and recording 56 tackles, 5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Lafayette. Because of that (NCAA grad transfer rules), he was able to transfer to another FCS school without having to sit out a season, and was able to play his final year of eligibility for the Leathernecks. In his time here, he had 21 total tackles including 2.5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and fumble recovery, 1 interception, and 1 QB hurry. His one interception was on a tipped pass and was a critical one in the 3rd quarter of the game at Northern Illinois, which set up WIU’s final TD of the game (and as you might remember, we needed those extra points). Mercado had a season-high of 6 tackles against Indiana State this year.
#90 Jean-Marc Charles
I also wanted to make sure to recognize Jean-Marc Charles. An Exercise Science major who graduated last May, Charles was frequently plagued by injuries in his time here. His freshman year was 2012, where he played in 11 games finishing with 14 tackles and a fumble recovery, and had his career high of 4 tackles against Northern Iowa that year. In 2013, he played in the first 3 games of the season and had 4 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and an interception, but was unable to play the rest of the season due to injury. After receiving a medical waiver he was again considered a “sophomore” in 2014, where he played in 8 games and had 4 tackles including 1 sack, a forced fumble and recovery. The sack and fumble were both against Northwestern University. In 2015 he was unable to play due to an offseason injury, and in 2016 it was announced that his injuries would prevent him from finishing out his football playing eligibility. He spent the 2016 season assisting the equipment staff for the team.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin