DAVIS, Calif. -- Senior punter
Daniel Whelan and junior cornerback
Jordan Perryman made the first team and third team, respectively, to represent UC Davis on the Phil Steele All-America teams, the Big Sky Conference announced on Thursday. The magazine, which assembles the team in collaboration with draftscout.com, included 15 players from the Big Sky, including the two Aggies.
This is now the fourth spring 2021 All-America award for Whelan, who previously earned first-team honors from Stats Perform, the AFCA and HERO Sports. Only Keelan Doss, who won six in 2018 and seven in 2017, has enjoyed larger single-season, first-team hauls in school history.
Whelan averaged 47.9 yards per punt, leading the Big Sky Conference but falling one punt shy of qualifying of topping the NCAA FCS leaderboard – the national stats leaders require 3.6 punts per game, while Whelan had 17 attempts in five contests. The fourth-year sustainable environmental design major also had seven punts of 50 or more yards, eight attempts that pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line, and seven more resulting in fair catches. Thanks to Whelan, UC Davis led the nation with a 43.47 net punting average, with opponents managing just 56 return yards for the year.
Perryman, a human development major from Hanford, California, totaled 16 tackles and two breakups and a forced fumble in five games. He ranked 11th on the Aggies in tackles, and fifth among UC Davis defensive backs. Perryman previously garnered first-team All-Big Sky Conference honors alongside Whelan and four other Aggies.
UC Davis went 3-2 in the shortened 2021 spring Big Sky season, ranking 14th in the final Stats Perform media poll and 16th in the AFCA poll.
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