Complete 2007 ESPN the Magazine Football Academic All-America® TeamsNOTRE DAME, Ind. — Dayton’s Brandon Cramer, a defensive back, and Chadron State’s Danny Woodhead, a running back, headline the 2007
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Football Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Cramer, who touts a perfect 4.00 grade point average as a pre-medicine major, was named the University Division’s Academic All-America® of the Year recipient. With this year’s first-team Academic All-America® honor, he becomes the only 2007 team member with three Academic All-America® citations (second team in 2005, first team in 2006 and 2007).
Cramer is one of the defensive stars for a 10-1 Dayton Flyer team that is set to play Albany in its postseason game, the 2007 Gridiron Classic (PFL champion vs. NEC champion), this Saturday. Cramer, a 2007 National Football Foundation Draddy Trophy finalist, has 57 tackles and a pair of interceptions for the Flyers. He is a three-time Academic All-Pioneer Football League honoree and the 2006-07 recipient of the UD Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award (goes to top male and female Flyer student-athlete). Cramer hails from Toledo, Ohio.
Besides Cramer, 12 other 2007 University Division honorees are repeat Academic All-America® selections, including quarterbacks Brian Brohm (Louisville) and Paul Smith (Tulsa). Brohm and Smith are actually part of a three-way tie for the first-team quarterback honor. The third first-team honoree is Tim Tebow (Florida), one of the nation’s leading Heisman Trophy candidates. Tebow is the only sophomore named to the 2007 first or second teams.
This year’s other repeat
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® honorees include wide receiver Wes Doyle (San Diego), running back Cory Koenig (South Dakota State), offensive lineman Christopher Joseph (UCLA), defensive back Patrick O’Neill (San Diego), defensive back Adam Shada (Iowa), linebacker Cody Kase (New Mexico), linebacker Mike Klinkenborg (Iowa), tight end John Carlson (Notre Dame), offensive lineman Ryne Nutt (Central Connecticut State) and linebacker Jordan Senn (Portland State).
There were 11 institutions that placed a pair of student-athletes on the first and/or second teams: Harvard, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Dakota State, Notre Dame, San Diego, South Dakota State and Texas.
Woodhead leads the list of College Division Academic All-America® honorees, earning his second straight first team Academic All-America® honor and garnering the Academic All-America® of the Year award. The owner of a 3.72 grade point average as a math and physical education major with a coaching minor hails from North Platte, Neb.
The 2006 Harlon Hill Award winner, Woodhead is the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher with 7,871 career yards, 518 yards more than any other player in the college ranks. In addition, he moved into second place Saturday in all-purpose yards with 9,359, just 153 yards behind all-time leader Brian Westbrook of Villanova. The three-year captain and two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year has helped lead Chadron State to a 12-0 record and a spot in this weekend’s NCAA quarterfinal game. Woodhead has 1,506 yards on 229 carries and 21 touchdowns this season and is one of only six Division II players to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons.
Five institutions placed a pair of student-athletes on the first team, including Carnegie Mellon, North Dakota, Pittsburg State, Slippery Rock Ferris State and Thiel, while Rose-Hulman had a pair selected to the second team. Carnegie Mellon and North Dakota joined Mount Union to lead the way with a total of three athletes honored on one of the two teams.
Woodhead was one of 14 repeat selections at the College Division level. Joining him as repeat selections were first-team honorees wide receiver Weston Dressler (North Dakota), offensive lineman Mike Butterworth (Slippery Rock), defensive back William “Jake” Weller (Illinois College) and linebacker Kyle Elsasser (Nebraska Wesleyan). Also earning first-team honors that were second-team selections a year ago include wide receiver Kyle Duchman (Wartburg), offensive lineman Brian Freeman (Carnegie Mellon), defensive backs Nick Dellasega (Pittsburg State) and Andrew Rape (Rochester), linebacker Matt Alves (Texas Lutheran), defensive lineman Spencer Dickinson (Minnesota State-Mankato) and punter Kevin Soflkiancs (Baldwin-Wallace). Earning their second appearance on an Academic All-America® team in as many years were second-team honorees defensive back Shawn Cunningham (Winona State) and quarterback Jeff Highfill (Bridgewater).
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
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For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit
www.cosida.com or e-mail
rlipe@bentley.edu.