2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Football Teams release dates:
College Division Teams: PDF | doc
NCAA Division III Teams: PDF | doc
NCAA Division II Teams: PDF | doc
NCAA Division I Teams: Thurs., Dec. 1
• Academic All-America® Program Index Page
Kyle Zimmerman of Northwest Missouri State Leads CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II Football Team
Kyle Zimmerman
Northwest Missouri State
AUSTIN, Texas – Northwest Missouri State University senior quarterback Kyle Zimmerman headlines the 2016 Academic All-America® Division II football team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Zimmerman has been named the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for Division II football.
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2016-17 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.
A Harlon Hill Trophy finalist, Zimmerman is a business management major with a 3.95 G.P.A. He is the 2016 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Offensive Player of the Year. Zimmerman and the Northwest offense has the nation's second-highest rated scoring offense at 48.6 points per game. He led the MIAA with 35 passing touchdowns against a league-low two interceptions.
The Overland Park, Kansas, native has compiled 3,242 yards on 250 completions this season as the Bearcats earned the top seed in the Super Region 3 NCAA Division II playoffs. Zimmerman set Northwest single-game records for passing touchdowns (six) and total touchdowns (seven) in a homecoming victory over Pittsburg State University Oct. 29.
Both Zimmerman and Baker University’s Logan Brettell, who was named the CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year for the College Division Monday (Nov. 28), played quarterback for Blue Valley High School (Stilwell, Kansas). Zimmerman played at Blue Valley through 2011 and Brettell took over the signal calling for the Tigers after Zimmerman graduated.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II football team features 11 returning CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections, with nine finding a spot on the first team. Three members of the 2016 edition have earned CoSIDA Academic All-America® laurels three years each: Western State Colorado University senior running back Austin Ekeler, Gannon University senior defensive lineman Matthew Gawlik and Mercyhurst University redshirt junior offensive lineman Ryan Michaels.
Ekeler is a first team selection this year after earning second team honors his sophomore and junior years. The four-year All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference first team selection leads Division II in rushing yards per game with a 149.5 average. The RMAC’s leading rusher with 1,495 yards, Ekeler posted 15 rushing touchdowns to land second on the 2016 RMAC charts. Ekeler leaves Western as the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards, rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns and scoring. In the classroom, the Harlon Hill nominee and Eaton, Colorado, native possesses a 3.43 G.P.A. with his business administration major.
Gawlik receives his second consecutive first team nod after landing on the second team following his sophomore season. He is a finance major with a 3.83 G.P.A. On the field, Gawlik led Gannon in quarterback sacks with 7.5 (for losses of 38 yards). His statistical ledger included 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss (42 yards), two blocked kicks and one forced fumble. The Strongsville, Ohio, resident is listed in Gannon’s top five for career QB sacks.
Michaels makes the second team for the third straight year. The Monaca, Pennsylvania, native helped the Mercyhurst Lakers average 337.1 yards per game of total offense this season. Academically, Michaels possesses a 4.00 G.P.A. with his sport medicine major. He is only the third Mercyhurst football student-athlete to receive Academic All-America® honors three times.
In addition to Ekeler, Gawlik and Michaels, eight student-athletes are repeat selections from the CoSIDA 2015 Academic All-America® Division II football team. Seven of the eight found a spot on the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team. Three players earn first team distinction for the second consecutive year: East Stroudsburg University junior offensive lineman Devon Ackerman, Colorado State University-Pueblo junior offensive lineman Corbin Feenstra and Michigan Technological University graduate student punter Ryan VanGoethem.
Ackerman is one of seven 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II football first team members with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. The Hanover, Pennsylvania, resident is a biochemistry major. Ackerman started 11 of 11 games at center for East Stroudsburg this season as the Warriors averaged 400 yards per game total offense. For his career, he has started all 33 games on the offensive line. He was in the Warrior line-up at left guard during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Feenstra was named the RMAC’s football Summit Award winner for the second straight season. This distinction honors the student-athlete with the highest cumulative G.P.A. on the RMAC championship football team. The Superior, Colorado, native holds a 3.99 G.P.A. with a double major of business management and business administration. This year, Feenstra started all 11 games at center as CSU Pueblo averaged 380.4 yards per game of total offense. He is a two-time All-RMAC first team choice on the field.
VanGoethem is a biological sciences major with a 3.97 G.P.A. In the football arena, the West Branch, Michigan, resident was named to the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honorable mention squad for the second year in a row. VanGoethem averaged 39.0 yards per punt this season, landing 17 boots inside the 20-yard line. He forced 14 fair catches and boomed a season-best 72-yard punt against Tiffin University.
Four football student-athletes (plus Western State’s Ekeler) made the move from the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® second team to the 2016 first team: Ashland University junior tight end Adam Shaheen, Colorado School of Mines graduate student offensive lineman Hasan Shaar, Winona State University junior place kicker Carter McCauley and Slippery Rock University junior defensive lineman Marcus Martin.
Shaheen is one of 42 nominees for the Harlon Hill Trophy and the only tight end on the 2016 list. Statistically, the Galena, Ohio native completed the 2016 season with 57 catches for 867 yards and 16 touchdowns. His 16 touchdown grabs is a school and Division II single season record for tight ends. A first team All-GLIAC pick, Shaheen leads all Division II tight ends in the three aforementioned categories and continues to lead all tight ends (at all three NCAA levels) in TD receptions. On Oct. 10, he became the first tight end in GLIAC history to win the league’s Offensive Player of the Week award. He holds a 3.80 G.P.A. with his finance major.
Shaar is a two-year first team All-RMAC lineman for the high-octane Mines attack, ranked number one in the nation in total offense with 566.8 yards per game. The Orediggers (10-2), who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2016, have had a 1,000-yard rusher during each of the three seasons Shaar has served as a starter. In the classroom, the Castle Rock, Colorado, resident possesses a 3.85 G.P.A. with a petroleum engineering and engineering and technology management double major.
McCauley has a sterling 4.00 G.P.A. with his biology (cell and molecular) major. On the field, the Owatonna, Minnesota, resident hit 16 field goals this season after nailing a school-record 18 triples the previous season. McCauley had two games with three field goals and four contests with two triples this year. He booted 58 kick-offs for 703 yards with six touchbacks.
Martin is one of eight national finalists for the Gene Upshaw NCAA Division II Lineman of the Year Award. He was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Martin is a three-time first team All-PSAC choice. His 2016 statistics ledger includes 64 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss (for a total of 81 yards), 9.0 sacks (59 yards), 12 quarterback hurries and one blocked kick. Academically, Martin has a 3.58 G.P.A. with his safety management major. He hails from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
St. Cloud State University senior wide receiver Jameson Parsons makes the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II football second team for the second year in a row, rounding out the 11 returnees from the 2015 honor squad. The 2016 Harlon Hill Trophy nominee is a two-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first team selection. This year, Parsons caught 71 passes for 1,142 yards and seven touchdowns. He is one of only two Huskies lifetime to post back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Parsons won the prestigious NSIC Glen Galligan Award this year as well. The Eagan, Minnesota, native is a biomedical sciences major with a 3.69 G.P.A.
The 24 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division II football first team members hold a composite 3.86 G.P.A. Seven of the 24 student-athletes have a perfect 4.00 cumulative G.P.A.
The remaining members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team offense include wide receivers Cory Contini of Ohio Dominican University and Kevin Genevro of Clarion University; running back Gena Adams of Bemidji State University; and offensive linemen Sam Hall of Newberry College and Dillon Vaughan of West Texas A&M University.
The other student-athletes on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team defense include defensive linemen Austin Cary of Malone University and Chad Stoterau of Northern State University; linebackers Cody Burtscher of Tarleton State University, Bryan Hardy of Bentley University and Tyke Kozeal of the University of Nebraska at Kearney; and defensive backs Manny Abad of Florida Institute of Technology, Caleb Courkamp of the Colorado School of Mines, Logan Cox of the University of Charleston (W.Va.) and Deron Washington of Pittsburg State.
In addition to Michaels and Parsons, the remaining members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® second team offense include quarterback Bart Williams of Grand Valley State University; wide receiver Mitchell Shegos of Notre Dame (Ohio) College; tight ends Kooper Davis of Carson-Newman University and Conner Doherty of Northern State; running backs Josh Caldwell of Missouri Western State University and Alex Shain of Assumpton College; offensive linemen Nick Barmoy of Shepherd University, Eric Mitchell of Harding University, Taylor Nikithser of California University of Pennsylvania, Colin Peter of Colorado Mines and Trevor Wescott of the University of Sioux Falls; and place kicker Will Brazill of California (Pa.).
The student-athletes on the Academic All-America® second team defense include defensive linemen Bret Curtis of Missouri University of Science and Technology, Bryson Hamilton of Augustana (S.D.) University, Myles Humphrey of Shepherd and Cordell Zalenski of Harding; linebackers Jacob Craig of Clarion, Michael Fisher of Northwood (Mich.) University and Kirby Hora of Augustana (S.D.); defensive backs Marcus Houghton of Emporia State University, Sam McDonald of Bentley, Cameron Nix of Southwestern Oklahoma State University and Dustin Rivas of Colorado Mesa University; and punter Aaron La Deaux of Minot State University.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Young Harris College
Academic All-America® Co-Director for Publicity
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu
(706) 379-5106
David Sherwood, Wingate University
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
dsherwod@wingate.edu
(704) 233-8186