EASTON, Pa. – The selection of Malik Hamm as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and Keegan Shoemaker as the conference Rookie of the Year highlights the bright future for the Lafayette football program, which finished just a game out of first place in 2019.
 
The duo headlines a roster of 13 All-Patriot League selections (four first-team and nine second-team), the most for any of the six teams in the conference, announced Tuesday morning.
 
For Hamm, it is the second straight season in which he has claimed one of the Patriot League's four major post-season awards, named the Rookie of the Year in 2018. This season, Hamm's reputation and consistent play landed him the scrutiny of opposing offensive coordinators and offensive line coaches who sent double teams his way the entire season.
 
Hamm still excelled, leading the team with 11.5 tackles for loss of 55 yards and 8.0 sacks for a minus-47 yards. He registered 43 tackles, the most of any defensive lineman, and paced the team with eight quarterback hurries in his 12 starts. Hamm recorded at least one sack in each of his final seven games of the season, finishing with 7.5 TFLs and 7.0 sacks in league play, and has managed at least one sack in 10 of the 12 league games played during his two-year career. He is 10th among all active FCS players, averaging 0.72 sacks per game during his career.
 
Like Hamm, Shoemaker's impact on the Lafayette program was instantaneous, seeing action in the first game of the season and starting the final 11 games. Shoemaker set a freshman single-season record for passing yards, accumulating 2,540, a mark that also ranks him fourth in a season for all class years. He led the Patriot League in total offense (241.1 ypg), while finishing second in passing yards (212.1 ypg) and touchdown passes (14) with a pass efficiency rating of 124.4.
 
Shoemaker was honored as the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on four occasions as well as the conference Offensive Player of the Week three times. His breakout game came in week three against Sacred Heart (9/14) when he completed 24-of-35 for 391 yards and two touchdowns while also running 23 times for 124 yards and two more touchdowns, an effort that saw him named the STATS FCS Freshman Player of the Week. Shoemaker ended the season, having completed 60 percent of his passes and was the team's second-leading rusher.
 
Hamm heads the list of five Leopard defensive players who were selected to the All-Patriot League Teams. The Baltimore native was a First-Team selection in 2019 after a second-team honoring during his rookie campaign. The group helped Lafayette lead the league in total defense during conference action, allowing 302 yards per game.
 
Senior co-captain Yasir Thomas, too, was an All-Patriot League Second-Team honoree before achieving First-Team status this season. The safety led the secondary with 62 tackles and six pass breakups while adding a team-high three fumble recoveries.  He saved one of his most impactful performances for last, churning out six tackles, forcing a fumble and picking off a pass to help Lafayette beat Lehigh 17-16 in the 155^th meeting of college football's most-played rivalry on Nov. 23.
 
Senior Keith Earle was tagged for All-Patriot League Second-Team status on the defensive line. The versatile Earle also spent time at linebacker, making 42 tackles and added 2.5 sacks in his final campaign.  Earle turned in a team-high 10 tackles in week two against NCAA FCS Playoff qualifier Monmouth.
 
Junior Major Jordan and sophomore Billy Shaeffer round out the All-Patriot League Second-Team defensive selections. Jordan led the team with 112 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. He rang up a career-high 14 tackles in a win over Bucknell and reached double figures in five games.
 
Shaeffer earns his Patriot League distinction on special teams, slotted as a non-specialist. The sophomore started 11 games at linebacker and shined on the coverage units. He was third on the team with 66 tackles, six tackles for loss, and forced three fumbles and recovered another in 2019. He made a career-high 11 tackles at Georgetown.
 
Senior co-captain Jake Marotti was a first-team selection for the second straight season while juniors Gavin Barclay and John Burk represented the offensive line on the second team. The trio was integral to the offense's success, including finishing second in the Patriot League with 137.7 rushing yards per game in conference play. The Leopard offense added 5.4 points, 26.2 rushing yards and 51.4 passing yards per game from its 2018 output.
 
Sophomore Zadok Scott also was an All-Patriot League First Teamer, tagged for the fullback/h-back position. Scott was second on the team in receptions with 24 for 321 yards and three touchdowns in only seven games. Scott's season-defining game came against Fordham when he had six catches for 160 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown catch (the Leopards' longest play from scrimmage in 2019).
 
The Lafayette offense had three more selections to the All-Patriot League Second-Team offense as senior WR Nick Pearson, junior RB Selwyn Simpson and junior PK Jeffrey Kordenbrock made the cut.
 
Pearson was the Leopards' deep threat the entire season with five of the 10 and eight of the 20 longest plays from scrimmage going to him. He led the team with 34 catches for 623 yards and three touchdowns on his way to a second straight All-Patriot League Second-Team selection. Pearson's high-water mark came against Sacred Heart, when he had seven catches for 142 yards and a touchdown.
 
Simpson led the team in rushing for the second time in his career, carrying 82 times for 360 yards and five scores, two of which came against Lehigh in the season finale. In a win against Fordham, Simpson had 17 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He was also solid catching the ball out of the backfield in 2019, adding 13 catches for 66 yards in nine games.
 
Kordenbrock is coming off a career-defining game against Lehigh, nailing the game-winning field goal with 47 seconds left to garner game MVP honors and Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week recognition for the third time in his career. In week 10, Kordenbrock managed the first three field-goal performance of his career, connecting on kicks of 32, 31 and 40 to hand Holy Cross its only league loss of the season. For the season, Kordenbrock was 11-of-14 on field-goal attempts (3-of-4 from 20-29 yards, 4-of-4 from 30-39 yards and 4-of-6 from 40-49 yards) with a career-long kick of 44 yards at Georgetown. He also managed to convert all 24 of his PATs and is 50-of-51 in his career.
 
Lafayette finished 4-8 overall and 4-2 in Patriot League play in 2019, ascending to second place in the conference standings in year three of head coach John Garrett's tenure. The Leopards will return nine of their 13 All-Patriot League selections and 13 players who started more than half of the games in 2019.