2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Football Teams release dates:
College Division Team: release/teams
NCAA Division III Team: release/teams
NCAA Division II Team: release/teams
NCAA Division I Team: below
Academic All-America Program Overview & Links
• Academic All-America® Football Teams - Division I
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AUSTIN, Texas – Senior quarterback Carson Wentz of North Dakota State University headlines the 2015 Academic All-America® Division I football team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Wentz has been selected as the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-American® of the Year for Division I football. A health and physical education major with a 4.0 G.P.A., Wentz also was a first-team Academic All-America® choice last year.
The Bismarck, North Dakota, native was the driving force behind the four-time defending NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national champion Bison through the first six games of 2015 before his season was cut short with a broken right wrist.
To date this year, Wentz has completed 114 of 179 passes for 1,454 yards and 16 touchdowns while throwing just two interceptions. He also is a dangerous runner, carrying the ball 54 times for 215 yards and four scores, helping third-seeded NDSU advance to the second round of the FCS playoffs. Wentz has accepted an invitation to participate in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 30, 2016.
Wentz, who was a two-time NCAA Elite 89 Award recipient, set NDSU single-season passing records for completions, passing attempts, yards and total offense in leading the Bison to a 15-1 record, and fourth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference and NCAA FCS National Championships last season. He was named the 2015 NCAA FCS Championship Game Most Outstanding Player after scoring the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds left in the 29-27 victory over Illinois State.
Carson’s brother, Zach Wentz, a former baseball standout at NDSU, was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection earning first team honors in 2012 and second team in 2011.
Fourteen of the 49 members of the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® NCAA Division I football teams have at least a 3.90 G.P.A., with five student-athletes sporting a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. The 26 members of the first-team have an average G.P.A. of 3.81.
Kent State University senior defensive back
Jordan Italiano is a three-time Academic All-America® selection and maintains a 3.98 G.P.A. while finishing work on his degree in biochemistry and pre-med. Italiano was a second-team pick in 2013 before moving up to the first-team in 2014 and 2015.
Wentz and Italiano are among a group of 10 student-athletes who are two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® choices, including three who garnered first-team citations for the second consecutive year. University of Oklahoma graduate student offensive lineman
Ty Darlington joined Wentz and Italiano as the three repeat first-team Academic All-America® student-athletes in 2015.
Wentz Leads CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division I Football Team – Page 2
In addition, Ohio State University senior offensive lineman
Jacoby Boren, University of Montana senior defensive lineman
Derek Crittenden, Georgia Southern University senior defensive back
Matt Dobson, Robert Morris University senior offensive lineman
Nick Faraci, University of Kentucky senior punter
Landon Foster and Eastern Washington University wide receiver
Cooper Kupp all moved up to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team this year after collecting second-team honors in 2014.
Villanova University senior linebacker
Don Cherry rounded out this year’s two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® honorees, earning second-team recognition for the second consecutive season.
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division I Football Team
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division I football first team includes four student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. in Wentz, Crittenden, Nicholls State University junior linebacker
Geoffrey Hebert and South Dakota State University junior defensive back
Nick Mears. Joining Kupp as the first team wide receiver is United States Naval Academy senior
Thomas Wilson, while the tight end is Buffalo senior
Matt Weiser. Due to a tie in the voting, there are three first-team running backs — Bucknell University senior
Matt DelMauro, Stanford University sophomore
Christian McCaffrey and Mercer University sophomore
Tee Mitchell.
Boren, Darlington and Faraci make up three-fifths of the offensive linemen on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team, with Baylor University graduate student
Spencer Drango and University of Northern Iowa senior
Jacob Rathmacher completing the quintet. Ohio State graduate student
Jack Willoughby is the first-team Academic All-America® placekicker this year.
On defense, Dobson and Italiano provide a veteran presence among the first-team defensive back corps, joined by Mears and Idaho State University senior
Cody Sorenson. All three first-team choices in the linebacking unit are newcomers — Hebert, University of Dayton senior
Chris Beaschler and University of the Incarnate Word senior
Padyn Giebler. Crittenden is the only returning student-athlete among the first-team defensive line contingent, which also had an extra player due to a tie in the voting and includes The Citadel junior
Joe Crochet, North Dakota State sophomore
Greg Menard, Northern Iowa junior
Karter Schult and Duke University junior
A.J. Wolf.
Foster completes the CoSIDA Academic All-America® First Team as the squad’s punter.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® second team is led by two-time selection Curry. Coastal Carolina University graduate student
Alex Ross is the second-team quarterback, while University of Colorado senior
Nelson Spruce and South Dakota State sophomore
Jake Wieneke are the second-team wide receivers, University of Minnesota sophomore
Brandon Lingen is the tight end and Chattanooga junior
Derrick Craine is the second-team running back.
The offensive linemen named to the second team include Navy senior
E.K. Binns, Purdue University graduate student
Robert Kugler, Fresno State senior
Justin Northern, Kentucky senior
Jordan Swindle and Penn State University senior
Tyler Yazujian. Duke senior placekicker
Ross Martin rounds out the second-team offense.
In addition to Cherry, the other linebackers on the second team are University of Arkansas junior
Brooks Ellis and Duquesne University senior
Sam Martello. Presbyterian University junior
Ugonna Akoh, Northern Iowa senior
Isaac Ales, South Dakota State junior
Shayne Gottlob and Youngstown State University graduate student
Steve Zaborsky make up the second-team defensive line. The defensive backs on the second team include Kent State junior
Nick Cuthbert, Duke junior
DeVon Edwards, University of Iowa senior
Jordan Lomax and Brown University senior
Will Quigley.
Bowling Green State University sophomore
Joseph Davidson is the CoSIDA Academic All-America® second-team punter.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University (
jeff.schwartz@ndsu.edu) (701) 231-8332
Academic All-America® Committee - Vice Co-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Chris Masters, University of Notre Dame (
masters.5@nd.edu) (574) 631-8032
Academic All-America® Committee - Coordinator of Publicity