2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Football Teams release dates: 
College Division Team: teams/release
NCAA Division III Team: teams/release
NCAA Division II Team: teams/release
NCAA Division I Team: below
• Capital One Academic All-America® website
Note: The 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Volleyball Teams will be announced Dec. 8-11.
• Capital One Academic All-America® Football Team - Division I PDF version Word doc version
Senior running back
Zach Zenner of South Dakota State University headlines the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I football team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Zenner has been selected as the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for Division I football. A biology and pre-med major with a 3.86 G.P.A., Zenner was a first-team Capital One Academic All-America® choice last year and a second-team selection in 2012.
The Eagan, Minnesota, native has been the mainstay on the South Dakota State offense this season, rushing 305 times for 1,886 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns. He also has proven to be a weapon out of the backfield with 27 receptions for 328 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, Zenner leads SDSU in scoring with 146 points (24 touchdowns, one PAT) and all-purpose yardage (2,214 yards) this year, helping the Jackrabbits advance to the second round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs.
Zenner is winding down a career that already has seen him set Missouri Valley Football Conference records for rushing and all-purpose yards. He is a two-time consensus first-team All-America selection and three-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award (FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) and in 2013, he became just the second FCS running back ever to rush for 2,000 yards in two separate seasons.
On Oct. 30, Zenner was named to the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete team, thus becoming a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy that goes to the nation’s top scholar-athlete.
Nineteen of the 50 members of the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division I football teams have at least a 3.90 G.P.A., with four student-athletes sporting a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. The 24 members of the first-team have an average G.P.A. of 3.85.
Michigan State University graduate student punter Mike Sadler is a four-time Academic All-America® selection and maintains a 3.97 G.P.A. while finishing work on his degree in applied engineering sciences. Sadler was second-team pick in both 2011 and 2012 before moving up to the first-team in 2013. Missouri State University senior defensive back
Caleb Schaffitzel and Zenner are both three-time Academic All-America® picks. Schaffitzel owns a 3.93 G.P.A. as a major in wildlife conservation & management.
The aforementioned trio are among a group of 11 student-athletes who are two-time Academic All-America® choices, including seven who garnered first-team citations for the second consecutive year. The other repeat first-team Academic All-America® student-athletes in 2014 are
South Dakota State senior wide receiver Jason Schneider, Indiana University senior defensive back Mark Murphy, Northern Arizona University senior linebacker Austin Hasquet and
Fordham University graduate student defensive lineman Brett Biestek.
In addition,
Southern Illinois University senior offensive lineman Corey Boemer,
University of Texas-San Antonio senior offensive lineman Nate Leonard and
Kent State University junior defensive back Jordan Italiano all moved up to the Academic All-America® first team this year after collecting second-team honors in 2013.
Chattanooga senior defensive lineman Davis Tull and
Tulane University senior defensive back Sam Scofield rounded out this year’s two-time Academic All-America® honorees, with Tull picking up first-team honors in 2013 and Scofield earned second-team recognition for the second consecutive season.
The Capital One Academic All-America® Division I football first team includes two student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. in
North Dakota State University junior quarterback Carson Wentz and
South Dakota State senior offensive lineman Nick Purcell. Joining Schneider as the first team wide receiver is
University of Notre Dame sophomore Corey Robinson, while the tight end is
University of Minnesota junior Maxx Williams, and Zenner pairs with
Western Carolina University junior Darius Ramsey as the first team running backs.
Boemer, Leonard and Purcell make up three-fifths of the offensive linemen on the Academic All-America® first team, with
University of Oklahoma junior Ty Darlington and
Liberty University graduate student Mitch Hanson completing the quintet.
Bowling Green State University junior Tyler Tate was the first-team Academic All-America® placekicker this year.
On defense, Italiano, Murphy and Schaffitzel provide a veteran presence among the first-team defensive back corps, joined by
Butler University senior JoJo Ciancio. Hasquet is the lone returnee among the first-team choices in the linebacking unit, joined by
Duke University senior David Helton and
North Dakota State senior Esley Thorton. Likewise, Biestek is the only returning student-athlete among the first-team defensive line contingent, which also includes
North Dakota State senior Kyle Emanuel, Rutgers University graduate student David Milewski and
University of Washington senior Danny Shelton.
Sadler completes the Academic All-America® First Team as the squad’s returning punter.
The Capital One Academic All-America® second team is led by two-time selection Scofield and a pair of student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. in
University of Montana junior defensive lineman Derek Crittenden and
University of Kentucky junior punter Landon Foster.
Central Michigan University junior Cooper Rush is the second-team quarterback, while
Eastern Washington University sophomore Cooper Kupp and
Kansas State University senior Curry Sexton are the second-team wide receivers and
Fordham University senior Dan Light is the tight end.
Sacred Heart University senior Sean Bell and
University of Iowa senior Mark Weisman were chosen as the second-team running backs.
Due to ties in the voting, there were seven offensive linemen named to the second team:
Baylor University graduate student Troy Baker, Ohio State University junior Jacoby Boren, Robert Morris University senior Nick Faraci, Georgia Southern University senior Garrett Frye, North Dakota State senior Jesse Hinz, University of Alabama graduate student Arie Kouandijo and
Syracuse University senior Sam Rodgers.
University of Southern Mississippi senior placekicker Corey Acosta rounds out the second-team offense.
In addition to Scofield, the other three defensive backs on the second team are
Baylor University senior Collin Brence, Georgia Southern junior Matt Dobson and
University of Texas-El Paso graduate student Wesley Miller.
Villanova University junior Don Cherry, Idaho State University senior Austin Graves and
Southern Illinois graduate student Tyler Williamson make up the second-team linebacking unit. The defensive linemen on the second team include Crittenden,
Stanford University senior Henry Anderson, Rice University junior Brian Nordstrom, Crittenden and Tull.
Foster completes the Academic All-America® second team as the group’s punter.
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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