2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Football Teams release dates: 
College Division Team: below
NCAA Division III Team: Tue., Dec. 2
NCAA Division II Team: Wed., Dec. 3
NCAA Division I Team: Thr., Dec. 4
• Capital One Academic All-America® website
• Capital One Academic All-America® Football Team - College Division PDF version Word doc version
Senior wide receiver
Connor Zumpfe of Nebraska Wesleyan University headlines the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Football Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
An exercise science major boasting of a 3.98 G.P.A., Zumpfe has been recognized as the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year for College Division Football.
The Capital One Academic All-America® College Division football team includes student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions.
Zumpfe has been one of the top receivers in the NAIA this season with a conference-leading 69 catches for 1,068 yards and 11 touchdowns. The York, Nebraska, native is a first-team All-Great Plains Athletic Conference performer. He went over 100 yards in five straight games and caught a touchdown pass in seven of 10 games. He hauled in nine catches for 209 yards and four scoring strikes against Doane College Oct. 4 to earn GPAC Offensive Player of the Week.
In two years at Nebraska Wesleyan, Zumpfe is two-time All-GPAC after garnering honorable mention in 2013. His reception and receiving yardage numbers rank second among single-season totals, while his touchdown catches are tied for second highest in program history. Zumpfe finished sixth in NWU history in catches and seventh in career yards. He has previously been named Daktronics/NAIA Scholar Athlete and Pflieger-Olson Scholar Athlete.
Among the honorees, five members of the team are repeat choices. Four of those repeat honorees joined an exclusive group of three-time Capital One Academic All-America® selections.
The 25-member Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Football first team has an average grade point average of 3.88, which includes five student-athletes with a 4.0 G.P.A.
Phillip Emminger and Lamont Wims of Robert Morris (Ill.) University, Greg Hayward of Saint Xavier University and
Seth Wardyn of Nebraska Wesleyan reeled in the honor for the third year in a row.
Andrew Buckley of the University of Calgary made the team for the second consecutive time.
Buckley, a senior quarterback from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has a 3.83 G.P.A. studying kinesiology. Buckley piloted one of the most prolific offenses ever seen in Canada West Universities Athletic Association, throwing for 2,788 yards and 23 touchdowns. He completed 181 passes in 276 attempts for a 65.6 percent completion percentage while giving up only eight interceptions. On the ground, Buckley ran for 583 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Canada West named Buckley its most outstanding player by bestowing upon him the Frank Gnup Memorial Trophy. The conference also gave Buckley its student-athlete community service award.
Emminger, a senior defensive back from Canton, Michigan, owns a 3.92 G.P.A. majoring in accounting. Emminger made 23 tackles (17 solos), with three interceptions to gain second-team Mid-States Football Association All-Mideast recognition this season. In his Robert Morris career, Emminger totaled 66 tackles (42 solo) and six interceptions. He counts Daktronics/NAIA Scholar Athlete and MSFA All-Academic among his honors.
Hayward, a senior defensive end from Oak Lawn, Illinois, has produced a 3.86 G.P.A. working towards a criminal justice degree. Hayward has been named the 2014 MSFA Midwest Defensive Player of the Year. Entering third-ranked Saint Xavier’s NAIA quarterfinal matchup with Lindsey Wilson College, Hayward has accumulated 76 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss and 15 sacks this year. He ranks second in the NAIA this year in sacks and No. 1 with 1.4 sacks per game.
In four years with Saint Xavier, Hayward has 200 tackles, 54 tackles for loss and 28.5 sacks. As a junior, Hayward had been honored as a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete, MSFA All-Academic as well as first-team All-MSFA Midwest League.
Wardyn, a senior defensive back from Grand Island, Nebraska, has a 3.83 G.P.A. as a biology major. Wardyn became the first Nebraska Wesleyan player to become a four-time All-GPAC performer since the league was established in 2000. Wardyn earned second-team all-league honors after racking up 62 tackles and three interceptions this year.
In his career, Wardyn became the 12th player in school history to surpass 200 tackles with 224. He has also been named three-time Academic All-District, honorable-mention All-Nebraska, a Daktronics/NAIA Scholar Athlete and Pflieger-Olson Scholar.
Wims reeled in the 2013 Academic All-American of the Year honor. Wims, a senior running back from Frederick, Maryland, sports a 3.74 G.P.A. pursuing an accounting degree. Wims led the MSFA and ranked eighth in the NAIA with 1,399 rushing yards. He scored six times running the ball and once receiving. In his career, Wims picked up 5,295 rushing yards, good for seventh in NAIA history.
As a senior, Wims garnered MSFA Mideast Offensive Player of the Week four times in route to first-team all-conference honors. He has been named first-team all-league twice, Daktronics/NAIA Scholar Athlete and MSFA All-Academic.
Robert Morris led the team with four recipients as four institutions sported multiple selections. Taylor University had three, while Nebraska Wesleyan, Peru State College and Robert Morris each numbered two. Seven members of the team led their squads into postseason play.
Quarterback
Ryan Kasdorf of Morningside College; wide receiver
Andrew Sheard of Taylor; tight end
Hans Lundberg of Taylor; running back
Tyler Henness of Benedictine College; offensive linemen
Joshua Butcher of the University of Saskatchewan,
Elliott Graves of Faulkner University, Jake Helsel of Siena Heights University, Jon Oxley of Ottawa University, and
Dean Wood of Peru State; and kicker
Caleb Keeton of Lindsey Wilson make up the remainder of the first team offense.
The other members of the first team defense include defensive backs
Logan Paben of Peru State and
Doug Sachtleban of Robert Morris; linebackers
Garrett Borcher of Doane, Luke Mayer of Central Methodist University, and
Trevor Wessel of Friends University; defensive linemen
Joey Dynako of the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), Daniel Moss of Kansas Wesleyan University, and
Jason Olson of Robert Morris; and punter
Brandon Haan of Taylor.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College (
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu) (706) 379-5106
Academic All-America® Vice Co-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Rich Tortorelli, Oklahoma City University (
rtortorelli@okc.edu) (405) 208-5304
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity