RICHMOND, Ky. – Post season football honors continue to roll in for Eastern Kentucky University, with 11 total Colonels being named across the Phil Steele All-American and United Athletic Conference (UAC) teams as announced on Friday afternoon.
 
Josiah Ezirim earned his fourth All-American recognition of 2023, as he was selected for the publication's All-American third team, while being named first team All-UAC and the conference's Offensive Lineman of the Year.
 
Ezirim, who was selected as a Phil Steele preseason All-American, was the anchor for the Colonels on offense, starting every game in 2023 as EKU posted the top offense in the UAC with 437.4 yards per game, 4,811 yards of total offense, and 37 touchdowns.
 
The Ohio native also becomes the first UAC Offensive Lineman of the Year, with 2023 marking the league's inaugural season while being a first-team selection for the all-conference team.
 
Joining him on the All-UAC first team offense are fellow lineman Payton Collins, tight end Hunter Brown, and Braedon Sloan as a kick returner.
 
Collins also did not miss a start on the offensive line in 2023 en route to earning the Phil Steele all-conference selection for the third consecutive season.
 
Brown earns his second all-conference recognition of 2023 after being named first team All-UAC previously. In his first season as a Colonel, the Pennsylvania native was one of the top tight ends in the league with 387 receiving yards on 33 receptions, for an average of 11.7 yards per catch while hauling in three touchdowns.
 
On the other side of the ball, Logan Blake earns the All-UAC first team selection with a 2023 campaign that saw the NAIA transfer record 132 tackles, good for the fourth most in all of FCS football with 10.5 tackles for a loss and two interceptions.
 
Blake adds the accolade after being named to the FCS Football Central All-American defense, third team.
 
Cracking the first team for special teams as a kick returner, Braedon Sloan was the UAC's top kick returner with 397 yards on 15 returns for the nation's third-best yards per return at 26.5, and 36.1 yards per game.
 
Sloan, who was picked as a preseason fourth-team selection at running back, was named second team All-UAC on offense as well as again on special teams for "all-purpose". Out of the backfield, the Frazer, Kentucky native tallied 765 yards on the ground on 143 carries, going for 10 touchdowns on the ground while adding 467 yards and 3 touchdowns on 40 receptions.
 
In total, Sloan recorded 1,636 all-purpose yards in 2023, the third most in FCS football while leading the conference.
 
Making it on the all-conference special teams second team, kicker and preseason selection Patrick Nations led the nation in field goals per game (1.73) while going 19-of-25 on the season for field goals with an additional 31 PATs, and a total of 88 points on the season.
 
Rounding out the all-conference honors are third team selections, quarterback Parker McKinney, wide receiver Jaden Smith, and running back Joshua Carter on offense, and defensively, defensive lineman Ryan Jackson and defensive back Mike Smith Jr.
 
McKinney's selection marks his third consecutive selection to a Phil Steele all-conference team.
 
In 2023, the product of Coalfield, Tenn., ended his historic Colonel career with 3,033 yards passing and 20 touchdowns before being unanimously named first team All-UAC by the league at the end of the season.
 
McKinney ends his career as EKU's record holder for passing yards (12,751), passing touchdowns (94), completions (1,081), and total offense (14,457).
 
Junior wideout Jaden Smith also earns his third consecutive Phil Steele all-conference team as the Atlanta native recorded 781 receiving yards, the second most in the UAC, finished 10th in the nation in receptions per game (6.6), and added five touchdown receptions.
 
Carter cracks the All-UAC team after a productive season out of the back field as the Florida native posted 714 yards rushing and four touchdowns on the ground on 120 carries.

On the defensive third team, Ryan Jackson earns his first post season accolade as a Colonel after recording 36 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks.
 
Joining Jackson is defensive back Mike Smith Jr., who finished 2023 tied for the most passes defended in the UAC with 13, with two interceptions and 11 breakups.