(WESTERVILLE, Ohio) – The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) announced their 2023 All-Conference teams today and the Quakers had six players and one coach recognized.
Wilmington's offensive coordinator Hayden Thomas was named the OAC's Assistant Coach of the Year, while senior wide receiver Lathan Jones was named All-OAC First Team Offense. Junior wide receiver Saa'lih Muhammed, senior quarterback Derek Larimer, and sophomore running back Nehemiah Jenkins were all named All-OAC Second Team Offense. Senior H-back Kaleb Easley and senior offensive lineman Steven Salyer were both All-OAC Honorable Mention. This was the first All-Conference honor for all six players during their Quakers careers, along with Thomas being named Assistant Coach of the Year for the first time.
Thomas led the Quakers to a great year offensively. He helped the Quakers to the second most passing touchdowns in the conference with 36. The team ranked third in the OAC in total offense (4,076 yards), yards per game (407.6), passing yards per game (251.8), and passing yards (2,518). The team was fourth in the conference in points (318), and points per game (31.8). He is the first coach since the spring of 2021 (COVID Season) to be named OAC Assistant Coach of the Year, where Corey Fillipovich, the now head coach of the Quakers earned the honor.
Lathan Jones led the conference with 97.1 receiving yards per game and was second with 13 receiving touchdowns. His 13 receiving touchdowns tie for third in program history for a single season. He was also second with 971 receiving yards, 51 receptions, 5.1 receptions per game, and an average of 19 yards per catch. He tied for third in the OAC with a long reception of 78 yards. He had four games this season with 145 or more receiving yards and had three touchdowns against The College of Wooster (Sep. 2), Baldwin Wallace University (Sep. 9), and Muskingum University (Nov. 4). He became the first Quaker since 2019 to be named to the First Team on either offense or defense.
Saa'lih Muhammed was ninth in the conference with 518 receiving yards, tied for ninth with five receiving touchdowns, and tied for seventh with 39 receptions. He had two games with 136 or more receiving yards and scored a pair of touchdowns against Muskingum.
Derek Larimer led the conference and broke the Quakers program record with 36 passing touchdowns this season. He threw for an insane program record nine touchdowns against Muskingum, which tied the OAC record for single game passing touchdowns. He was second in the OAC in passing yards (2,482), and completions (198), while leading the conference with 345 passing attempts. He threw for 302 or more yards in three games this season and threw for five or more touchdowns in four games.
Nehemiah Jenkins was third in the conference in rushing yards with 979, rushing attempts with 218, yards per game with 97.9, and was fifth with a long rush of 67 yards. Jenkins rushed for 118 or more yards in four games this season. He scored a pair of touchdowns at Otterbein University on Sep. 16.
Kaleb Easley scored six touchdowns for the Quakers this season and was a great go-to player for Larimer, as he was third on the team in points with 36. He rushed three times for six yards and a touchdown and caught 27 passes for 179 yards and five touchdowns. He was also solid on special teams, making 13 total tackles (six solo, seven assisted).
Left tackle Steven Salyer was great for the Quakers. He helped block for one of the best offenses in the OAC, an offense that threw for 2,518 yards and rushed for 1,558 yards. As mentioned, earlier, their 4,076 yards of total offense was third in the conference.
The Quakers finished the season with a 3-7 overall record.
