BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Postseason honors have begun for the UNC Pembroke football team on Tuesday afternoon when 13 players were honored with Mountain East Conference all-league honors. 
 
The announcement marks the most all-conference honors in program history for the Black & Gold. 
 
Colin Johnson, Jo Hayes, Chris Russell, Jamae Blank and Evan VanMeter all earned 1^st team honors, Sincere Baines, Jacob Perry and Marquis Raspberry picked up 2^nd team honors, while Jayden Smith, Hunter Turner, Jaiden Nesbit, Carlo Thompson and Seth Bowen received honorable mention all-conference honors. 
 
A native of Sanford, Johnson has now earned all-conference honors the last two seasons. The redshirt senior saw action in all 11 games and threw for a total of 2,991 yards and 36 touchdowns. Johnson ran the ball 52 times for a total of 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 
 
A product of Peanut City, Va., Hayes is just the second player in program history to record over 1,000 receiving yards in a season. The graduate student shattered the school record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season with 17. 
 
A key force on the offensive line, Russell helped the offensive put up 43.45 points per game and 467.5 total yards of offense per game. This is the second season that Russell has earned first-team all-conference honors. 
 
Blank saw action in all 11 games this season and finished the season with 53.0 tackles, with 39 of those being solo tackles. The Durham native recorded six sacks for a loss of 35 yards, broke up six passes, forced one fumble and had two interceptions. It is the second consecutive first-team all-conference nod for Blank. 
 
VanMeter finished the season with a team-best 44 solo tackles and 62 total tackles after playing in all 11 games. A product of Lexington, VanMeter had 7.5 tackles for a loss of 30 yards and two sacks for a loss of 11 yards. He also added two forced fumbles and broke up two passes. 
 
Baines has now earned all-conference honors for the last two seasons. A native of Fayetteville, Baines saw action in all 11 games and finished the season with 714 rushing yards. The sophomore ran the ball 121 times for eight touchdowns. He also caught 20 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown.
 
Smith played in all 11 games this season and caught 22 passes for a total of 289 yards. The Bakersfield, Calif., native averaged 13.14 yards per catch and finished the season with six touchdowns. 
 
Perry played a vital role for the Black & Gold on the offensive line unit that scored 68 touchdowns and averaged 7.2 yards per play. This is the third year that Perry has been an all-conference performer.
 
A Washington, D.C., native, Raspberry saw action in all 11 games and finished the season with 33 solo tackles and 41 total tackles. A redshirt junior, Raspberry broke up four passes, registered a pair of interceptions, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble. Raspberry also had seven tackles for a loss of 43 yards and 4.5 sacks for 37 yards. 
 
Turner played a key role in helping the Black & Gold to a total of 5,142 total yards of offense this season and outscoring opponents 478-274. This is the first all-conference honor for Turner. 
 
Nesbit played in all 11 games and finished second on the team in total tackles with 58 on the season. The redshirt freshman tallied 40 solo tackles and had 1.5 tackles for a loss of 14 yards. He also logged an interception and broke up two passes. 
 
Thompson saw action in all 11 games and ranked fourth on the team for total tackles with 48 on the season. A native of Richmond, Va., Thompson broke up three passes, had one interception, recovered one fumble and forced a fumble. 
 
A product of Cary, Bowen logged 29 punts during the season for a total of 1,242 yards. Averaging 42.82 yards per punt, the redshirt sophomore had five punts over 50 yards and seven punts inside the 20-yard line.