CLINTON, S.C. – For the second consecutive year, Phil Steele publications has accommodated a Presbyterian College football player on the FCS Freshman All-America team. Following in the footsteps of wide receiver Dominic Kibby who received the honor in 2022, specialist Mack Mikko gains the honor this time around while joined by five others on the magazine's All-Pioneer Football League rosters.

Announced on Friday afternoon, the group of Mikko, Kibby, Alex Herriott, Worth Warner, Carter Szydlowski, and Brooks Russ-Martin were officially enshrined into the postseason awards assembly. This comes after the Blue Hose reached a three-win improvement over the prior campaign with a 4-7 mark, another signifier of the program's rapid resurgence.

The Herriott-Kibby-Warner trio were all unveiled as league first-teamers by Phil Steele, the first time in the Steve Englehart era that PC has gained three all-PFL honorees on the number one unit. Mikko followed suit with a third-team selection, while Szydlowski and Russ-Martin rounded out the list on the conference's fourth-team crew.

Statistically the best season by any Presbyterian kicker since the school turned Division I in 2007, Mikko gained a spot on the fourth-team Freshman All-America group. He becomes the fourth PC player to earn All-America since 2020 and the first-ever Blue Hose kicker to be awarded an All-FCS plaudit.

 
Mack Mikko | Fr. | K/P | Newnan, Ga.
Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America (4^th Team)
Phil Steele All-PFL 3^rd Team
 
The Presbyterian D-I record book was effectively bulldozed by Mikko during his inaugural season under Englehart and position coach Will Kirkendall, securing the third-highest point total in the Pioneer League (74) thanks to a perfect 26-for-26 PAT ratio and 16 successful field goal attempts. Second to only Owen Zalc of Dartmouth in terms of most made FG's by a freshman in the country, Mikko ended the semester as one of four PFL kickers to split the uprights at least 10 times and the only one of that quartet to do so as a collegiate rookie. Connecting on 72% of his field goal formations (third in the division) while even performing most of the team's punting duties near the close of the calendar, Mack drilled three from a distance of 40+ yards including a personal-long 45-yarder versus San Diego at Bailey Memorial Stadium. He'd boot 45 kickoffs on the season for nine touchbacks, twice named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week (September 17 and October 15). Additionally, the Georgia native was included on the 22-man watch list for the Jerry Rice Award, a trophy presented annually to the most outstanding freshman regardless of position at the FCS level. He'd become the first Presby kicker since 2010 to hit three field goals in a single outing during a monumental W over Wofford, going on to break the prior single-season school record for most FG's by nine.


 
 
Dominic Kibby | So. | WR | Catonsville, Md.
Phil Steele All-PFL 1^st Team
 
Leading the way in the receiving department for the second time in as many years – and therefore gaining an all-league first team membership as a result – Kibby offered an impressive encore to a sensational freshman stint in '22 by finding the end zone four times to go along with 776 receiving yards. Ranking fourth in the PFL by climbing to 70 yards per meeting, the sophomore brought his two-year Presbyterian total to 1,572 yards and 12 touchdowns after catching 44 balls this season. When Kibby fought his way to a reception, he'd average a 17-yard gain (second in the conference). Pawing at least three in all 11 affairs this year, Dominic tallied a pair of two-TD performances (opposite Virginia-Lynchburg and Butler in the PFL opener), exploding against the Bulldogs for a 199-yard day. That went down was the highest yard count of any PFL wideout in 2023, punctuated with a 93-yard scoring sprint in Indianapolis which set a new benchmark for the longest gain from scrimmage since the Blue Hose made the Division I leap.


 
 
Worth Warner | Sr. | TE | Raleigh, N.C.
Phil Steele All-PFL 1^st Team
Another dangerous weapon for a Presby passing attack that conjured up 207 yards per game through the air, Warner saved his fourth season in Clinton for his most productive output yet. Finishing just behind Kibby with 403 receiving yards next to 31 snags, the senior drifted to the end zone on three occasions to give him five touchdowns since Englehart took over the program's reigns. Worth picked September 16 to produce his best-ever outing at Wofford's expense, aiding the Blue Hose to a dramatic victory in Spartanburg thanks to a career-best 117 yards and the game-winning TD as the clock read 28 seconds to go. That sole play allowed the PFL to pick up its first-ever win over a member of the Southern Conference and represented the first PC victory over the Terriers since 1992.


 
 
Alex Herriott | Jr. | LB | Hanahan, S.C.
Phil Steele All-PFL 1^st Team
 
A no-brainer of a decision to include Herriott on the all-PFL collection, the junior uncovered one of the greatest singular seasons by a PC defender in recent memory at a rate of 118 total tackles (the ninth-most in the United States). He'd see 68 of those tackles by himself – ranking sixth in FCS – racking up his career calculation to 272 stops in only 33 games with the Blue Hose dating back to 2021. That beastly number – as well as the aforementioned 118 in a single year – ranks as the second-best in Presby's Division I past. The Palmetto State native blasted the opposing quarterback 9.5 times for a sack, part of 14 tackles behind the line of scrimmage overall. In consecutive weekends, Alex equaled a monster career-high with 32 combined tackles (16 apiece) against both Marist and Davidson, the former giving him the distinction of PFL Defensive Player of the Week in a game where his accompanying defense never let the Red Foxes score a single offensive TD in the entire 60-minute period. Locating at least one TFL against seven different foes, Herriott assumed a double-digit tackle tally on six separate dates as he painted one terrific picture over his third year with the program.


 
 
Carter Szydlowski | So. | DL | Mount Pleasant, Tenn.
Phil Steele All-PFL 4^th Team
 
Making an instant impact while transferring into Englehart's tree as a second-year tackle/end, Szydlowski was as reliable of a defensive performer as Presbyterian had on the roster. Starting all 11 bouts on the year, the Tennessee native scooped up 37 tackles (15 of the solo variety) as well as 5.5 for a loss of yardage. More importantly, Carter consistently disrupted opposing offenses' production as both Virginia-Lynchburg and Dayton found out the hard way. Szydlowski blocked a VUL field goal try in his first-ever home appearance in a Blue Hose uniform, going on to tie the school record with two fumble recoveries in an eventual overtime triumph against the Flyers in Ohio (the first time since 2018 that anyone had achieved that feat). The sophomore wrangled in six tackles thrice – all against PFL adversaries – while grabbing at least one tackle for a loss in nearly 70 percent of the team's meetings. He'd land his first PC sack versus Stetson, one of 18 amassed from the squad as a whole.


 
 
Brooks Russ-Martin | Jr. | DB | Travelers Rest, S.C.
Phil Steele All-PFL 4^th Team
 
Perhaps no one on the roster penned a better closing to the 2023 campaign than Russ-Martin, a safety who was a pivotal piece to the team's season-ending 31-27 come-from-behind W over Morehead State. On that day alone, the junior was responsible for two takeaways: a forced fumble and recovery that went 97 yards for a touchdown in the 3^rd quarter (the longest-ever defensive score in PC history) and a 4^th-frame interception that helped slam the door on the victory. He'd add a trio of TFL's just for good measure, which boosted his season total to 56 tackles and a couple of pass deflections. Brooks had a hand in four turnovers through the conference slate, similarly recovering a fumble against Marist and San Diego. His effort against the Eagles was the first time in Blue Hose history that a player achieved a recovered fumble and an INT in a singular half, going down as the third-highest tackle-getter on the crew. The S.C. product was part of a Presby defense that surrendered only 144 passing yards per contest on the year, the third-lowest number of anyone at the FCS stage.