Whitaker FOTY

Football Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Whitaker Named PSAC West Freshman of the Year

Four Golden Knights earn All-PSAC West honors

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – For the second time in three years a Gannon player has won the PSAC West Football Freshman of the Year award. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its postseason awards today. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jayden Whitaker (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) was voted the Freshman of the Year.

Davis Black of California (Pa.) was named the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Year while Slippery Rock's Todd Hill was voted the Defensive Athlete of the Year. California (Pa.)'s Gary Dunn was selected the Coach of the Year.

In addition to Whitaker capturing one of the major awards, Gannon had four players earn All-PSAC West honors. Defensive end Charles Calhoun (Euclid, Ohio/St. Edward) and linebacker Trey Baker (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) earned spots on the first team defense while Donell "Tank" Mason was a second team honoree at wide receiver and Bryson Costa (Windber, Pa./Windber Area) was named to the second team at punter.

Whitaker started all ten games for the Golden Knights after appearing in three games in 2023 before suffering a season-ending injury. He completed 159-of-262 passes for 2,113 yards with 9 TDs and 9 INTs. In addition, the 6-foot-1, 193-pound signalcaller led the Golden Knights in rushing with 254 yards on 128 carries with 9 TDs.

Gannon scored 22 touchdowns in 2024, with Whitaker taking part in 18. He passed for nine touchdowns and ran for nine more. The nine rushing touchdowns rank fifth in a season by a quarterback.

A native of Brownsburg, Ind., Whitaker's 2,113 yards rank ninth in a season. In addition, his 2,367 yards in total offense stands tenth in a season. He enjoyed the best game of his career two weeks ago against Clarion. He completed 27-of-36 passes for 366 yards with 2 TDs, adding 42 yards rushing and two more scores. The 366 yards is good for 13th in a game while the 408 yards of total offense is goods for 12th.

A year ago Calhoun was part of a defensive line that showcased two All-PSAC West performers. With both gone this year the redshirt junior needed to step up and he did just that. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound defensive end finished with 40 tackles to lead all defensive linemen. That included team-leading 9.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks.

Football All-PSAC

Baker is a redshirt senior who battled his way through several injuries to finish third on the team in tackles. The 6-foot-0, 219-pound linebacker had 60 stops, along with 4.5 TFL and an interception. After matching his season high with 10 tackles against Lock Haven he finished his career with 235 tackles, climbing all the way to 14th in career tackles.

Mason teamed with Whitaker to give the Golden Knights a dangerous passing attack. The junior finished with 49 receptions for 769 yards and 3 TDs, all team highs. The 49 receptions are tied for tenth in a season and the 769 yards is good for seventh.

Mason had three games with 100-or-more yards receiving. He opened the year with an eight-catch, 164-yard effort vs. Northwood, then finished the year with back-to-back 100-yard games. He had seven receptions for 121 yards vs. Clarion and this past week caught seven passes for 120 yards.

Mason will enter his senior season ranking sixth in career receptions and career receiving yards. He boosted his career numbers to 115 catches for 1,715 yards.

Costa served in the dual role of punter and placekicker as a freshman. He leads the PSAC and ranks 11th in Division II with an average of 43.6 yards on 39 punts. He had 13 punts of 50-or-more yards and dropped eight punts inside the 20.  The 43.6 yard average is a new school record.
 
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Players Mentioned

Trey Baker

#50 Trey Baker

LB
6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
Charles Calhoun

#7 Charles Calhoun

DL
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
Jayden Whitaker

#9 Jayden Whitaker

QB
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Bryson Costa

#33 Bryson Costa

PK
6' 0"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Trey Baker

#50 Trey Baker

6' 0"
Redshirt Senior
LB
Charles Calhoun

#7 Charles Calhoun

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
DL
Jayden Whitaker

#9 Jayden Whitaker

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
QB
Bryson Costa

#33 Bryson Costa

6' 0"
Freshman
PK