FCS Football Central names Larison, Hastings, Meyer & Rex Connors All-Americans

This story was initially published by UC Davis Athletics

Already named Stats Perform FCS All-Americans, UC Davis football’s Walter Payton Award finalists seniors Lan Larison and Miles Hastings, along with Buck Buchanan Award finalist redshirt junior David Meyer and defensive back Rex Connors added another All-American award to the trophy case after earning the honors from FCS Football Central.

Larison (all-purpose) and Meyer (linebacker) earned first team nods while Hastings (quarterback) and Connors (defensive back) were named to the second team.

The Aggie running back led the nation in all-purpose yards finishing with 2,387 all-purpose yards. His 847 receiving yards and 62 receptions led all running backs in the country and he finished third in the nation with 1,465 rushing yards. Larison also found the endzone 23 times, second-most in the country, crossing the goal line 17 times on the ground (sixth in the nation) and six times through the air (first among running backs in the nation).

🇺🇸 ALL-AMERICAN 𝘈𝘎𝘎𝘐𝘌𝘚 🇺🇸

Lan Larison – 1️⃣st team (All-Purpose)
David Meyer – 1️⃣st team (Linebacker)
Miles Hastings – 2️⃣nd team (Quarterback)
Rex Connors – 2️⃣nd team (Defensive Back)

📰 – https://t.co/WLmztaDnPN#GoAgs | #Shredville pic.twitter.com/TvnRrev64v

— UC Davis Football (@UCDfootball) December 19, 2024

During the season the preseason All-American earned multiple Big Sky and national player of the week awards, he was named first team All-Big Sky Conference and this marks the second-straight season Larison has earned postseason All-American honors.

In only 11 games played, the first team All-Big Sky conference honoree made his presence felt on each snap racking up an impressive 115 total tackles, setting a program record with 74 solo tackles in the season. Connors added six pass break ups, snagging a pair of interceptions and he had at least 11 tackles in six games and had a team-high 16 total tackles in the Aggies NCAA Division I Championship Quarterfinal game at No. 4 South Dakota.

He finished seventh in the nation in total tackles per game (10.5) and led the nation in solo tackles per game, averaging 6.7 over 11 games. And three times during the season, the Aggie defensive back and first time All-American had at least 10 solo tackles in a game, including back-to-back games of 11 solo tackles (vs. Idaho) and 10 solo tackles at Portland State.

The team leader in tackles with 122, Meyer made the trip up from Cal Poly via graduate transfer and his impact was felt immediately among the Aggie linebacking corps. His 122 total tackles ranks him second all-time in program history, and he comes only the fourth Aggie in history to reach the century mark in total tackles during a single season.

Meyer originally set the solo tackles record, setting the record and holding it for one game after getting his 64th solo tackle of the season against No. 12 Illinois State in the second round of the NCAA Division I Championships. But he was passed, by just one solo tackle, by teammate Rex Connors who wrestled the record away from his teammate in the Aggies quarterfinal match up at No. 4 South Dakota.

He finished 11th in the nation in solo tackles per game (6.7) and his 8.7 tackles per game ranked him 30th among the nation’s best. The Aggie linebacker was named first team All-Big Sky Conference, earned a pair of Big Sky defensive player of the week honors and a national defensive player of the week nod following his performance against Northern Colorado.

Becoming the first Aggie quarterback in program history to throw for over 4,000 yards, Hastings set program records in yards thrown and passing touchdowns and he earned second team All-Big Sky conference honors. He finished with 4,493 passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, going 367-for-521 to finish with a completion percentage of 70.4, the second-best single-season number in program history with at least 250 passing attempts.

His numbers placed him first in the nation in passing yards and passing touchdowns and he finished second in completions per game (26.2) and third in completion percentage. Over the final 10 games, Hastings threw at least three touchdown passes, he twice threw for over 400 yards and twice had four touchdown passes in a game.

More on UC Davis football

A memorable and historic season of UC Davis football ended over the weekend as the Aggies fell short of defeating South Dakota in the FCS Playoff quarterfinals.

UC Davis head coach Tim Plough joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross to recap the tough loss, share his thoughts on the Aggies’ 11-win season, look ahead to the future of the program, and much more.

Be sure to check out the entire interview with UC Davis head coach Tim Plough on the Sactown Sports 1140 YouTube page.

UC Davis head coach Tim Plough reflects on a memorable 2024 season

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