By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Communications
NATCHITOCHES – It has an honor-laden week for Northwestern State defensive standouts Blake Gotcher and Chancellor Owens.
Both Gotcher and Owens earned All-American honors from Phil Steele on Friday with Owens landing a second-team Freshman All-American spot while Gotcher was selected to the third-team All-American squad.
It is the third All-American honor of the year for Gotcher, who was selected to the Associated Press and STATS Perform All-American teams, and the second freshman All-American nod for Owens, who earlier earned that honor from Sports Illustrated.
Gotcher, a junior linebacker from Little Elm, Texas, was selected a third-team FCS All-American by STATS Perform after racking up 162 tackles, the fourth-highest total in Northwestern single-season history. The honor came one day after Gotcher was picked to The Associated Press FCS All-American second team.
A 6-foot-1, 225-pounder, Gotcher finished eighth in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Gotcher’s 162 tackles, in addition to being fourth in school single-season history, topped qualifying FCS players by 29. Through the FCS semifinals, Gotcher’s tackle total remains tops in the country by 25.
In his first season at Northwestern, Gotcher collected double-figure tackles in 11 of his 12 games, topped by a 23-tackle, two-sack, forced-fumble performance against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 7 that earned him Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. That game also led Gotcher to net honorable mention FCS National Defensive Player of the Week honors from Stats Perform.
In addition to his 162 tackles, Gotcher had 4.5 sacks – two each against Prairie View A&M and Weber State – and 10 tackles for loss for 31 yards. He added two forced fumbles, two pass breakups, an interception he returned 24 yards against McNeese on Nov. 16 and a quarterback hurry.
Gotcher recorded at least 16 tackles in five games and 12 or mor tackles in eight games. He was Northwestern’s first Buchanan Award finalist since linebacker Derek Rose in 2011.
Owens, a redshirt freshman defensive end from Fort Worth, Texas, led Northwestern with 10.5 tackles for loss, totaling 32 yards. His 70 tackles and four sacks both ranked second on the team behind Gotcher.
A product of V.R. Eaton High School, Owens saved his most productive performance for the Demons’ season finale at Houston Christian, racking up a career-best 17 tackles, eclipsing his previous high of eight.
He added a career-best 3.5 tackles for loss and finished the season with sacks in consecutive games.
Like Gotcher, Owens started all 12 games for the Demons, collecting a team-best four quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.
Gotcher and Owens also earned All-Southland Conference honors from Steele along with junior cornerback Caesar Magee III.
Gotcher was a first-team All-SLC pick by Steele while Owens and Magee were fourth-team selections.
Magee, a product of New Orleans’ St. Augustine High School, led the Southland Conference in passes defended per game at 1.1, ranking him 23rd nationally. His 0.3 interceptions per game were third in the conference and 42nd nationally.
Playing in his first season at cornerback, Magee produced the first multi-interception game by a Demon in three years when he picked off a pair of passes against McNeese on Nov. 16.
Magee finished the season ranked third on the team with 63 tackles. He also broke up eight passes in addition to his team-leading three interceptions.