RICHMOND, Va.—Senior wide receiver Jaaron Hayek headlined four Wildcats who were named to the CAA Football All-Conference Teams in an announcement made by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon. Hayek was named to the First Team Offense after a career year in which he became the first Villanova player in more than 20 years to average over 100 receiving yards per game. Senior offensive lineman Michael Corbi earned Second Team Offense accolades and the Wildcats had two athletes earn All-CAA recognition on special teams. Fifth-year senior Dez Boykin was a Second Team selection as a kick returner and graduate kicker Matthew Mercurio earned third team honors.
 
This is the 26^th time in the last 27 seasons that Villanova has had at least four postseason all-conference selections. Wildcats head coach Mark Ferrante guided his team to a 6-5 record during the 2022 season, including a 4-4 conference mark and a win over nationally-ranked Delaware in the final game of the year as Villanova retained the Battle of the Blue Trophy for the 10^th time in the last 11 years. From an individual standpoint, Boykin and Mercurio each finished the season ranked among the national leaders while Hayek was ranked fifth in the country in receiving yards per game before missing the final three contests of the year due to injury.
 
Hayek played in each of the Wildcats first eight games and amassed 810 yards and eight touchdowns on 36 receptions. He averaged 102.5 yards per game and became only the fourth receiver in Villanova history to average over 100 yards per game for a full season. The others to achieve that mark were Wildcats standouts Mike Siani (1970), Brian Finneran (1996, 1997) and Brian Westbrook (1998). Hayek tallied four games with at least 120 receiving yards this season and he had the best game of his career at Maine on October 1 to help Villanova post a 45-20 victory. In the Maine game, Hayek had career highs of 159 yards and four touchdowns, including a career-long 83-yard touchdown reception.
 
The performance against Maine made Hayek the Wildcats third receiver ever to have at least four touchdown catches in a game, joining Siani (five against Xavier in 1971) and former teammate Changa Hodge (four against Delaware in 2019). Hayek's 810 yards on the year rank 14^th in a season in school history despite missing the last three games of the year. At the time of his injury he was ranked fifth in the FCS in receiving yards per game, sixth in total receiving yards and eighth in receiving touchdowns. All three of his marks in those categories also led the CAA through the first nine weeks of the 2022 campaign.
 
Corbi has been a mainstay on the Villanova offensive line over the past four seasons and he started nine of the team's 11 games at right guard this year. The offensive line helped the Wildcats rank third in the CAA and 25^th nationally with an average of 189.6 rushing yards per game. Villanova topped 200 rushing yards in a game on four occasions and also recorded four games with at least three rushing touchdowns. The hallmark of the Wildcats offense in 2022 was the team's big-play ability, as Villanova had 49 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or longer. Those figures include 17 rushes and 32 pass plays of at least 20 yards, while the Wildcats scored 11 touchdowns on those long plays.
 
This is the third straight season in which Corbi has garnered CAA Football All-Conference accolades. He was previously a first team selection for both the 2020 season (contested in Spring 2021) and the 2021 campaign. Corbi has started 25 of the 32 career games he has played in and has helped the Villanova offense average better than 31 points per game over the last four seasons.
 
Boykin finished the 2022 season ranked second in the CAA and 25^th nationally with an average of 24.3 yards per kickoff return. He returned 23 kickoffs on the year for a total of 559 yards, including the longest return of his career for 68 yards in the season opener against Lehigh. Boykin has been the Wildcats primary return man throughout his career and had his best season in 2022 with 14 returns of 20 yards or longer and five returns of at least 30 yards. He averaged 23.9 yards per return or better in three of his five collegiate seasons and wound up with 74 career returns for 1,725 yards (23.3 yards per return). In the final game this year against Delaware, Boykin moved into fourth place in school history in career kickoff return yards.
 
In addition to his return stats Boykin also had the best season of his career as part of the Villanova receiving corps. He topped 1,000 career receiving yards in the final game of his career against Delaware and finished the 2022 season with a team-high 1,045 all-purpose yards. Boykin 20 receptions for 469 yards and two touchdowns on the year. He averaged 23.5 yards per reception and hauled in touchdowns of 66 yards against Lehigh and 60 yards at LIU in the first two games of the year. Boykin's career totals included 57 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns.
 
Mercurio was a newcomer to the Wildcats this season as a graduate transfer from San Jose State and he led the team in scoring with 65 points on the year. Mercurio made 10-of-12 field goal attempts and was a perfect 35-of-35 on PATs in 11 games played. He led the CAA and ranked eighth in the country with his 83.3 percent success rate on field goals. His overall scoring ranked 11^th in the conference and Mercurio was also fourth in the league in field goals per game. He made at least one field goal in nine of 11 games on the year, including two successful attempts at William & Mary on November 12. Mercurio made 4-of-6 field goals from 30 yards or longer on the year and made attempts from 45 yards against William & Mary as well as 40 yards at Army West Point.
 
Prior to coming to Villanova this season, Mercurio was a two-time honorable mention All-Mountain West selection during his undergraduate career. He amassed 222 points over three seasons at San Jose State. His career totals with the Spartans and the Wildcats now include 290 points on 54-of-66 field goals and 128-of-133 PATs.