After a strong season on the gridiron, ten members of the University of Rochester football team were selected as members of the All-Liberty League football squad for the 2023 season following voting conducted by the conference coaches.
 
Two Yellowjackets have been named First Team honorees, while seven earned spots on the Second Team, with one additional player being an Honorable Mention selection.
 
Graduate student defensive lineman Bradley Beckwith and junior punter Alex Wing were Rochester's First Team individuals. Making up Rochester's Second Team picks were senior running back Daniel Papantonis, senior wide receiver Trey Johnson, sophomore tight end Jackson Kane, senior offensive linemen Alec Berceli and Luke Wilson and sophomore defensive backs Judah Thomas and Jordy Tawa. Linebacker Happy Chane was UR's Honorable Mention choice.
 
In 2023, Rochester finished with a 5-5 overall record and was 2-4 in conference play, competing against the fourth hardest schedule in NCAA Division III. The Yellowjackets were terrific on the road, finishing with a 4-1 record. UR's win total was the most since the 2015 season.
 
1st Team:
Bradley Beckwith (GR, DL, Oxford, NY/Oxford Academy) – 2nd All-LL honor (2022 1st Team); Beckwith had another outstanding year, stuffing the middle of the line for the Yellowjackets defense, finishing with a career-high 61 tackles in 2023. He added two tackles for loss and had one QB hurry. Within the Liberty League, the UR graduate student finished tied for 10th in the conference in total tackles, and his total ranked second on the Rochester squad. Against nationally ranked Ithaca on Oct. 21, the graduate student posted a career-high 12 tackles, including five solo stops.
 
Alex Wing (JR, P, Wauconda, IL/Mundelein) – 3rd All-LL honor (2022 1st Team, 2021 HM); Wing earned First Team All-Conference honors for the second year in a row after ranking in the top-3 in the Liberty League in several punting categories this season. The junior averaged 38.6 yards per punt (3rd), after punting 43 times (2nd) for 1,659 yards (1st). He added a league-high 18 kicks downed inside the 20-yard line and had five boots of 50-plust yards, including a league-long 62-yard kick. Wing was selected to the D3football.com Team of the Week once this season, following his game against Union where he had his career-long 62-yard punt along with pinning 5-of-7 kicks inside the 20. His punt average total ranked sixth all-time in UR single-season history and 37th in Division III.
 
2nd Team:
Daniel Papantonis (SR, RB, Glen Gardner, NJ/Delbarton School) – 3rd All-LL honor (2022 1st Team, 2021 2nd Team); Papantonis again was one of the most dynamic playmakers in the Liberty League, finishing the season with 661 rushing yards on 131 carries along with 8 touchdowns. The running back added a long rush of 75 yards and had 10 receptions for an additional 119 yards and 1 TD, and also keyed the return game, finishing with 15 kickoff returns for 375 yards. That pushed his grand total to 1,152 all-purpose yards. Papantonis ranked among Division III's leaders in all-purpose yardage, averaging 143.75 per game, 18th in the nation and third best in school history. He also ranked 62nd in rushing yards per game (82.4) and was fourth in the conference in that category, while also ending fourth in the Liberty League in non-kicker scoring (54 points).
 
Trey Johnson (SR, WR, Amherst, NH/Souhegan) – 1st All-LL honor; Johnson was a steady presence for the Yellowjacket offensive attack in 2023, posting 74 receptions for 727 yards and 4 touchdowns. The reception total was more than double his previous career-high and the yardage total was also nearly double his previous season-best. The reception total ranks second in UR single-season history and finished first in the conference. He also was second in the Liberty League in receiving yards and was tied for fifth in receiving TD's. Johnson's receiving totals also ranked him 15th in Division III in receptions per game (7.4), 92nd in total receiving yards and 107th in receiving yards per game. His best game of the season came against Union on Oct. 7, when he grabbed 11 catches for 160 yards, both career-highs, and scored a 68-yard touchdown.
 
Jackson Kane (SO, TE, Boring, OR/Sam Barlow) – 1st All-LL honor; Kane kept improving as a sophomore, being a key receiving threat for the Yellowjackets offense, especially in the red zone. The tight end corralled 18 receptions for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns, adding one rush attempt for 20 yards on a fake punt in the season finale. Kane's reception, receiving yardage and receiving touchdown totals all ranked third among UR pass catchers this season. Additionally, the tight end played a key role as a blocker in Rochester's rushing attack, helping the Yellowjackets to an average of 149 yards on the ground. Kane finished with multiple receptions in six games this season, with his best contest being the season-opener against Utica when he finished with 4 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.
 
Alec Berceli (SR, OL, Gainesville, FL/Gainesville) – 1st All-LL honor; Berceli started all 10 games for Rochester at left tackle and helped the Yellowjackets line rank 19th in all of Division III for fewest sacks allowed, only surrendering eight sacks all season. Berceli and UR's offensive line was also honored for its performance in blocking for the Yellowjacket rushing attack against Alfred State on Sept. 9, when Rochester piled up 285 yards on the ground and 5 rushing scores. UR also was well disciplined along the line, ranking 33rd in Division III for fewest penalties per game. Rochester's offense averaged nearly 350 yards per game, accumulating 149 yards rushing per game and 198 yards passing per contest.
 
Luke Wilson (SR, OL, Alexandria, VA/TC Williams) – 3rd All-LL honor (2022 2nd Team, 2021 2nd Team); Wilson, a guard along UR's offensive line earns his third straight Second Team honor for his performance in run and pass blocking for the Yellowjackets. The senior co-captain helped Rochester to nearly 350 yards of total offense per game, among the top-15 seasons in UR football history (149 rush yards/game, 198 pass yards/game). Wilson and the rest of the offensive line earned D3football.com Team of the Week accolades after paving the way for nearly 300 yards rushing and 5 rush TD's in a big win over Alfred State early in the season. UR's offensive line combined to allow just eight sacks in 2023, ranking as the 19th best team in Division III in that category.
 
Judah Thomas (SO, DB, St. Paul, MN/Saint Paul Academy) – 1st All-LL honor; Thomas started all 10 games at cornerback for the Yellowjackets and proved to be a ball hawk, ending with league-high tying six interceptions. That total ranked tied for third overall in Division III and he ranks seventh in the country in interceptions per game (0.60). Thomas added 35 total tackles, finishing with three or more stops in seven of ten games and added four additional pass break-ups on the season. In all, the sophomore ranked fifth in the Liberty League in total passes defended and was in the top-10 in team history in single-season interceptions.
 
Jordy Tawa (SO, DB, Wilsonville, OR/West Linn) – 2nd All-LL honor (2022 HM); Tawa started at the other corner spot for Rochester in all ten games and had another outstanding year, finishing the season with 59 tackles, 44 of which were solo stops and 15 total passes defended, including three interceptions. His passes defended total tied for the Liberty League lead and ranked fourth in total interceptions. Additionally, he finished third on UR in tackles and was first in solo stops. The sophomore ranked 15th in Division III in passes defended per game and was also nationally ranked in interceptions per game and solo tackles per game.
 
Honorable Mention:
Happy Chane (JR, LB, Alpheretta, GA/Mount Pisgah Christian) – 1st All-LL honor; Chane, a starter at linebacker for Rochester ended the season with a Rochester leading 85 tackles in 2023, ranking third in the conference in total tackles. Additionally, the junior piled up 3.5 tackles for loss (26 yards), 1 sack (9 yards), 1 forced fumble, 1 blocked kick and 4 quarterback hurries. Chane had four games with 10 or more tackles, piling up a season-high 16 against Union on Oct. Additionally, he blocked a punt which led to a UR touchdown in the season-opener against Utica. Within Division III, Chane was 88th in tackles per game, averaging 8.5 per game.