OL Jacob Marnin of  Southern Illinois; DB Kyle Hegedus of Youngstown State and LB Jackson Hankey of North Dakota State represent the Missouri Valley Football Conference on the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams.

JACOB MARNIN, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
A criminology and criminal justice major with a perfect 4.0 GPA as both an undergraduate and grad student, Marnin is the 100th player in Saluki Athletics history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American status  — a total that leads the conference and is proudly displayed above the scoreboard at Saluki Stadium. The football program alone has produced 10 Academic All-Americans in the last 10 years.

Marnin has started all four seasons on Southern's offensive line and ended his career as the active leader in career starts (41) for the Salukis. He started all 12 games at center for SIU this year and helped pave the way for a pair of 1,000-yard rushers (D.J. Davis and Javon Williams Jr.) for the first time in school history. Southern's offense ranks No. 12 in the nation in rushing yards per game (233.4) and No. 35 in total offense (418.6). 


KYLE HEGEDUS, YOUNGSTOWN STATE
A two-time academic All-MVFC pick, Hegedus conclued his YSU career in 2019. He finished the season with a team-high 64 total tackles and led the team with 41 solo stops. He had two interceptions and two forced fumbles. In MVFC play he had 42 total tackles after finishing the season with a nine-tackle effort against Illinois State.

He missed the 2018 campaign with a knee injury. In 2017, he had 74 total tackles, including 46 solo stops. He was a second-team Academic All-MVFC honoree in 2017 as well. For his career, he had 143 tackles, including 91 solo stops in 28 games played. He three interceptions, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveris and three TFLs. He also served as holder on placement kicks in his time at YSU.  Hegedus, who was also a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, is enrolled in the YSU's Masters of Athletic Training program. He earned his bachelor's degree from YSU this past spring.


JACKSON HANKEY, NORTH DAKOTA STATE
Hankey, a sophomore from Park River, N.D., maintains a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average in agricultural economics. Nominees must have a 3.30 cumulative GPA and be starters or significant contributors with at least sophomore academic and athletic standing.

In his first year as NDSU's starting middle linebacker, Hankey leads the Bison with 91 total tackles and is second on the team with 9.0 tackles for loss. He also has one sack, one interception, one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries for the No. 1-ranked scoring defense in the FCS allowing just 12.3 points per game.  Hankey has played in 27 career games and has 118 tackles with 10.0 tackles for loss. He is a two-time Missouri Valley Football Conference honor roll member and earned the 2018 MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award.




JUSTIN HERBERT OF OREGON REPEATS AS DIVISION I FOOTBALL ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAÒ TEAM MEMBER OF THE YEAR
 
AUSTIN, Texas – University of Oregon senior quarterback Justin Herbert repeated as the Academic All-AmericaÒ Team Member of the Year, headlining the 2019 Academic All-AmericaÒ Division I Football Team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
Herbert is the first repeat Division I Football Academic All-AmericaÒ Team Member of the Year since former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow earned the honor in 2009 and 2010. 
 
A biology major with a perfect 4.00 GPA, Herbert has thrown at least one passing touchdown in 40 of his last 41 games, including 35 straight contests from Oct. 8, 2016, to Oct. 26, 2019. During the regular season, he ranked third in the Pac-12 in completions (258), yards per game (261.7) and total yards (3,140), and was ninth in NCAA Division I in overall passing touchdowns (31).
 
A three-time first team Academic All-America® honoree, Herbert has completed 272 out of 408 passing attempts for 3,333 yards with 32 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 2019.
 
Herbert, who hails from Eugene, Ore., is first among active FBS leaders in passing TDs (95) and third in passing yards (10,403) following Oregon’s 37-15 win over Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 6. The Ducks (11-2) moved on to a berth in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. 
 
The 2019 Academic All-America® Division I Football Team selected by CoSIDA features 21 members with a 4.0 GPA and 36 members with at least a 3.90 GPA as either undergraduate or graduate student-athletes. The 25 members on the first team have an average GPA of 3.95.
 
The Academic All-America® Division I Football Team has 12 repeat selections overall with Herbert, Jacob Bacon (Drake University), Adam Holtorf (Kansas State University), Jacob Marnin (Southern Illinois University), Blake Gillikin (Pennsylvania State University), Blake Best (University of Kentucky), Josh Fink (Abilene Christian University), Jordan Fuller (Ohio State University), Brad Sznajder (Butler University), Dakota Wilson (Idaho State University) and Tiger Garcia (UC Davis). Tom Flacco (Towson University) was an Academic All-America® baseball second team selection in 2019.
 
For more information on the Academic All-America® program, go to https://academicallamerica.com/.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University | Academic All-America® Co-Director for Publicity
jeff.schwartz@ndsu.edu | (701) 231-8332
 
Ryan Anderson, Wichita State University | Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
randerson@goshockers.com | (540) 665-5417