Lyburtus Leads Eagle All-Conference Honorees As Special Teams Player Of The Year

Senior wide receiver Dezmin Lyburtus hasn't been in the Ashland University football program very long, but his impact has been immediate and wide-ranging.
 
Lyburtus' contributions on kickoff returns led to his being named the 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Year on Thursday (Nov. 16) afternoon, as the conference's season-ending football awards were revealed.
 
The No. 10 kickoff returner in NCAA Division II, Lyburtus finished the regular season averaging 27.7 yards on 18 returns, including a 90-yard touchdown at Ohio Dominican on Sept. 30. That average is the best for an Eagle in a single season since Anthony Capasso's average of 30.7 in 2010.
 
Lyburtus also is one of four first-team All-Great Midwest Eagles, along with three more seniors – tailback Larry Martin, left guard Nehemiah Cannon and linebacker Jackson Myers.
 

• Lyburtus also caught 66 passes for 780 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season, and added 47 yards and a touchdown rushing. His 1,325 all-purpose yards are the most for an Eagle since Gei'vonni Washington's 1,453 in 2019, and his reception total ranks No. 5 in program history.
• Martin has 903 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing with a 5.4-yard average this season, to go with two catches for 14 yards. The 13 rushing scores are tied for the third-most in Ashland football history.
• Cannon led an Eagle offensive line which tied for the second-fewest sacks allowed in D-II in 2023 (six), and he didn't allow a sack all season.
• Myers paced the AU defense in total tackles (71), solo tackles (44), tackles for loss (15½), and sacks (6½), and added an interception for a touchdown and a fumble recovery.

Six Ashland players were lauded as second-team all-conference performers:

• Sophomore center Ethan Enders and sophomore left tackle Nick Walker each were key cogs in an AU offensive line which led the team to average 31.0 points and 358.0 yards per game.
• Junior cornerback Devin Prude collected 25 total tackles (18 solo), one tackle for loss, one interception and four pass breakups during the regular season.
• Sophomore defensive end Michael Shimek has 30 total tackles (14 solo), seven tackles for loss, 4½ sacks, one fumble recovery and two blocked kicks in 2023.
• Junior safety Riely Weiss racked up 51 total tackles (29 solo), 2½ tackles for loss and one interception during the regular year.
• Sophomore kicker A.J. Rhodes is second on the team in points with 64 – 40 extra points and eight field goals – and has six touchbacks on kickoffs.

Ashland (8-3) will take a seven-game winning streak into the 2023 America's Crossroads Bowl on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central at Hammond Central High School in Hammond, Ind., against McKendree (5-5).