Record-Setting Charlotte’s Javen Nicholas Selected All-Conference Player Of The Year
Javen Nicholas was the lone American Conference All-Conference player for Charlotte Football this year, earning a Third Team selection as a wide receiver, the league announced on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 2).
Nicholas was the top wide receiver for the 49ers this year, leading the team with 740 yards on 60 receptions with five touchdowns. His 740 yards are the eighth-most in a single season in program history, while his 60 catches are the fifth-most any Niner has hauled in during any campaign. He finished 10th in the American Conference in yards receiving and tied for seventh in total receptions, while his five TDs were tied for 11th in the league.
He had a high-water mark of 187 yards against North Texas, ranking as the fifth-most receiving yards in a single game in program history. Nicholas caught two of his five touchdown passes in that game against the Mean Green and then hauled in two more TD grabs in Charlotte’s next game at East Carolina, making him just the second player in program history to record multiple touchdown receptions in consecutive games – joining CJ Crawford from the program’s inaugural season in 2013 to accomplish the feat.
The New Orleans native had 11 receptions in the game against North Carolina, becoming the third 49er to record double-digit receptions in a game and sitting only behind Austin Duke with the third-most receptions in a single game in program history. He also scored a touchdown and caught the ensuing two-point conversion pass attempt against Rice for the third “octopus” in program history (where a player scores both the touchdown and the two-point conversion to account for all eight points on the play).
Nicholas also doubled as the team’s primary punt returner, logging 99 yards of punt returns on eight attempts for the third-most punt return yards in a single season in program history. He had a long return of 26 yards as part of a season-high 42 punt return yards in that game, with both marks ranking as the fourth-best in their respective single-game categories in program history.