Northwest Notes Dec. 9, 2022

Five Vandals earn All-American honors from Hero Sports

Hayden Hatten was named a first team All-American and four other Idaho players were honored by Hero Sports.

Hatten, who led the FCS and broke the Idaho program record with 16 receiving touchdowns during the 2022 season, also racked up 1,209 receiving yards despite missing a game.

He had seven games with more than 100 yards receiving and tied a school record with four touchdowns against Eastern Washington. He had nine catches for 209 yards in Idaho's first-round playoff loss against Southeastern Louisiana.

Hatten was also named a Sophomore All-American by Hero Sports. Joining Hatten on the sophomore squad was cornerback Marcus Harris. Harris tallied two interceptions, including a pick-six against Idaho State and returned a fumble for a touchdown against Washington State. He had 55 total tackles on the year, including 2.5 tackles for loss. He also tallied 12 passes defended and blocked a PAT.

Three freshmen — Gevani McCoy, Anthony Woods and Ayden Knapik — were named Hero Sports Freshmen All-Americans.

McCoy was named the Jerry Rice Award winner Wednesday, the award for the FCS national freshman of the year. He threw for 27 touchdowns and 2,721 yards despite missing a game against Idaho State. He broke the Idaho single-season completion percentage record going 203-297 for 68.4%.

Woods, a true freshman running back was named second-team All-Big Sky after rushing for 880 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry and rushed for more than 100 yards against Portland State and Idaho State.

Knapik played in eight games as the starting right tackle. He made his first start against Drake and never gave up the starting job.