Quarterback-hunting Highlands grad earns All-American honors at Westminster
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Brayden Thimons’ debut football season at Westminster lasted just five games, but he made the most out of each snap.
The Highlands product was among the nation’s leaders in sacks and tackles for a loss and was recognized for his stellar performance late last month when he was tabbed a first-team All-American defensive end by D3football.com.
“It was kinda shocking. I really didn’t know anything about it,” said Thimons, who helped Westminster finish 5-0 and win the PAC championship. “There’s still work to be done, still a lot to accomplish.”
The pandemic shifted Westminster’s football season to the spring and limited the Titans to three conference games against Geneva, Grove City and Carnegie Mellon, along with an exhibition contest against Bethany.
Then came the PAC championship against Washington & Jefferson, where Thimons produced four sacks — tied for the second most in Division III this season – and led the Titans to a 27-20 victory.
“In a big-time game, I knew we needed big plays,” he said. “I take pride in situations when we need someone to pick it up. I wanted to be the guy for the team.”
Thimons (6-4, 235) finished his junior season with 27 tackles, including 7.5 sacks, which led the PAC and was tied for second in all of NCAA Division III. He also had 8.5 tackles for loss, which led the conference and was ninth nationally.
He was selected to the All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference first-team defense and later received the All-American honors.
Teammate Ian Barr, a junior linebacker from State College, and Carnegie Mellon senior guard Sean Pogorelc also were first-team honorees. Barr and Thimons were the first Westminster players to earn first-team All-American honors in program history.
Washington & Jefferson sophomore guard Angelo Fratini (Burgettstown) and Westminster junior safety Bryce Thomas were second-team picks for the team, which is selected in balloting by Sports Information Directors.
Thimons came on board with Westminster for the 2020-21 school year after spending two years at Robert Morris and then taking a year off. As a freshman at RMU in 2017, he played in 10 games at outside linebacker and finished with 18 tackles.
After a coaching change, he shifted to defensive end in 2018 and recorded 28 solo tackles and 20 assisted tackles, including two sacks. He left the program in 2019 to deal with some personal issues but soon found a new home at Westminster, where his RMU roommate had transferred and also where a familiar face was in uniform.
Thimons joined his brother Daniel, a 2019 Highlands grad, who also is a defensive lineman.
“Hopefully, Daniel will get some reps next to me this season,” Brayden said.
A third Thimons brother also appears to have a future in football. Chandler Thimons is entering his junior season as the quarterback at Highlands. He threw for 1,315 yards and 16 touchdowns last season after passing for 1,363 and 11 as a freshman.
He’s been getting plenty of mentoring this summer from his eldest brother, whether it be during basketball games or daily workouts on the field and weight room.
“I’ve been taking responsibility to get his confidence up and be a leader, step into positions to be more comfortable,” Brayden said. “He’s come along so much this summer.”
Brayden has two years of eligibility remaining at Westminster, and he hopes to make the most of them. With a slew of starters returning for eighth-year head coach Scott Benzel, the Titans are ranked No. 12 in the annual Lindy’s Sports Division III Preseason Top 25.
“We want to go from good to great,” Brayden Thimons said. “We want to make deep runs in the playoffs and get the opportunity to play for the national championship.
“I want to win. That’s the main thing. I could care less whether I have one or 50 sacks. If I can lead this team and play my part and play for a national championship, then I’ve done my job.”