MVFC Leads FCS With 8 on AFCA All-America Teams
SAM HOUSTON STATE’S JEREMIAH BRISCOE AND WESTERN ILLINOIS’ BRETT TAYLOR HIGHLIGHT THE
2017 AFCA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION COACHES’ ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
WACO, TEX. — Two-time AFCA All-American quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston State and Western Illinois linebacker Brett Taylor headline the 2017 AFCA?Football Championship Subdivision?Coaches’ All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
Briscoe, a top-three finalist for the Walter Payton Award, has thrown for a SHSU single-season record 5,003 yards which leads the nation. He also leads the nation in passing yards per game (357.4) and touchdown passes (45). Taylor, a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, led the nation with 162 tackles, 13.5 stops per game and 96 assisted tackles. He also added 13 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, four breakups, two forced fumbles and one quarterback hurry.
2017 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team - First Team
Offense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
WR Davion Davis 5-11 180 Jr. Sam Houston State K.C. Keeler Hutto, Texas (Hutto)
WR Keelan Doss 6-3 206 Jr. UC-Davis Dan Hawkins Alameda, Calif. (Alameda)
TE *Dallas Goedert 6-5 260 Sr. South Dakota State John Stiegelmeier Britton, S.D. (Britton-Hecla)
OL John Cook 6-4 325 Jr. Central Arkansas Steve Campbell Grenada, Miss. (Grenada)
OL Brandon Parker 6-7 309 RSr. North Carolina A&T Rod Broadway Kannapolis, N.C. (A.L. Brown)
OL Matthew Schmidt 6-3 290 Sr. Furman Clay Hendrix Stokesdale, N.C. (McMichael)
OL Austin Kuhnert 6-4 304 Sr. North Dakota State Chris Klieman Sioux Falls, S.D. (Washington)
OL Timon Parris 6-5 320 Sr. Stony Brook Chuck Priore Floral Park, N.Y. (Floral Park)
QB *Jeremiah Briscoe 6-3 225 Sr. Sam Houston State K.C. Keeler Houston, Texas (Stratford)
RB Dominick Bragalone 5-11 230 Jr. Lehigh Andy Coen South Williamsport, Pa. (South Williamsport)
RB Josh Mack 6-1 198 So. Maine Joe Harasymiak Rochester, N.Y. (Pittsford-Mendon)
Defense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
DL *P.J. Hall 6-1 310 Sr. Sam Houston State K.C. Keeler Seguin, Texas (Seguin)
DL *Darius Jackson 6-3 242 RSr. Jacksonville State John Grass Bessemer, Ala. (McAdory)
DL Ahmad Gooden 6-1 240 Jr. Samford Chris Hatcher Talladega, Ala. (Talladega)
DL Andrew Ankrah 6-4 248 RSr. James Madison Mike Houston Gaithersburg, Md. (Quince Orchard)
LB Brett Taylor 6-2 230 Sr. Western Illinois Charlie Fisher Macomb, Ill. (Macomb)
LB Bryson Armstrong 5-11 201 RFr. Kennesaw State Brian Bohannon Marietta, Ga. (Kell)
LB *Darius Leonard 6-3 235 RSr. South Carolina State Buddy Pough Lake View, S.C. (Lake View)
DB Siran Neal 6-1 205 RSr. Jacksonville State John Grass Eufaula, Ala. (Eufaula)
DB *Tre Dempsey 5-10 184 Sr. North Dakota State Chris Klieman Lakeland, Fla. (Lakeland)
DB Davontae Harris 6-0 205 Sr. Illinois State Brock Spack Wichita, Kan. (South)
DB Rashad Robinson 5-11 182 Jr. James Madison Mike Houston Richmond, Va. (Hermitage)
Specialists
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
P Keith Wrzuszczak 5-11 212 Sr. Eastern Kentucky Mark Elder Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Oberon)
PK Justin Thompson 5-10 156 Jr. Kennesaw State Brian Bohannon Evans, Ga. (Aquinas)
AP *Detrez Newsome 5-10 210 Sr. Western Carolina Mark Speir Raeford, N.C. (Hoke County)
*-2016 All-American
2017 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team - Second Team
Offense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
WR Kelvin McKnight 5-9 188 Jr. Samford Chris Hatcher Bradenton, Fla. (Manatee)
WR Jake Wieneke 6-4 215 Sr. South Dakota State John Stiegelmeier Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove)
TE Andrew Vollert 6-5 245 Sr. Weber State Jay Hill San Mateo, Calif. (St. Ignatius)
OL Justin Lea 6-4 290 RSr. Jacksonville State John Grass Henagar, Ala. (Ider)
OL Gerald Wright 6-4 310 Sr. Howard Mike London Miami, Fla. (Northwestern)
OL Trenton Scott 6-5 320 RSr. Grambling State Broderick Fobbs Huntsville, Ala. (Lee)
OL *Daniel Cooney 6-8 315 RJr. San Diego Dale Lindsey Western Springs, Ill. (Fenwick)
OL Aaron Stinnie 6-5 309 RSr. James Madison Mike Houston Charlottesville, Va. (St. Anne’s-Belfield)
QB Devlin Hodges 6-1 205 Jr. Samford Chris Hatcher Kimberly, Ala. (Mortimer-Jordan)
RB Roc Thomas 5-11 193 Sr. Jacksonville State John Grass Oxford, Ala. (Oxford)
RB De’Lance Turner 6-1 214 Sr. Alcorn State Fred McNair McLain, Miss. (Perry Central)
Defense
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
DL Jonathan Petersen 6-1 240 RSr. San Diego Dale Lindsey Poway, Calif. (Poway)
DL Darryl Johnson 6-5 226 RSo. North Carolina A&T Rod Broadway Kingsland, Ga. (Camden County)
DL Dalton Keene 6-4 275 Sr. Illinois State Brock Spack Jacksonville, Ill. (Jacksonville)
DL Anthony Ellis 6-1 245 Sr. Charleston Southern Mark Tucker Apopka, Fla. (Apopka)
LB LeGrand Toia 6-2 215 Jr. Weber State Jay Hill Riverton, Utah (Riverton)
LB Matthew Oplinger 6-3 242 Sr. Yale Tony Reno Summit, N.J. (Delbarton)
LB Christian Rozeboom 6-2 225 So. South Dakota State John Stiegelmeier Sioux Center, Iowa (Sioux Center)
DB *Mike Basile 6-1 200 Sr. Monmouth (N.J.) Kevin Callahan Brick, N.J. (Memorial)
DB Taron Johnson 6-0 185 Sr. Weber State Jay Hill Sacramento, Calif. (Sheldon)
DB Marvin Tillman 6-1 190 Jr. Western Carolina Mark Speir Durham, N.C. (Southern Durham)
DB Danny Johnson 5-10 194 Sr. Southern Dawson Odums East Feliciana, La. (East Feliciana)
Specialists
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)
P Joe Zema 6-2 210 Gr. Incarnate Word Larry Kennan Melbourne, Australia (Australian Catholic)
PK Gunnar Raborn 5-9 174 Jr. McNeese State Lance Guidry Lafayette, La. (St. Thomas More)
AP Pete Guerriero 5-10 195 RFr. Monmouth (N.J.) Kevin Callahan Lyndhurst, N.J. (Lyndhurst)
*-2016 All-American
Team Background: The five teams now chosen for each AFCA?division evolved from a single 11-player squad. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II?and Division III,?respectively. In 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)?and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS),?respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. A return specialist was added in 1997, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. The AFCA added a second team in 2016.
Top Teams: Delaware has the most AFCA All-America selections of any current FCS school with 29 selections by 26 players. The Blue Hens are followed by Montana (28/27), Eastern Kentucky (27/25), Eastern Washington (26/22), North Dakota State (25/22), Northern Iowa (22/19), Grambling State (21/20), Weber State (21/20), Lehigh (20/20), Furman (20/19), South Carolina State (20/18), New Hampshire (20/17), North Dakota (19/17), James Madison (18/18), Portland State (18/17), Eastern Illinois (18/16), Youngstown State (18/16), Western Illinois (17/16), Northern Colorado (17/14), South Dakota State (17/14), Montana State (16/16), Cal Poly (16/14), Abilene Christian (15/14), UC-Davis (15/14), Stephen F. Austin (15/14), Tennessee State (15/14) and McNeese State (15/13).
2017 Conference-by-Conference Breakdown: Missouri Valley – 8; Southern – 6; Southland – 6; Big South – 5; Colonial – 5; Ohio Valley – 5; Big Sky – 4; Mid-Eastern Athletic – 4; SWAC – 3; Pioneer – 2; Ivy – 1; Patriot – 1.
Consecutive Years: Eastern Kentucky leads all schools, having had at least one player named to the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team in each of the first 15 years a FCS team was chosen (1979-93). South Dakota State has the longest current streak at four years from 2014 to present.
Double Duo: For the first time in FCS Coaches’ All-America Team history, teammates have earned back-to-back honors. Tennessee-Chattanooga’s Keionta Davis (DL) and Corey Levin (OL) were both named to the 2015 and 2016 teams. They join seven duos in FBS: USC’s Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush (2004 and 2005); Army’s Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard (1945 and 1946); Notre Dame’s George Connor and Johnny Lujack (1946 and 1947); Michigan State’s Bubba Smith and George Webster (1966 and 1967); Ohio State’s Jack Tatum and Jim Stillwagon (1969 and 1970); Notre Dame’s Ken MacAfee and Ross Browner (1976 and 1977) and Colorado’s Joe Garten and Alfred Williams (1989 and 1990).
Long Time Coming: Running back De’Lance Turner makes the AFCA FCS All-America Second Team for Alcorn State, marking the first time the Braves have had a representative since 1994, when quarterback Steve McNair made the team. Not to be out-done, with John Cook’s first-team offensive line selection, Central Arkansas puts a student-athlete on the AFCA All-America Team for the first time since 1995 when defensive lineman Bart Reynolds was named to the team.
First Time School: Linebacker Bryson Armstrong and place-kicker Justin Thompson of Kennesaw State have earned AFCA All-America honors for their school, for the first time, in 2017.
Repeat After Me: Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp (2013-16) joins Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Johnny Bailey as the only players to earn AFCA Coaches’ All-America honors in four consecutive years at any level. Bailey was a four-year pick at running back in Division II from 1986-89.
Third Time’s A Charm: South Dakota State running back Zach Zenner (2012-14), Tennessee-Chattanooga defensive lineman Davis Tull (2012-14), and linebackers Gary Reasons of Northwestern State (1981-83) and Dexter Coakley of Appalachian State (1994-96), are the only three-time AFCA All-Americans in Football Championship Subdivision history.
Yearly Leaders: Jacksonville State became the first school to land four players on the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team in one year (2017-Darius Jackson [DL 1st Team], Siran Nean [DB 1st Team], Justin Lea [OL 2nd Team] and Roc Thomas [RB 2nd Team]). Eleven schools have placed three student-athletes on the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team in one year, with five of those coming in 2017 (James Madison, Sam Houston State, Samford, South Dakota State and Weber State).
Two Players, Two Schools:?Punter Mark Bounds and placekicker Greg Zuerlein are the only players to earn AFCA Coaches’ All-America honors at two different schools. Bounds was named to the AFCA?College Division I?team in 1990 while playing for West Texas A&M. He transferred to Texas Tech after West Texas dropped football and earned I-A Coaches’ All-America honors as a Red Raider in 1991. Zuerlein was named to the Division II Coaches’ All-America Team in 2009 while playing for Nebraska-Omaha. He transferred to Missouri Western State after Nebraska-Omaha dropped its football program and earned Division II honors in 2011 as a Griffon.
Class Distinction:?This year’s AFCA?FCS Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 31 seniors, 13 juniors, three sophomores, two freshman and one graduate student.
For more information on the AFCA and its programs, visit www.afca.com or follow us on Twitter @WeAreAFCA.
-(AFCA)-