21 MSC Football Student-Athletes Earn AFCA-NAIA Honors

Football | Wed, May 5, 2021

NAIA Release | AFCA Release

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A total of 21 Mid-South Conference football student-athletes have been named to the 2020-21 American Football Coaches Association-NAIA All-America Teams, the two national organizations announced on Wednesday.

Seven student-athletes earned First Team All-American honors while three gathered Second Team honors. Eleven student-athletes were listed as honorable mentions.

Keiser (Fla.) tight end Jaylen Arnold and Pikeville (Ky.) offensive lineman Jalen Stone gathered First Team Offensive All-American honors. Reinhardt (Ga.) defensive lineman Teon Burroughs, Georgetown (Ky.) linebacker DJ White, Southeastern (Fla.) defensive back Cory Rahman, St. Andrews (N.C.) defensive back Dawandrick Crockett, and Point (Ga.) defensive back Chase Turner all earned First Team Defensive All-American honors.

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) quarterback Cameron Dukes earned Second Team Offensive honors while Georgetown defensive lineman Marcus Omosule and Keiser defensive back Sage Chen-Young gathered Second Team honors.

In addition to the All-American honors listed by the AFCA, the NAIA announced an additional 11 MSC student-athletes that earned honorable mention honors. Southeastern quarterback Cooper Jones, Reinhardt quarterback Billy Hall, Cumberland (Tenn.) running back Treylon Sheppard, Lindsey Wilson wide receiver Terrill Cole, Bluefield (Va.) wide receiver Jaquan Ebron, Campbellsville (Ky.) defensive lineman Micah Corely, Southeastern defensive lineman Loobert Denelus, Lindsey Wilson linebacker Luke Bowman, St. Thomas (Fla.) defensive back Sidney Porter, Georgetown all-purpose specialist Darius Barbour, and Lindsey Wilson all-purpose specialist Joshua Lewis earned honorable mention status.

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.

The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. 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 — FBS and FCS. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively.

From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.

The AFCA’s NAIA All-America Selection Committee is made up of two head coaches from each of the AFCA’s seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.

Members of the AFCA Coaches’ All-America First Team will receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team, while members of the Second Team will receive a certificate.