CAA Football Official Release

RICHMOND, Va. - Senior offensive lineman Jake Prus (Woodstown, N.J.) was named the CAA Football Student-Athlete of the Year and Villanova had 42 student-athletes named to the CAA Football All-Academic Team in an announcement by the conference office on Wednesday morning. This is the second straight year and the fourth time in the last nine seasons that a Wildcats student-athlete has been the Student-Athlete of the Year, while the 42 selections for Villanova to the All-Academic Team are a league-high.

Prus has received two major conference awards in the past few months. Prior to being named the CAA Football Student-Athlete of the Year, he was chosen by the league's athletic directors for the Chuck Boone Leadership Award at the close of the 2015 regular season. The award recognizes the player who best embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity, teamwork and sportsmanship in academics and athletics.

This is the second straight year that Prus has been named to the CAA All-Academic Team. He was also named to the Capital One Academic All-District squad for the second straight season and earned a spot on the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team. Prus is on a pre-med track and will complete is undergraduate degree in Biochemistry this spring. He has a 3.83 grade-point average in addition to being a key performer on the field.

Prus took time out of the 2015 football season to save the life of a patient in need by donating peripheral blood stem cells through the National Marrow Donor Program. He was identified as a match for a patient after joining the worldwide registry of potential bone marrow donors during his freshman year at Villanova. He initially found out that he was a match for a patient in June 2015, but he was contacted again during preseason camp when the patient became healthy enough to receive the donation. Prus began taking medication five days before the donation and normal side effects from that medication required him to miss time during the football season.

He returned to action after missing just one game and wound up playing in 10 of the 11 contests during the season. Prus was part of a Wildcats offensive line that enabled Villanova to average 185.8 rushing yards and a total of 363.5 yards of total offense per game. The team surpassed 200 rushing yards in a game give times during the 2015 campaign, including in three of the season's final four games.

In order to be eligible for the CAA Football All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative 3.0 grade-point average. In previous years, student-athletes had to meet both the minimum GPA requirement and be a significant contributor on the field.

Below is the full list of the Wildcats selections to the CAA Football All-Academic Team.

CAA Football Student-Athlete of the Year: Jake Prus, Villanova

CAA Football All-Academic Team Members

Name                  Position    Class   Hometown/High School                          MajorRyan Bell             TE          So.     Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge                     FinanceGeorge Benakis        OL          Sr.     Toronto, Ontario/Bridgeton Acad               FinanceSimon Bingelis        TE          Fr.     Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.                        Liberal ArtsJackson Bradley       QB          Fr.     St. John's, Fla./Bishop Kenny                 Liberal ArtsChris Buchalski       OL          R-Fr.   Sound Beach, N.Y./Miller Place                FinancePeter Burkly          QB          Jr.     Boonton Twp., N.J./Seton Hall Prep            FinanceChris Burley          WR          Sr.     Dover, Ohio/Tuscarawas Catholic               PsychologyBrandon Chadbourn     WR          Fr.     Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle                 Liberal ArtsDon Cherry            LB          Sr.     Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull                      FinanceTravis Clark          LB          Jr.     Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair-Haven                SociologyAlex Coren            OL          So.     Lake Worth, Fla./Palm Beach Central           Liberal ArtsAnthony DeCamillo     WR          Sr.     Bentleyville, Ohio/Chagrin Falls              EngineeringMatt Donoghue         OL          So.     Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley              EconomicsBen Evans             LB          Fr.     Fallston, Md./Loyola Blakefield               Liberal ArtsJonathan Green        OL          Sr.     Ashland, Pa./North Schuylkill                 GeographyJacob Gribb           WR          Sr.     Pottstown, Pa./Pope John Paul                 EconomicsKevin Gulyas          WR          Sr.     Allentown, Pa./Central Catholic               FinanceJohn Hinchen          P           Jr.     Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands         EconomicsGregg Kobelski        LB          So.     Andover, Mass./St. John's Prep            BiologyTanoh Kpassagnon      DL          Jr.     Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon                       FinanceDillon Lucas          LB          Sr.     Medford, N.J./Shawnee                         EducationAnthony Malaguti      LB          Fr.     Hewitt, N.J./Don Bosco Prep                   Liberal ArtsCameron McCurry       DB          Sr.     Orange Park, Fla./Fleming Island              FinanceRyan Morris           TE          Jr.     Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat                       CriminolgyBryan Osei            DL          Jr.     Abington, Pa./Abington                        Liberal StudiesAlex Padovani         WR          R-Fr.   Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton                     Liberal ArtsElia Palmese          K           Fr.     Hainesport, N.J./Rancocas Valley              EngineeringThomas Plonski        DL          Jr.     Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech                  Computer ScienceJake Prus             OL          Jr.     Woodstown, N.J./Woodstown                     BiologyJohn Robertson        QB          Sr.     Paranus, N.J./Paramus                         Business Admin.Rob Rolle             DB          So.     Newfield, N.J./Delsea                         CommunicationsMatt Rushton          DB          Jr.     Media, Pa/Episcopal Academy                   FinanceAndrew Smith          WR          Fr.     Falls Church, Va/Bishop Ireton                BusinessChucky Smith          DB          Fr.     Newbury Park, Calif/Newbury Park              ScienceGerard Smith          K           Fr.     Garden City, N.Y./Garden City                 Liberal ArtsJeff Steeb            LB          R-Fr.   Sweetwater, N.J./Holy Spirit                  CriminolgyDoug Turrell          TE          Sr.     Orefield, Pa./Parkland                        Public Admin.Fran Walsh            DL/TE       Jr.     Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood               FinanceSteve Weyler          K           So.     Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara                    CommunicationsTJ White              LB          Jr.     West Chester, Pa./Henderson                   CommunicationsRobert Witman         WR          Jr.     Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville                    FinanceRicky Young           DL          So.     Telford, Pa./Souderton                        Mgmt. Info. Sys.