Four Broncbusters named to All-America team
By Mike Pilosof
Garden City, KS-More postseason hardware for Broncbuster football.
On Tuesday, running back Jordan Ford, defensive end Raymond Cutts, and defensive backs Keylon Kennedy and Jonathan Huggins were named to the NJCAA All-America Team.
"Those guys were the foundation for what we accomplished during a pretty crazy spring," Head Coach Tom Minnick said. "It was a major loss when Jonathan went down for the season. He was the leader of our defense."
RB Jordan Ford-NJCAA ALL-AMERICA 1ST TEAM OFFENSE
Ford became just the fifth back in program history to win the rushing title, joining Charles West (2018), Dwayne Crutchfield (1979), and Clyde Russell (1971 and 1972). He totaled 1,039 yards while scoring a nation leading 12 touchdowns. He averaged 5.8 yards per tote and posted five 100-yard rushing games including a career-best 222 vs. Butler in the regular-season finale. He began the spring with three straight games eclipsing the century mark on the ground. More impressively, the sophomore had 179 carries without a fumble.
DE Raymond Cutts- NJCAA ALL-AMERICA 1ST TEAM DEFENSE
Cutts started seven of eight games during the spring season, finishing with a team-best 4.5 sacks including a season-high 1.5 in a 20-0 win over Coffeyville on May 15. He was sixth in the nation in quarterback takedowns. The transfer from the University of Central Florida also posted 32 tackles, tallying seven in a 14-10, come-from-behind victory over Independence on Apr. 17.
DB Jonathan Huggins-NJCAA ALL-AMERICA 2ND TEAM DEFENSE
Huggins surely would have garnered first-team consideration if not for a season-ending arm injury, which he suffered in the second half of the Independence game. But up until that point, the University of Florida transfer was Jerry Dominguez's best defensive player. He posted 24 tackles, eight for loss, forced one fumble and snagged one interception in a half season's worth of work. In fact, in the game where he got hurt, the sophomore had a season-best eight stops.
The fact that Huggins played in only four games and still earned All-American status is an unbelievable accomplishment.
DB Keylon Kennedy-NJCAA ALL-AMERICA 2ND TEAM DEFENSE
The term shutdown corner may be the most overused term in football. But if ever there was one in Junior College football in 2021 it was Kennedy, who made opposing quarterbacks think twice before firing it to his side of the field. Now, the Fort Hays State transfer's numbers won't jump off the page (15 tackles), but defensive backs are rarely judged on numbers alone. Kennedy was no exception. The sophomore had one interception, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles, one of which was arguably the play of the year where he chased down wide receiver Raequan Prince in the third quarter of Garden City's 58-0 blowout win over Highland on Apr. 10.