Senior All-American recognized for charitable involvement and community service contributions
EASTON, Mass. (July 17, 2014) – Stonehill College senior All-America linebacker Brian Harrington (Rockland, Massachusetts/Rockland) has been named one of a record 182 nominees for the 2014 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team, which recognizes players whose charitable involvement and community service contributions stand out among all other student-athletes participating in the sport.
Harrington, a Don Hansen Second Team All-American and finalist for the inaugural Cliff Harris Award who earned the Joseph P. Zabilski Defensive Player of the Year award from the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston following a breakout 2013 season, is one of 93 nominees from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA, from which 11 student-athletes will be selected to one of two Good Works Teams. Harrington is one of two nominees from the Northeast-10 Conference and is the first nominee from Stonehill College.
Harrington regularly contributes his time back in his hometown coaching seventh and eighth graders in youth football and also working as a counselor for grades 3-8 at Dogs Youth Football Camp and Gridiron Elite Football Camp in Hanover, Massachusetts. He is a Spanish tutor for high school aged students at Rockland Library, works with Brockton's Extended Day Program and is active in the Stonehill football program's involvement with Team IMPACT. Harrington runs a training program at GutCheck Gym in Rockland for grades 5 through 8 and has also volunteered at Stonehill Sports Day.
Harrington will look to build off his breakthrough and record breaking 2013 season in which he also collected honorable mention All-America honors from Beyond Sports Network and was named to both the Don Hansen and Daktronics All-Super Region 1 first teams. He earned New England Football Writers College Division All-New England and first team All-Northeast-10 Conference honors and was named D2Football.com's Defensive Player of the Year for the NE-10.
Harrington, a four-time NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week in 2013, led the Conference with a league and program record 151 tackles, which ranked fourth nationally and is the 11th-highest single-season total in Division II history. He posted double-figure tackles in ten of Stonehill's 11 games and had 16 or more stops in six games. Harrington registered a career-high 17 tackles in an overtime win at Assumption College on September 20 and matched in the NE-10 Championship at American International College on November 16. He posted a career-best 11 solo tackles in a win at Southern Connecticut State University on October 12 and matched at AIC in the NE-10 title game.
Harrington led the NE-10 with his 73 solo tackles (6th nationally) and 78 tackle assists to go with 7.0 tackles for a loss of 30 yards, including 2.5 sacks for a loss of 16, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and pass breakup. He was a leading force for a Stonehill defense which finished the season ranked second in the NE-10 for scoring defense (24.3 ppg), third in passing defense (246.8 yds/gm) and forced a league-high 30 turnovers, including a Conference best 14 fumble recoveries, and finished fourth for sacks (21). His 13.7 tackles per game ranked third nationally.
Harrington earned a starting role on the defensive unit after gaining experience as a member of the Stonehill special teams units as a freshman and sophomore, being named the Skyhawks Special Teams Player of the Year by the coaching staff in 2012. He has played 31 games over his career, starting all 11 this season, and has posted 176 career tackles (87 solo). Of his record 151 tackles this season, 105 came against the run, more than double his next teammate. Harrington has earned NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll all six semesters completed at the College and Athletic Director's Honor Roll five semesters.
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Teams® were established in 1992 by the College Football Association, recognizing the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field. AFCA became the governing body of the award in 1997 and continues to honor college football players who go the extra mile for those in need. Allstate worked to present the award starting with the 2008 season.
Stonehill posted its best season in nearly 20 seasons in 2013 with an 8-3 record overall, including an 8-1 mark in the Northeast-10 to earn a share of its first NE-10 regular season championship. The Skyhawks open their 2014 season when they host 2013 NCAA Tournament participants Bloomsburg (Pa.) University at W.B. Mason Stadium on Saturday, September 6, at 1 p.m.
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