FCS finalists, Jacksonville State headline STATS All-America Team
(STATS) - The leading vote-getters for the two national player of the year awards headlined the STATS FCS All-America Team, but many other players, teams and conferences had reason to take a bow Tuesday.
The first-team selections included running backs Marshaun Coprich of Illinois State and Kade Harrington of Lamar and Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp - the three players invited to the Jan. 8 announcement of the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year award.
In addition, defensive ends James Cowser of Southern Utah and Tyrone Holmes of Montana and Portland State free safety Patrick Onwuasor - the trio invited to the announcement of STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year - were selected to the first team.
The three All-America teams went 102 players deep, spread out among 57 schools from all 13 FCS conferences.
Top-ranked Jacksonville State, which will play in the national semifinals for the first time Saturday, garnered the most All-Americans with five, led by junior Eli Jenkins, the first-team quarterback. Northern Iowa, national semifinalists North Dakota State and Richmond had four selections each.
Kupp, Cowser, Holmes and Onwuasor helped the Big Sky Conference gain seven first-team selections and 17 overall - both national highs. The Missouri Valley Football Conference was second with six first-team selections and 13 overall, and CAA Football had three first-teamers and 12 selections overall.
Harrington, the Southland Conference's player of the year, went over 200 rushing yards in a game six times. He ranks first in the FCS in rushing yards (2,092), rushing yards per game (190.2), all-purpose yards per game (213.4) and points per game (12.5).
Coprich, the Missouri Valley's two-time offensive player of the year, is second in rushing yards (1,967) and rushing yards per game (151.3), and third in points per game (11.2). He helped Illinois State to a share of the conference title for a second consecutive season.
The junior Kupp earned his third straight All-America first-team selection and is nearing FCS all-time records with another season of eligibility. The Big Sky's offensive player of the year leads the FCS in receptions (114), receptions per game (10.4), receiving yards (1,642), receiving yards per game (149.3) and touchdown receptions (19).
The Big Sky triumvirate of Cowser, Holmes and Onwuasor was just as dominating on the defensive side of the ball. Cowser, the conference's defensive player of the year, helped Southern Utah claim its first Big Sky title. He had 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks, which propelled him to becoming the FCS all-time leader with 80 TFLs and 43.5 sacks.
Holmes has the FCS season high with 18 sacks - four more than any other player - and he added 21.5 tackles for loss and 87 tackles in his outstanding season at Montana.
Onwuasor also is a national leader with nine interceptions. He totaled 85 tackles while helping Portland State improve by six wins from a year ago.
Jacksonville State swept through the Ohio Valley Conference for the second consecutive season with Jenkins directing one of the top offenses in the FCS. The dual threat was named the conference's offensive player of the year with 3,514 yards of total offense. He's thrown for 2,484 yards and 19 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,030 and 13 TDs. Included are back-to-back 195-yard rushing performances in the postseason as well as five rushing touchdowns.
The other Jacksonville State All-Americans were center Casey Dunn on the second team, and running back Troymaine Pope, defensive tackle Chris Landrum and cornerback Jermaine Hough on the third team.
"Obviously, it's a great pat on the back for our football team," Gamecocks coach John Grass said. "We've got a lot of guys that work very hard, it's a team effort, and I know those five guys would say the same thing, that any accolades that they get are a tribute back to our team."
The rest of the first-team offense included Fordham running back Chase Edmonds, The Citadel fullback Tyler Renew, Prairie View A&M all-purpose back Johnta' Hebert, Harvard tight end Ben Braunecker and wide receivers Jamaal Jones of Montana and Jake Wieneke of South Dakota State. The offensive linemen were Clay DeBord of Eastern Washington, Joe Haeg of North Dakota State, Donald Jackson III of Sam Houston State, Corey Levin of Chattanooga and Cole Toner of Harvard.
On defense, first-team selections included defensive linemen Javon Hargrave of South Carolina State, Victor Ochi of Stony Brook and Noah Spence of Eastern Kentucky; linebackers Deon King of Norfolk State, Christian Kuntz of Duquesne, Darnell Sankey of Sacramento State and Myke Tavarres of Incarnate Word; and defensive backs Dee Delaney of The Citadel, Deiondre' Hall of Northern Iowa and DeAndre Houston-Carson of William & Mary.
The first-teamers on special teams were William & Mary place-kicker Nick Dorka, North Dakota State punter Ben LeCompte, Southern kick returner Willie Quinn, North Carolina A&T punt returner Khris Gardin and Indiana State long snapper Joshua Appel.
After the Big Sky, Missouri Valley and CAA, the breakdown of All-Americans among conferences saw the Big South with nine, Southern and Southland with eight each, the Ohio Valley with seven, the Ivy and Patriot with six apiece. The Mid-Eastern Athletic and Northeast had five each, and the Pioneer and Southwestern Athletic three apiece.
The offensive players of the year in nine conferences and defensive players of the year in 13 conferences made the All-America team.
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2015 STATS FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM=
FIRST TEAM=
OFFENSE=
QB - Eli Jenkins, junior, 6-2, 205, Jacksonville State.
RB - Marshaun Coprich, senior, 5-9, 205, Illinois State; Chase Edmonds, sophomore, 5-9, 196, Fordham; Kade Harrington, junior, 5-8, 190, Lamar.
FB - Tyler Renew, junior, 5-11, 217, The Citadel.
WR - Jamaal Jones, senior, 6-1, 192, Montana; Cooper Kupp, junior, 6-2, 195, Eastern Washington; Jake Wieneke, sophomore, 6-4, 210, South Dakota State.
TE - Ben Braunecker, senior, 6-4, 240, Harvard.
OL - Clay DeBord, senior, 6-6, 305, Eastern Washington; Joe Haeg, senior, 6-6, 310, North Dakota State; Donald Jackson III, senior, 6-2, 290, Sam Houston State; Corey Levin, junior, 6-5, 305, Chattanooga; Cole Toner, senior, 6-7, 300, Harvard.
AP - Johnta' Hebert, senior, 5-10, 195, Prairie View A&M.
DEFENSE=
DL - James Cowser, graduate, 6-4, 258, Southern Utah; Javon Hargrave, senior, 6-2, 295, South Carolina State; Tyrone Holmes, senior, 6-4, 245, Montana; Victor Ochi, senior, 6-2, 255, Stony Brook; Noah Spence, junior, 6-3, 261, Eastern Kentucky.
LB - Deon King, senior, 6-1, 220, Norfolk State; Christian Kuntz, junior, 6-1, 210, Duquesne; Darnell Sankey, senior, 6-2, 250, Sacramento State; Myke Tavarres, senior, 6-3, 230, Incarnate Word.
DB - Dee Delaney, sophomore, 6-1, 191, The Citadel; Deiondre' Hall, senior, 6-2, 190, Northern Iowa; DeAndre Houston-Carson, senior, 6-2, 195, William & Mary; Patrick Onwuasor, senior, 6-2, 225, Portland State.
SPECIAL TEAMS=
PK - Nick Dorka, sophomore, 6-0, 180, William & Mary.
P - Ben LeCompte, senior, 5-10, 196, North Dakota State.
KR - Willie Quinn, senior, 5-5, 145, Southern.
PR - Khris Gardin, sophomore, 5-7, 158, North Carolina A&T.
LS - Joshua Appel, junior, 6-2, 250, Indiana State.
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SECOND TEAM=
OFFENSE=
QB - Jacob Huesman, senior, 6-2, 220, Chattanooga.
RB - Jacobi Green, senior, 5-9, 192, Richmond; De'Angelo Henderson, junior, 5-8, 205, Coastal Carolina.
FB - Andrew Bonnet, senior, 6-3, 250, North Dakota State.
WR - Emmanuel Butler, sophomore, 6-3, 210, Northern Arizona; Tyler Dube, graduate, 6-0, 170, Sacred Heart; Brendan Flaherty, junior, 6-2, 200, Holy Cross.
TE - Beau Sandland, senior, 6-5, 250, Montana State.
OL - Erik Austell, junior, 6-3, 285, Charleston Southern; Jonathan Burgess, senior, 6-2, 305, Liberty; Julie'n Davenport, junior, 6-7, 315, Bucknell; Casey Dunn, junior, 6-3, 285, Jacksonville State; Mitch Kirsch, junior, 6-6, 300, James Madison.
AP - John Santiago, freshman, 5-9, 170, North Dakota.
DEFENSE=
DL - Keionta Davis, junior, 6-4, 260, Chattanooga; Dino Fanti, senior, 6-1, 265, Eastern Illinois; P.J. Hall, sophomore, 6-1, 270, Sam Houston State; Karter Schult, junior, 6-2, 265, Northern Iowa; Chima Uzowihe, senior, 6-2, 250, Liberty.
LB - Andrew Ankrah, sophomore, 6-4, 234, James Madison; Kourtney Berry, junior, 6-0, 215, Alabama State; Don Cherry, senior, 6-1, 240, Villanova; Stephen Hodge, graduate, 6-2, 196, Fordham; Brett McMakin, junior, 6-4, 232, Northern Iowa.
DB - David Jones, junior, 6-1, 187, Richmond; Miles Killebrew, senior, 6-3, 230, Southern Utah; Harlan Miller, senior, 6-1, 180, Southeastern Louisiana; Donald Payne, junior, 6-1, 215, Stetson; Wallace Scott, senior, 6-1, 211, McNeese State.
SPECIAL TEAMS=
PK - John Lunsford, senior, 6-1, 180, Liberty.
P - Ryan Hawkins, senior, 5-11, 185, Northern Arizona.
KR - Lorenzo Jerome, junior, 5-11, 185, Saint Francis.
PR - Ellis Onic II, sophomore, 5-6, 163, Northern Colorado.
LS - Joseph Smith, junior, 6-3, 200, Charleston Southern.
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THIRD TEAM=
OFFENSE=
QB - Case Cookus, freshman, 6-4, 200, Northern Arizona; Vad Lee, senior, 6-1, 225, James Madison.
RB - Tarik Cohen, junior, 5-6, 173, North Carolina A&T; Troymaine Pope, senior, 5-9, 205, Jacksonville State.
FB - Joe Protheroe, sophomore, 6-0, 230, Cal Poly.
WR - Brian Brown, junior, 6-1, 198, Richmond; Anthony Warrum, junior, 6-2, 190, Illinois State; Justin Watson, sophomore, 6-3, 210, Penn.
TE - Eric Saubert, senior, 6-4, 242, Drake.
OL - Quinton Marsh, senior, 6-3, 310, McNeese State; Garrick Mayweather, senior, 6-3, 319, Fordham; Sean Meehan, senior, 6-5, 300, North Dakota; Brandon Parker, sophomore, 6-7, 279, North Carolina A&T; Nick Ritcher, senior, 6-6, 304, Richmond.
AP - Justice Shelton-Mosley, freshman, 5-10, 170, Harvard.
DEFENSE=
DL - Mitchell Jeter, senior, 6-0, 275, The Citadel; Chris Landrum, graduate, 6-3, 260, Jacksonville State; O.J. Mau, senior, 6-2, 319, Gardner-Webb; Greg Menard, sophomore, 6-2, 239, North Dakota State; Derek Rivers, junior, 6-5, 255, Youngstown State.
LB - Aaron Brown, senior, 6-0, 220, Charleston Southern; Tyler Drake, senior, 6-2, 220, Penn; John Hugunin, 5-11, 232, Drake; Cory Magwood, senior, 6-2, 232, Furman; James Rentz, junior, 6-1, 230, Sacred Heart.
DB - James Bradberry, senior, 6-1, 213, Samford; Casey DeAndrade, junior, 5-11, 212, New Hampshire; Jermaine Hough, senior, 5-10, 185, Jacksonville State; Jevon Elmore, Central Connecticut State, junior, 5-10, 185; Clayton Ewell, senior, 6-1, 195, Bucknell.
SPECIAL TEAMS=
PK - Chris Moore, senior, 6-0, 215, Northwestern State.
P - Chris Fraser, junior, 6-2, 211, Cornell.
KR - Devin Brown, junior, 5-8, 155, Coastal Carolina.
PR - Makinton Dorleant, senior, 5-11, 185, Northern Iowa.
LS - Kameron Canaday, senior, 6-4, 230, Portland State.