Written by Spencer Aiello
The Don Hansen Division II All-America committee recently gave alumni Patrick Healy and Cade Pugh honorable mention All-American honors for their performance during the 2022 season. Both former players graduated in December.
Healy, who played as a defensive lineman, had a good season to end his football career as a Bison, finishing the 2022 season with 24 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack. These stats helped him become a First Team All-Great American Conference honoree.
Pugh, playing as a defensive back, also finished his football career in 2022, concluding his season leading the team with 8.5 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups and three interceptions.
Healy shared his thoughts about what it meant to receive this honor.
“It’s amazing,” Healy said. “It’s everything that I could have ever asked for.”
Healy said he believes he wouldn’t have gotten this award without his coaches and teammates.
“I put in a lot of hard work,” Healy said. “And with that comes great coaches and teammates and
without them, I wouldn’t have gotten this award.”
Healy also said his parents were the reason he became the player and person he was.
“They installed a great work ethic in me from a young age and taught me how to invest my work,” Healy said. “I mean, without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
Pugh was also honored by receiving this award.
“Honestly, it just reminded me of how thankful and grateful I have been to be able to play football at this amazing university for the last five years under these coaches and with amazing teammates,” Pugh said. “I was really overcome with gratefulness and in awe of how good God is. [I] couldn’t have done any of it without him and the guys around me.”
Senior teammate Oric Walker Jr. said both Healy and Pugh were leaders to the team both on and off the field.
“They held a huge presence on the field this year,” Walker said.
Senior teammate Cooper Carroll said Pugh and Healy represented something important to the Bison football team.
“I think both of them kind of represented a sense of competence within the team really,” Carroll said. “And that came through their preparation.”
Pugh and Healy both started all 11 games played in 2022 and received the honorable mention All-American honors Jan. 10.
