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Brian Murtagh
  • Class of 2017
  • Wayland, Mass.

Brian Murtagh of Wayland, , Lands on All-Liberty League Football Squad

2014 Nov 19

Brian Murtagh was one of seven WPI football student-athletes to receive recognition from the Liberty League for their effort on the gridiron in 2014.

Senior Nate Martel, junior Vinny Tavernelli and sophomores Brian Murtagh and Brandon Eccher highlighted seven WPI football players to earn distinction from the Liberty League as all-conference teams were announced on Tuesday. The quartet was named first team all-conference while junior Sean Murphy earned second team honors and senior Jack Downey and junior Eric Lacroix and picked up honorable mention recognition.

Martel was credited with 23 tackles, including 18 solo stops. The defensive lineman registered 5.5 tackles-for-loss, including 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup. The senior was the Robert Pritchard Award winner as top lineman on Homecoming and was also tabbed Capital One Co-SIDA Academic All-District I selection earlier this month.

Tavernelli, a repeat first team All-Liberty League selection, paced the conference with a 40.0 yards per punt average. The junior led the league with punts 50 or more yards (9) and was second in punts inside the 20 (14) and longest punt (68 yards). Tavernelli gave the Engineers a great advantage in field position as he out-punted his opponent (yards per average) in eight of 10 games this season and in 27 of 30 career games.

Murtagh led the Liberty League in total tackles with 106 while his 75 solo tackles were 13 more than the second highest in the conference. The middle linebacker stuffed the stat sheets with three sacks, seven tackles for loss, three QB hurries, three interceptions, a pass backup and a recovered fumble. Murtagh disrupted an overtime two point conversion attempt to secure a 24-23 victory at Merchant Marine.

Eccher landed in the top three in the conference in both receptions (46) and receiving yards (528). The sophomore hauled in four touchdown passes, including a pair of scores versus nationally-ranked and league champion Hobart. Eccher, who was also WPI's primary punt returner, earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after grabbing 13 catches for 150 losses against regionally-ranked St. Lawrence. Earlier this month he was named a first team Capital One Academic All-District I selection by CoSIDA.

Murphy picked up second team All-Liberty League honors for a second straight season. The junior recorded team-highs with four interceptions and six pass breakups despite seeing a limited amount of balls thrown to his side of the field. Murphy returned interceptions returned for touchdowns against Curry and Union and also returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Worcester State.

Lacroix drew honorable mention accolades for a second straight fall. The junior posted 76 tackles, including 60 solo stops. The free safety picked off a pass versus St. Lawrence and pitched in with five pass breakups on the season. Lacriox also was credited with 2.5 tackles-for-loss and half a sack.

Downey enjoyed a tremendous season in the trenches for the Engineers. The defensive tackle helped the Crimson and Gray stop the opponents running attack throughout the season. The senior posted seven of his 14 solo tackles over the final two weeks of the season en route to 19 total on the season. Downey also registered a sack in the homecoming triumph versus Union.

WPI will kick off the 2015 season at home Labor Day weekend against New England Football Conference champion MIT.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.