Cub Football - 2023 Loyola team awards - Cub football news - Former Loyola players in college bowl games
2023 LOYOLA TEAM AWARDS
Loyola held its postseason varsity football banquet on December 13, following a campaign in which the Cubs won a share of a fourth consecutive Angelus League championship.
Below is the list of the 2023 team award recipients:
Scout Team Player of the Year - JACK THOMAS (Soph. QB)
Offensive Rookie of the Year - SEAN MORRIS (Soph. RB)
Defensive Rookie of the Year - RONEN ZAMORANO (Soph. LB)
Special Forces - DESI VALDES (Jr. S)
Lineman of the Year - CHAMP WESTBROOKS (Sr. OL/DL)
Captain's Award - RYAN TURK (Sr. OL)
Most Inspirational Player - JACOB FARAG (Sr. FB/DL)
Pat Jacobs Award - JAKE ARELLANO (Sr. S)
Offensive Excellence - KHALIL CUEVA (Sr. WR)
Defensive Excellence - ISAIAH SANDERS (Sr. Edge) and SCOTT TAYLOR (Jr. OLB/Edge)
Al Pollard MVP - CHAMP WESTBROOKS (OL/DL)
LOYOLA'S CHAMP WESTBROOKS '24 EARNS INVITATION TO ALL-AMERICAN BOWL
Angelus League Lineman of the Year, team captain and Cub MVP, senior two-way lineman CHAMP WESTBROOKS was chosen to play in the All-American Bowl, which is scheduled for January 6 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Earning All-American accolades and an invitation to the prestigious all-star game featuring the top graduating prep football players in the nation are honors of the highest order for the 6-5, 275 lb. three-year Loyola starter. Westbrooks played for the league champion Cubs at left tackle on offense and was also a down lineman on defense. Westbrooks is expected to sign a letter of intent on Wednesday to play for the Arizona State University Sun Devils.
The last Loyola player invited to the All-American Bowl was defensive back CEYAIR WRIGHT '21 (USC), who was a high school All-American and State Defensive Back of the Year in his last season playing for the Cubs.
SCOTT TAYLOR '25 NAMED TO LOS ANGELES TIMES ALL-STAR TEAM
Angelus League Defensive Player of the Year, Loyola team co-Defensive Player of the Year SCOTT TAYLOR (6-4, 230) was named to to the Los Angeles Times' 24-man All-Star team for the 2023 season in the newspaper's December 18th edition.
The junior outside linebacker/Edge recorded 12 tackles for loss, including six sacks. Taylor totaled 77 tackles and forced 33 hurries. He also excelled at tight end, where he averaged 18.7 yards and scored two touchdowns on six catches.
FORMER LOYOLA DB ALEX JOHNSON ENDED UCLA CAREER AS PAC-12 CONFERENCE INTERCEPTIONS LEADER AND ADDED ANOTHER IN BRUINS' WIN OVER BOISE STATE IN THE LA BOWL
Former Cub defensive back standout ALEX JOHNSON '18 is a true story of great perseverance reaping big rewards. Johnson started his collegiate career as a walk-on DB at UCLA, ultimately earned a scholarship and started as the Bruins' nickel back for the last two seasons.
The fifth year DB led the Pac-12 Conference with four interceptions this fall, including a big one in UCLA's victory over crosstown rival USC. Johnson snagged his fifth pick of the 2023 campaign in the Bruins' 35-22 LA Bowl win over Boise State on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. The latter interception led to an immediate UCLA touchdown.
Johnson was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 honoree. He is a good bet to earn a spot on an NFL roster in 2024.if he does he will be the fifth Loyola defensive back to play in the NFL since 2004. The others who played and/or are currently playing in the NFL are MATT WARE '01, CHRIS CONTE '07, MYLES BRYANT '16, and DAVID LONG, Jr. '16.
CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL SEASON
Eleven former Loyola football players have played in or will suit up for FBS collegiate squads in bowl games: Here is the list:
UCLA
(defeated Boise State, 35-22, in the LA Bowl on December 16)
ALEX JOHNSON '18 (nickel)
EVAN THOMAS '20 (corner)
SAM YOON '22 (OL)
JERRY NEUHEISEL '11 (WR Coach)
KODI WHITFIELD '12 (Corners Coach)
CAL
(lost to Texas Tech, 34-14 in the the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on December 16 in Shreveport, Louisiana)
JEFFREY JOHNSON '21 (TE)
USC
(DIRECTTV Holiday Bowl vs. Louisville in San Diego on December 27)
SINJUN ASTANI '17 (DL)
JAC CASASANTE '18 (LS)
JACK SUSNJAR '23 (OL)
CEYAIR WRIGHT '21 (DB)
SMU
(Wasabi Fenway Bowl vs. Boston College on December 28 in Boston)
HENRY STICKLER '21 (WR)
NOTRE DAME
(Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl vs. Oregon State on December 29 in El Paso, Texas)
ALEX WHITMAN '22 (WR)
MICHAEL BEARDEN '18 (Graduate Assistant-Offense)
TEXAS
(Allstate Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal game) vs. Washington in New Orleans on January 1)
JOE TATUM '22 (QB)
Loyola grad DAKOTA SMITH '18 had a banner year at linebacker for Minnesota State after transferring from South Dakota. The senior linebacker was one of the Mavericks' leading tacklers on a squad which had its season ended in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
TAHJ OWENS '22, who was an All-CIF tailback for the Cubs in 2021, converted to the defensive side of the ball at Princeton, where he was the fourth leading tackler as a corner for the Tigers as a sophomore this season.
LOYOLA PLAYERS IN THE NFL
Former Cub All-American DB DAVID LONG, Jr., '16, who started for the the Los Angeles Rams in their 2021 Super Bowl victory, played briefly this season for the Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers before landing with the Green Bay Packers.
Four time All-Pro linebacker ATHONY BARR '10, who played for the Minnesota Vikings for eight seasons before moving to the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, was picked up by his original team, the Vikings, in November shortly after attending Loyola's Alumni Dinner.
COLEMAN SHELTON '13 is having another standout season for the Rams as is DB MYLES BRYANT '16 with the Patriots. Bryant is currently New England's fifth leading tackler and has one interception thus far this season.
2023 LOYOLA RECORD (6-6 overall, 4-1 Angelus League)
August 25 @ Damien (L 35-14)
September 1 Culver City (W 24-6)
September 8 Leuzinger (L 35-14)
September 15 @ Chaminade (L 42-35)
September 22 Oaks Christian (L 31-14)
September 29 @ St. Francis* (L 26-21)
October 6 St. Paul* (W 25-11)
October 13 @ Crespi* (W 45-28)
October 20 Paraclete* (W 36-7)
October 29 @ Cathedral* (W 27-6)
November 3 Norte Vista (First Round CIF) (W 35-7)
November 10 @ Yorba Linda (Quarterfinals CIF) (L 17-10)
(* denotes Angelus League contest)
CUBS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Thirty-three Loyola grads competed on college football teams this fall at schools from Storrs, Connecticut to Los Angeles; Northfield, Minnesota to New York City; Fort Worth, Texas to Princeton, New Jersey; Grinnel, Iowa to Berkeley; South Bend, Indiana to Starkville, Mississippi; and Austin, Texas to Chicago.
Here is the current list of Cubs on college football rosters (in alphabetical order):
NICK ANDERSON ‘20, OL (Denison)
SINJUN ASTANI ‘17, DL (USC)
CHAD BAILEY ‘20, DB (Tulane)
JP BAUTISTA (Pasadena College)
NICHOLAS BARR-MIRA ‘19, K (Mississippi State)
GEORGE CARATAN '18 , P (Connecticut)
JAC CASASANTE ‘18, LS (USC)
COLIN CRUCE ‘22, OL (Bowdoin)
ALEX JOHNSON '18, DB (UCLA)
JEFFREY JOHNSON '21, TE (Cal)
JACOBY KELLY ‘22, WR (Cerritos College)
ANDREW KOZHAYA ‘21, DL (Grinnel)
LEIGHTON LINE '23, DL (Cal Lutheran)
SHAWN LIN ‘22, DL (Columbia)
CONNOR McDOWELL ‘21, DB (Angelo State)
JUSTIN MURRAY '22, LB (Santa Monica College)
BLAKE NEITHART ‘20 DB (Carleton)
TAHJ OWENS ‘22, DB (Princeton)
JACK PARIS '23, OL (MIT)
RYAN QUINTANAR ‘20, LB (TCU)
XAVIER RICE '23, QB (Duquesne)
DAKOTA SMITH '18, LB (Minnesota State)
PATRICK SODL ‘22, LB (Columbia)
ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21, DB (Connecticut)
HENRY STICKLER '21, WR (SMU)
JACK SUSNJAR '23, OL (USC)
JOE TATUM ‘22, QB (Texas)
EVAN THOMAS ‘20, DB (UCLA)
ALEX WHITMAN '22, WR (Notre Dame)
WILKE WILES '23, WR (University of Chicago)
HOLMES WORMALD '23, TE (Merchant Marine Academy)
CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21, DB ( USC)
SAM YOON ‘22, OL ( UCLA)
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