2024 Season Award recipients

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Players and coaches from conference champions and national statistical leaders dominated the 2024 New England Football Writers annual awards list. 

UMass Dartmouth quarterback Dante Aviles-Santos is the recipient of the Harry Agganis/Harold Zimman Award as the outstanding player in New England. Aviles-Santos, a graduate student, led the Corsairs to a perfect 10-0 regular season record and the team’s third consecutive Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. A three-time MASCAC Offensive Most Valuable Player, Santos threw for 10,430 yards with 114 touchdown passes in his career. His 42 scoring tosses in 2024 shattered his own UMass Dartmouth record of 28 set in 2022. As a starter, Aviles-Santos was 36-7 for an .837 winning percentage over four years.

The Season Gold Helmet Awards to the player of the year in each Division were earned by players, or players from teams, that lead the nation in their respective Divisions. Springfield College graduate student Arsen Shtefan, a fullback, has led the Pride to an undefeated regular season and the #1 rushing offense in all of Division III. Shtefan ran for 1,286 yards through 10 regular season games. Springfield leads all of Division III in rushing by over 100 yards per game. Donovan Ezeiruaku, senior defensive end from the Boston College is the University Division recipient. Ezeiruaku is the national leader in sacks in the FBS with 16.5 and is ranked fourth in total tackles for loss with 20.5. He tied for fourth in the ACC with three forced fumbles and ranks 21st nationally in that category. In addition to his 16.5 sacks, Ezeiruaku had 15 quarterback hurries, nearly double that of any other Eagle player.

The Jack Grinold Division I Coach of the Year Award goes to Jim Fleming of the University of Rhode Island. Fleming completed his eleventh season with a career best 10-2 record and qualification for the NCAA FCS tournament. The ledger marked the fifth consecutive winning season for the Rams, a feat unmatched by URI squads since the 1980’s.

Dan DiCenzo of Wesleyan University is the recipient of the Division II/III Coach of the Year award. The Cardinals were champions of the New England Small College Athletic Conference with an 8-1 record and DiCenzo’s staff  was named NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year. DiCenzo is the first ever coach of the Cardinals to earn NEFW Division II/III Coach of the Year Honors.

The Jerry Nason Award to the senior football player in New England who has succeeded in football against all odds goes to Central Connecticut State University Defensive lineman Dan Toatley. Toatley lost his father and brother over a 10-month span. The losses inspired Toatley to donate bone marrow which kept him out of team activities and workouts for over a month prior to his senior season.

Retired Harvard University Thomas Stephenson Family Head Football Coach Tim Murphy is the recipient of the George Carens Award to the person who has made significant contributions to football in New England. Murphy retired from Harvard following the 2023 season after amassing more wins than any coach in Ivy League history. His overall career record including stints at the University of Maine and Cincinnati is 224-132-1 (.629 winning percentage).

All the award recipients were honored at the New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet presented by the Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation on Thursday, December 12, at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center.