Lock Haven, Pa. - Mercyhurst football grabs a handful of All-PSAC spots for the 2023 season with one First Team member and four Second Team honorees. Defensive lineman RJ Tillman was the team's lone representative for the First Team while Jaylen Butera, Dustin Shoaf, Camden White, and Tyler Buterbaugh each were named to the Second Team.
Tillman comes off a solid season along the front lines for the Lakers, finishing the campaign with 24 total tackles with half a tackle for a loss to his line. The native of West Mifflin, Pa. ended up grabbing one of the team's four interceptions on the season in the team's week eight matchup with Gannon for the lone pick of Tillman's career. His contributions went beyond that of his stat line as he helped open holes along the line for his teammates to burst through for plenty of big plays in the backfield.
Butera earns his first All-PSAC nod of his career as he was named to the PSAC West Offensive Second Team. The sophomore led the way on the ground for Mercyhurst this past season with 632 rushing yards on 109 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per rush, while having a team-high six touchdowns. He added onto those numbers with a solid effort in the passing game with 17 catches for 167 yards and one receiving score. He let the conference know he would be a force to be reckoned with over the next couple of seasons with his performance on homecoming against Slippery Rock in which he rushed for a career-high 204 yards on 27 carries while adding a trio of touchdowns to his ledger.
Shoaf makes it back-to-back seasons he has been named to an all-conference team after being honored as a member of the PSAC West Offensive Second Team last year. The graduate student finished second on the team in rushing yards with 387 to his line with four scores. The native of West Newton, Pa. found his rhythm down the stretch of the season as he had 60 or more rushing yards in each of his last four games including a season-high 96 in the team's final game of the year while recording a rushing touchdown in three of those four games. For his career, Shoaf has accumulated 1,022 rushing yards while having 11 touchdowns on the ground, adding 481 career receiving yards to his line as well.
Camden White is named to his first All-PSAC team this season for his work along the defensive line. The native of Batavia, N.Y. acted as a disruptor along the end of the line, helping him be one of the top defensive ends in the conference. White finished sixth on the team in total tackles with 51 to his line while adding a team-high 6.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks to his resumé. The senior had three games in which he finished with eight tackles, doing so against Lock Haven, IUP, and Seton Hill. Against the Bald Eagles, he added a pair of sack to his line, making for a performance he won't soon forget.
Buterbaugh garners her first honor of his career as he was named to the PSAC West Defensive Second Team. Buterbaugh had a career year, setting new career-highs in total tackles, tackles for a loss, and sacks in a season. The native of Saxonburg, Pa. registered 79 tackles on the year overall while having two sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss with a team-high three quarterback hits. The linebacker had four games in which he had 10 or more tackles with his season-high coming against Cal (Pa.) when he had 16 to his line for the most of any Laker this season, helping him continue the run of strong play at the position for Mercyhurst.
