Orono, Maine -- Seven members of the 2019 Black Bears earned nine Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) all-conference honors, as announced by the league on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Earnest Edwards collected three separate honors, including being named the CAA Special Teams Player of the Year.
 
Edwards earned a pair of All-CAA First Team Offense honors, collecting accolades as both a receiver and a kick returner to go along with his Special Teams Player of the Year recognition. Liam Dobson (offensive line), Kayon Whitaker (defensive line), Taji Lowe (linebacker) and Manny Patterson (corner back) joined Edwards in garnering All-CAA First Team honors.
 
Jaquan Blair (wide receiver) and Charles Mitchell (defensive line) each earned selections to the All-CAA Third Team.
 
The CAA Football all-conference accolades were voted on by the league's 12 head coaches.
 
Edwards, who matched his own school record by returning two kick returns for touchdowns at Colgate, one for a school record 100-yards, is Maine's all-time record holder in total kick return touchdowns (6), kick return yardage (2,311) and total kick returns (90). Edwards led the nation in kick returns in 2019, averaging 28.5-yards per return with 20 total returns for 570 yards. The senior, who earned his third consecutive All-CAA First Team kick return accolade and first selection to the All-CAA First Team as a receiver, finished his career as Maine's all-time leader in receiving yards, racking up 2,641 yards on 143 career receptions, good for 11^th best all-time at Maine. Edwards, who recorded a touchdown in 18 of his last 19 career games, finished his senior campaign ranked third in the CAA in receiving yards (1,097), second in receiving yards per game (99.7) and ninth in receptions per game (4.5). In 11 games, Edwards registered five, 100 yard receiving performances including a season-high 153-yard day at Elon.
 
Whitaker, earned his second consecutive first team accolade and third overall all-conference selection, ranked fourth in the CAA with 9.0 sacks and 20.0 tackles for loss. Whitaker, whose 20.0 tackles for loss are the most by a Black Bear in over 20 years, ends his career with an impressive 45.5 tackles for loss, 27.0 sacks and 183 total tackles. In 2019, Whitaker tallied a trio of multi-sack performances and ended the season with a five-game, multiple tackle for loss streak, registered a total of 14.5 tackles for loss over his last five games.
 
Dobson, selected to the All-CAA first team for the first time in his career after a second team honor a year ago, has started 26 straight games for the Black Bears. Dobson was Maine's highest graded offensive lineman for every game in 2019 and averaged 12 knockdowns a game in his junior season.
 
Lowe, who ends his career with 249 total tackles, earned his first-ever All-CAA selection with a spot on the first team. Lowe led the Black Bears with a career-high 98 total tackles to go along with 9.5 tackles for loss and a half sack. Lowe ranked fourth among CAA leaders at 8.9 tackles per game and wrapped up his senior season with a total of four, double-digit tackling performances including a career-best 15 stops in a win over Rhode Island.
 
Patterson, a 2019 preseason All-American, earns his second consecutive All-CAA first team selection and third overall all-conference accolade. Before suffering a season-ending injury at UAlbany, Patterson had started 44 games in his career while registering 54 pass breakups, three interceptions and 113 total tackles. Patterson racked up 29 stops, 1.5 for loss, and five pass breakups in his shortened 2019 campaign.
 
Blair received his first-ever selection to the all-conference ranks, being named to the All-CAA third team after leading the Black Bears with 65 total receptions and ranking second on the team in both receiving yardage (839) and receiving touchdowns (8). Blair, who ranked fourth in the CAA with 5.9 receptions per game, checked in eight best among CAA leaders at 76.3 yards per game while his 839 total yards placed him tenth best on the conference leaderboard. Blair completed his career at Maine ranked 13^th on both Maine's all-time receiving yards list (1,692) and all-time receptions list (134).
 
Mitchell, an All-CAA preseason honorable mention selection, clogged up the middle for the Black Bears all season long. Mitchell, who started all 12 games, finished his 2019 campaign with 47 tackles, including 6.0 for loss, and a sack to go along with one forced fumble. Mitchell registered a career-high 3.0 tackles for loss against Richmond.
 
-UMaine-