LANCASTER, Pa. – Laurence Miller (first-team) and Jeff Decker (third-team) were both been named to the D3football.com All-Region II team as announced by the national organization this week. These honors mark the first time since 2013 – and just the second time since these accolades were presented in 2005 – that the Diplomats have had multiple recipients in the same season. Additionally, Miller becomes the first player in program history to earn first-team all-region honors from D3football.com.
As a leader on special teams, Laurence Miller went 12-for-16 on the year in field goal attempts as three of his misses were blocked by the opposing defense. The F&M junior was one of just 11 players in all of Division III to connect from 50 or more yards when he did so during the home opener against TCNJ. He was just the second Diplomat in school history to join that prestigious group. Miller ranked 13th in all of Division III with 1.09 field goals per game, while his 75 percent conversion rate was the 18th best mark in the country. Miller averaged 6.5 points per game for the Diplomats as he also went 36-for-39 in PATs. Although he was named to the first-team as a kicker, Miller also handled F&M's punting duties where his 36.7 yards per punt ranked second in the conference and 64th nationally.
Fellow junior Jeff Decker earned third-team all-region recognition as a defensive end. Decker ranked just outside of the top 50 defensive players in Division III as he caused three fumbles in 11 games. With an average of 1.5 tackles for loss per game, that mark was the 39th-best in the country, with his 6.5 sacks adding to the pressure he put on opponent's quarterbacks all season long. Decker totaled 53 tackles, including 36 solo stops. During each of the Diplomats' 11 games, the junior had multiple tackles. He made a season-best nine stops (2.5 TFL) against Johns Hopkins and had two more sacks versus Kean. Decker's best game at pressuring the quarterback came during the Bowl Series against King's where he registered 2.5 sacks.
Franklin & Marshall made it back to the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series during the 2023 season and picked up a 30-7 victory during that postseason contest to finish the year at 8-3 overall. Those eight victories were most since they also won eight games in 2018. F&M was made its 16th bowl appearance all time this fall and now owns a 10-6 record in those postseason games. Franklin & Marshall has played in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series during six of the last seven seasons, having won the last five of their postseason appearances.
