Parts of this release courtesy of Vince Thompson, AFCA Director of Media Relations, Ashland University, Hillsdale College, Michigan Technological, and the Wayne State University Media Relations Department's
WACO, TEX. — Mars Hill runningback Jonas Randolph and Missouri Western State kicker Greg Zuerlein headline the 2011 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.
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The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and
currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes
these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen
exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the
coaches themselves.
Randolph picked up his third straight AFCA All-America Team honor
by leading the nation in total rushing yards (2,170) and rushing
yards per game (197.27), and finished second in the nation in
all-purpose running with 207 yards per game. Zuerlein led the
nation in field goals per game, making 23 of 24 attempts. He was a
perfect nine of nine from beyond 50 yards with a long of 58 yards.
This is Zuerlein’s second AFCA All-America honor. He was
named to the All-America team in 2009 when he played for
Nebraska-Omaha.
The GLIAC’s rushing champion for each of the past two years, Joe Glendening powered Hillsdale to the 2011 GLIAC regular season championship on the strength of 1,604 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns on 325 carries. All three of those numbers were school single-season records, and his 180 points in GLIAC games tied the conference’s all-time single-season record. He was named First-Team All-GLIAC, the GLIAC Player of the Year and the Daktronics Super Region 3 Player of the Year following his incredible campaign. Glendening also finished the season with 24 receptions for 270 yards and four touchdowns.
Todd Storm earned his second straight GLIAC “Defensive Lineman of the Year” award after finishing second in the league with nine sacks (six solo, three assisted) and second in the league with 19 tackles for a loss and a league-best 69 yards. The Calumet, Mich., native finished his career with 18.5 sacks, third all-time at Michigan Tech.
Jeremy Jones, a 5-10, 189-pound fifth-year senior, leads the Warriors with 85 tackles, nine interceptions and four quarterback hurries. He is tied-for-second in Division II with his nine picks, while his 196 interception return yards rank sixth. WSU is 14th nationally in sacks per game averaging 3.07 per contest after recording five against Winston-Salem State last Saturday in an NCAA semifinal contest in North Carolina. Wayne State is 32nd nationally and lead the GLIAC in rushing defense allowing just 119 yards per game. The Warriors will play in this Saturday's NCAA Division II National Championship game against Pittsburg State. WSU has won four consecutive road games against teams ranked in the top 14 in the final regular-season AFCA Coaches' Poll.
Gregg Berkshire is the fourth player in AU history to be
named to the AFCA tea m. The first was
defensive back Toure Carter in 2003. The other three players all
played under Ashland head coach Lee Owens. That trio includes
Berkshire, offensive lineman Vince Cashdollar (2007) and
quarterback Billy Cundiff (2008). He is the 13th player
in school history to be recognized as a first team All-American.
Berkshire owns school career records for field goals (56), extra
points (155) and points (323). This past season he was first
in the GLIAC in kick scoring (7.7 ppg.) and field goals per game
and was second in extra point percentage (97.4). Berkshire is the
GLIAC career leader in field goals.
|
2011 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America Team |
|||||||
|
Offense |
|||||||
|
Pos |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
School |
Coach |
Hometown (High School) |
|
WR |
Trevor Kennedy |
6-0 |
200 |
Sr. |
Mercyhurst |
Marty Schaetzle |
Akron, Ohio (Firestone) |
|
WR |
Tyler Steffan |
6-4 |
210 |
Jr. |
Mary |
Myron Schulz |
Dickinson, N.D. (Dickinson) |
|
OL |
Garth Heikkinen |
6-4 |
305 |
Jr. |
Minnesota-Duluth |
Bob Nielson |
Duluth, Minn. (Central) |
|
OL |
Amini Silatolu* |
6-3 |
320 |
Sr. |
Midwestern St. |
Bill Maskill |
Tracy, Calif. (West) |
|
OL |
Kyle Thornton |
6-4 |
345 |
Sr. |
North Alabama |
Terry Bowden |
Dallas, Texas (St. Mark’s) |
|
OL |
Rob Stoner |
6-2 |
295 |
Sr. |
Edinboro |
Scott Browning |
Edinboro, Pa. (General McLane) |
|
OL |
Ryan Schraeder |
6-7 |
319 |
Sr. |
Valdosta St. |
David Dean |
Wichita, Kan. (Maize) |
|
QB |
Dane Simoneau |
6-3 |
227 |
Sr. |
Washburn |
Craig Schurig |
Salina, Kan. (Sacred Heart) |
|
RB |
David Carter |
5-10 |
225 |
Jr. |
Morehouse |
Rich Freeman |
Marietta, Ga. (Sprayberry) |
|
RB |
Joe Glendening |
5-10 |
188 |
Jr. |
Hillsdale |
Keith Otterbein |
East Grand Rapids, Mich. (East) |
|
RB |
Jonas Randolph*** |
5-10 |
185 |
Sr. |
Mars Hill |
Tim Clifton |
Daleville, Ala. (Daleville) |
|
Defense |
|||||||
|
Pos |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
School |
Coach |
Hometown (High School) |
|
DL |
Brandon Williams* |
6-3 |
325 |
Jr. |
Missouri Southern St. |
Bart Tatum |
Kirkwood, Mo. (Rockwood Summit) |
|
DL |
Aston Whiteside |
6-2 |
285 |
Sr. |
Abilene Christian |
Chris Thomsen |
Vernon, Texas (Vernon) |
|
DL |
Todd Storm |
6-3 |
250 |
Sr. |
Michigan Tech |
Tom Kearly |
Calumet, Mich. (Calumet) |
|
DL |
Tim Green |
6-1 |
215 |
Jr. |
Lincoln (Pa.) |
O.J. Abanishe |
Fanwood, N.J. (Scotch Plains) |
|
LB |
Deon Lacey |
6-2 |
208 |
Jr. |
West Alabama |
Will Hall |
Brighton, Ala. (Hueytown) |
|
LB C |
had Kilgore |
6-1 |
230 |
Sr. |
Northwest Missouri St. |
Adam Dorrel |
Orrick, Mo. (Excelsior Springs) |
|
LB |
Nate Dreiling |
6-4 |
228 |
So. |
Pittsburg St. |
Tim Beck |
Hutchinson, Kan. (Hutchinson) |
|
DB |
Dontae Smith |
6-1 |
176 |
Sr. |
East Central |
Tim McCarty |
Deland, Fla. (Deland) |
|
DB |
Jeremy Jones |
5-10 |
189 |
Sr. |
Wayne St. (Mich.) |
Paul Winters |
Grand Rapids, Mich. (Rockford) |
|
DB |
Rontez Miles |
6-1 |
210 |
Jr. |
California (Pa.) |
John Luckhardt |
Braddock, Pa. (Woodland Hills) |
|
DB |
Marvin Matthews |
6-0 |
197 |
Jr. |
St. Cloud State |
Scott Underwood |
Roseville, Minn. (Roseville Area) |
|
Specialists |
|||||||
|
Pos |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Cl. |
School |
Coach |
Hometown (High School) |
|
P |
Gregg Berkshire |
6-2 |
210 |
Sr. |
Ashland |
Lee Owens |
Ashland, Ohio (Ashland) |
|
PK |
Greg Zuerlein** |
6-0 |
190 |
Sr. |
Missouri Western St. |
Jerry Partridge |
Lincoln, Neb. (Pius X) |
|
AP |
Dominique Fitzgerald |
6-0 |
180 |
Sr. |
Winston-Salem St. |
Connell Maynor |
Danville, Va. (George Washington) |
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.
Selection Process: The AFCA’s Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.
Top Teams: Texas A&M-Kingsville has been represented a total of 33 times by 29 players on the AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America Team. Trailing Texas A&M-Kingsville is Indiana (Pa.) (18/16), Pittsburg State (18/15), Northwest Missouri State (17/13), North Alabama (16/15), Abilene Christian (15/14), Grand Valley State (15/14), American International (14/13), Carson-Newman (14/13), Ferris State (14/12), Texas A&M-Commerce (14/12), New Haven (13/13), Valdosta State (12/11), Indianapolis (10/10) and Saginaw Valley State (10/10).
Consecutive Years: Texas A&M-Kingsville had at least one player named to the AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America Team for 18 straight seasons, from 1986 to 2003, the longest streak by any team in Division II. Northwest Missouri State has the longest current streak with a player selected to the AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America Team at 16 straight seasons, from 1996 to present.
Repeat After Me: Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Johnny Bailey is the only player to earn Coaches’ All-America honors in four consecutive years at any level. Bailey was a four-year pick at runningback in 1986-87-88-89.
Three-peat: Mars Hill runningback Jonas Randolph was named to the Division II Coahes’ All-America Team for a third straight year in 2011, tying him with Minnesota State-Mankato’s Tywan Mitchell (1996-98) as the only players to earn three straight Division II Coaches’ All-America Team honors.
Back-to-Back: Midwestern State offensive lineman Amini Silatolu and Missouri Southern State defensive lineman Brandon Williams are the only players to earn AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America honors for the second consecutive season in 2011.
Two Players, Two Schools: Punter Mark Bounds and placekicker Greg Zuerlein are the only players to earn Coaches’ All-America honors at two different schools. Bounds was named to the AFCA College Division I team in 1990 while playing for West Texas A&M. He transferred to Texas Tech after West Texas dropped football and earned I-A All-America honors as a Red Raider in 1991. Zuerlein was named to the Division II Coaches’ All-America Team in 2009 while playing for Nebraska-Omaha. He transferred to Missouri Western State after Nebraska-Omaha dropped its football program and earned Division II honors in 2011 as a Griffon.
Class Distinction: This year’s Division II Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 15 seniors, nine juniors and one sophomore.
For more information on the AFCA and its programs log on to the AFCA’s website at www.afca.com.
