File. BG’s Christian Sims (88) is brought down by Miami’s Michael Dowell Saturday during the first half at Doyt Perry Stadium.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
Bowling Green State University placed four Falcons on the 2022 All-Mid-American Conference team, as announced by MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher.
BGSU 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior defensive lineman Karl Brooks headlines BGSU’s selections by earning first-team honors. The All-MAC team and specialty award winners are voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches.
BGSU 6-0 senior wide receiver Odieu Hiliare, 5-10 sophomore kick returner Ta’ron Keith and 6-4 senior tight end Christian Sims were named to the second team.
It is the second career nods for both Brooks and Sims. Last year Brooks earned third-team distinction and Sims was named to the first team. It is the first career accolades for Hiliare and Keith.
Brooks (Lansing, Mich.) was recently named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus and named to the final watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive end.
Brooks is eighth in the nation with 10 sacks and ninth in the nation with 18 tackles for loss. Brooks led the nation with 47 hurries per PFF and his 63 total pressures rank second in the nation among all FBS defenders, applying pressure on 17.3% of his pass rush attempts.
Brooks’ 91.3 PFF grade on pass rush is second in the nation among all defenders with at least 300 pass rushes. He is also the only player in the nation with over 25 tackles, over 10 sacks, over 18 tackles for loss, two-plus passes defended and at least one fumble recovery.
For an offensive unit that had eight players with at least 10 receptions, Hiliare (Belle Glade, Fla.) led BGSU with 54 receptions, 704 receiving yards and tied for the team lead with six touchdowns.
He was named MAC East Offensive Player of the week after he had a career-high 246 receiving yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns in win at Toledo.
The 246 receiving yards at Toledo are third on BGSU’s single-game ledger and 11th on the MAC’s single-game record list.
His two touchdown catches against Marshall aided in BGSU’s comeback overtime win over the Herd. Hiliare has a catch in 34-straight games, which currently is the 14th-best active streak in the nation.
Keith (DeLand, Fla.) is 19th in the nation and second in the MAC with a 24.5 yards per kick return.
He was named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week for his 102 kick return yards on two returns against Western Michigan, including a career-long 83-yard return that set up the game-winning touchdown against the Broncos.
Keith also scored three game-winning touchdowns for the Falcons on offense (vs. Marshall, Miami and at Toledo).
Sims (Norcross, Ga.) turned in a comparable season to the 2021 campaign when he earned first-team accolades. Sims was second on the team with 41 receptions for 402 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
His third-and-long catch for 35 yards in the closing minute at Toledo set up the game-winning score by Keith. He was third in the league among tight ends with 41 catches and had at least three receptions in 10 of the 11 games in which he played.
BGSU had the fewest all-league honorees of the MAC’s 12 schools despite being one of the conference’s five bowl-eligible teams and at one point being three quarters away from representing the East division at the MAC Championship game.
Bowling Green finished the regular season 6-6 and awaits its first bowl bid since 2015. A bowl announcement will be made on Sunday.
