HADLEY, Mass. – The Wesleyan football team saw eight named to the 2022 All-NESCAC First and Second Teams, as announced by the conference office and voted on by the league's head coaches. Highlighting the list was DT
Nick Helbig '23 who was named the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Wesleyan's eight all-conference selections are tied for the third-most in the NESCAC, behind only Trinity (14) and Tufts (10) while the Cardinals are tied with Middlebury (8) and ahead of Williams (5), Colby (5), Amherst (4), Bowdoin (4), Hamilton (3) and Bates (2). Wesleyan has eight All-NESCAC selections for the second straight season and are tied for the sixth-most for the Cardinals in the 22-year history of the All-Conference Teams in the NESCAC. Wesleyan's record is 14 set by the 2014 squad.
Earning First Team laurels on offense are WR
Logan Tomlinson '22, ATH
David Estevez '22, and LT
Justin Lockwood '24 while Helbig is joined on the First Team defense by CB
Danny Banks '22. The Cardinals placed three more on the Second Team, all of which on the defensive side of the ball, as DT
Keith Henderson '23, DE
Mike Rowan '25, and LB
Jake Edwards '24 are all on the list for the first time in their respective careers.
Nick Helbig '23 | Defensive Tackle | NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year | First Team
Helbig wraps up a stellar career as a Cardinal with a historic achievement, becoming the first Wesleyan player and just the third player in NESCAC history to earn multiple Defensive Player of the Year honors. The only two other players in league history to earn two DPOY honors are Andrew Yamin of Amherst (2017-18) and Walter Fallas of Trinity (2010-11). Combined with Helbig's NESCAC Rookie of the Year honor in 2019, Helbig is the program's most-decorated player in recent memory as he has won three major individual honors and is a three-time All-NESCAC player (First Team in 2021, 2022; Second Team in 2019).
Also voted by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston yesterday as New England's Top Division II/III Defensive Player, Helbig's 2022 campaign was another sensational year as he racked up 39 tackles (20 solo), 11.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and five forced fumbles which led the nation at the end of the regular season. He sat third in the NESCAC in TFL, tied for second in sacks, and easily had the most forced fumbles of anyone in the conference (next-closest had two). In his career, he totaled 127 tackles, 35.5 TFL, and 21 sacks in 26 games played.
Logan Tomlinson '22 | Wide Receiver | First Team
Tomlinson burst onto the scene after missing his entire freshman year in 2019 due to injury and he did not disappoint as the star receiver is now a two-time All-NESCAC First Team pick who is set to graduate in December. Despite being the main focus of opposing secondaries week in, week out, Tomlinson put up an incredible season with 72 catches for 979 yards and 10 touchdowns in nine games.
He had four 100-yard games throughout the 2022 season while he scored at least one touchdown in seven contests, putting up multiple touchdowns three times. Against the undefeated Trinity Bantams, Tomlinson totaled 10 catches for 112 yards and one touchdown while he had his best game of the season in a big Homecoming win over Williams that secured Wesleyan the Little Three crown. In that game, Tomlinson went for a career-high 12 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Tomlinson averaged 108.8 yards per game.
He ranked second in the NESCAC in receptions and yards while sitting third in receiving touchdowns. In two seasons as a Cardinal, Tomlinson posted 131 catches for 1,826 yards and 15 touchdowns. Averaging 13.9 yards per catch, Tomlinson had four career double-digit reception games and six career 100-yard receiving games.
David Estevez '22 | Athlete | First Team
Another multiple-time All-NESCAC performer throughout his career, Estevez earns his second career First Team selection while this is his fourth total All-NESCAC honor after having been a 2021 Second Team pick and a 2019 First Teamer on offense and Second Team selection on special teams.
The engine behind the Cardinals' offense throughout most of the season, Estevez finished the season as the leading rusher on the team with 372 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and three rushing scores. At quarterback, Estevez threw for 1,146 yards, completing 64.1 percent of his throws with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also added seven catches for 76 yards as a do-everything dynamo in the Cardinal offense.
Estevez ranked Top 10 in the NESCAC in rushing and passing while his 145.9 efficiency on his dropbacks was fourth-highest in the conference. The senior closes out his Wesleyan career with 2,666 passing yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, completing 64 percent of his throws. He added 1,471 yards on the ground with 12 rushing scores and added 378 receiving yards on 38 career catches with one receiving touchdown. In total, Estevez accounted for 36 total touchdowns and 4,515 total yards of offense in 35 career games.
Justin Lockwood '24 | Left Tackle | First Team
The starting left tackle for the Cardinals in all nine games in 2022, Lockwood sees his name on the All-NESCAC First Team in what is his first season manning the blind side for the Cardinal quarterbacks. Lockwood started at right tackle as a sophomore in 2021 and moved to left tackle, blossoming into an All-NESCAC performer in his first season in the new starting spot.
Lockwood helped pave the way for what was the NESCAC's third-best offense in terms of total yards per game (435.4) while the Cardinals averaged 125 rushing yards per game and ranked second in the conference in time of possession (34:11 per game).
Danny Banks '22 | Cornerback | First Team
Now a three-time All-NESCAC selection, Banks makes it onto the First Team for the second straight season after having been named a Second Teamer in 2019. The play-making corner tallied three interceptions in 2022, sitting in a tie for second-most in the NESCAC with three other players. He also added seven pass breakups to his season total in nine games played.
Banks is just the second defensive back in program history to earn three All-NESCAC honors, joining former Defensive Player of the Year Jake Bussani '14. The shutdown corner finished his Cardinal career with 12 interceptions, 29 passes defended and 119 tackles (85 solo) in 33 games.
Keith Henderson '23 | Defensive Tackle | Second Team
Earning his first career All-NESCAC honor, Henderson was key piece along the defensive front for Wesleyan that allowed opposing teams to average just 290.9 total yards of offense per game and only 84.3 on the ground, both second-fewest in the conference.
Henderson started all nine games for the second straight season and totaled 17 tackles (11 solo) with a career-high 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks to go along with four quarterback hurries. His sack late in the fourth quarter played a big role in denying Tufts on the Jumbos' game-winning drive attempt on October 15.
Mike Rowan '25 | Defensive End | Second Team
The third Cardinal defensive lineman to receive All-NESCAC recognition is Rowan who burst onto the scene as a full-time starter in his sophomore year. Rowan finished fourth on the team in tackles with 37 (19 solo) while he added 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks to go along with two pass breakups and two quarterback hurries while starting all nine games.
Rowan's 9.5 TFL are seventh-most in the NESCAC while he sat tied for fifth in the league in sacks. Rowan had a string of three straight games with one sack midway through the season while his best game came in the overtime win at Amherst where he finished with five tackles (four solo) with 2.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks.
Jake Edwards '24 | Linebacker | Second Team
Another key piece for the Wesleyan defense was Edwards' play at linebacker as the junior posted a team-leading 58 tackles (35 solo) to go along with 2.5 tackles for loss. He put up a career-high 12 tackles at Middlebury on September 24 and posted at least six tackles in five of his nine games played (all starts) in 2022.
