2015 AFCA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION COACHES’ ALL-AMERICA TEAM

WACO, TEX. — Three-time AFCA All-American Cooper Kupp of Eastern Washington and Norfolk State linebacker Deon King headline the 2015 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.

Kupp, who became just the fifth player in FCS history to be named a three-time AFCA All-American, led the nation in receptions (114), receptions per game (10.4), reception yards (1,642), reception yards per game (149.3) and touchdown receptions (19). His 114 receptions broke the previous Big Sky Conference record of 112. King led all of Division I football (FBS and FCS) with 163 total tackles. He also ranked No. 3 in FCS in solo stops with 77, and added 11 tackles for loss, three sacks and one interception. 

2015 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team

Offense

Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)

WR *Cooper Kupp 6-2 205 Jr. Eastern Washington Beau Baldwin Yakima, Wash. (Davis)

WR  Jake Wieneke 6-4 210 So. South Dakota State John Stiegelmeier Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove)

TE Ben Braunecker 6-4 240 Sr. Harvard Tim Murphy Ferdinand, Ind. (Forest Park)

OL  Casey Dunn 6-3 285 Jr. Jacksonville State John Grass Trussville, Ala. (Hewitt-Trussville)

OL  Donald Jackson III 6-2 290 Sr. Sam Houston State K.C. Keeler Kilgore, Texas (Kilgore)

OL  Corey Levin 6-5 305 Jr. Tennessee-Chattanooga Russ Huesman Dacula, Ga. (Dacula)

OL  Nick Ritcher 6-6 304 RSr. Richmond Danny Rocco Raleigh, N.C. (Ravenscroft)

OL  Sean Meehan 6-5 300 Sr. North Dakota Bubba Schweigert Trevor, Wis. (Wilmot)

QB  Alex Ross 6-1 205 Sr. Coastal Carolina Joe Moglia Alpharetta, Ga. (Buford)

RB Marshaun Coprich 5-9 190 So. Illinois State Brock Spack Victorville, Calif. (Oak Hills) 

RB  Kade Harrington 5-9 190 Jr. Lamar Ray Woodard Kingwood, Texas (Kingwood)

Defense

Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)

DL Keionta Davis 6-4 260 Jr. Tennessee-Chattanooga  Russ Huesman Chattanooga, Tenn. (Red Bank)

DL  Dino Fanti 6-1 265 RSr. Eastern Illinois Kim Dameron Venice, Fla. (Venice)

DL  Javon Hargrave 6-2 295 Sr. South Carolina State Buddy Pough Salisbury, N.C. (North Rowan)

DL  Tyrone Holmes 6-4 250 Sr. Montana Bob Stitt Eagle Point, Ore. (Eagle Point)

LB Deon King 6-1 235 Sr. Norfolk State Latrell Scott Reston, Va. (South Lakes)

LB  Darnell Sankey 6-2 250 Sr. Sacramento State Jody Sears San Jose, Calif. (Branham)

LB  Myke Tavarres 6-2 220 Sr. Incarnate Word Larry Kennan Lake Oswego, Ore. (Lake Ridge)

DB  Deiondre’ Hall 6-2 190 Sr. Northern Iowa Mark Farley Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs)

DB  DeAndre Houston-Carson 6-2 195 Sr. William & Mary Jimmye Laycock Woodford, Va. (Massaponax)

DB  Donald Payne 6-1 217 Jr. Stetson Roger Hughes Fayetteville, Ga. (Landmark Christian)

DB Wallace Scott 6-1 211 Sr. McNeese State Matt Viator Weyanoke, La. (West Feliciana)

Specialists

Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School)

P  Ryan Hawkins 5-11 185 Sr. Northern Arizona Jerome Souers Peoria, Ariz. (Sunrise Mountain)

PK  Lance Geesey 5-10 180 RJr. Saint Francis (Pa.) Chris Villarrial Harrisburg, Pa. (Cumberland Valley)

AP  Willie Quinn 5-5 145 Sr. Southern Dawson Odums Miami, Fla. (Jackson)

*-2013-2014 All-American

Team Background: The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. 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 — 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.

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 (26/24), Appalachian State (23/17), Eastern Washington (22/19), North Dakota State (21/19), Northern Iowa (21/18), Lehigh (19/19), Furman (19/18), Grambling State (19/18), New Hampshire (19/16), Portland State (18/17), Weber State (18/17), Eastern Illinois (18/16), Youngstown State (18/16), South Carolina State (17/16), Northern Colorado (17/14), Montana State (16/16), Western Illinois (16/15), Cal Poly (16/14), North Dakota (16/14), Abilene Christian (15/14), Stephen F. Austin (15/14), Tennessee State (15/14) and UC-Davis (14/13).

2015 Conference-by-Conference Breakdown: Big Sky – 5; Southland – 4; Missouri Valley – 3; Colonial – 2; Mid-Eastern Athletic – 2; Ohio Valley – 2; Southern – 2; Big South – 1; Ivy – 1; Northeast – 1; Pioneer – 1; Southwestern Athletic – 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). Eastern Washington has the longest current streak at eight straight years from 2008 to present.

Long Time Coming: Offensive lineman Casey Dunn makes the AFCA FCS All-America Team for Jacksonville State, marking the first time the Gamecocks have had a representative since 1988, when offensive lineman Joe Billingsley made the team. Not to be out-done, with running back Kade Harrington’s selection, Lamar puts a student-athlete on the AFCA FCS All-America Team for the first time since 1985 when running back Burton Murchison was named to the team.

First Time Schools: Linebacker Myke Tavarres of Incarnate Word, placekicker Lance Geesey of Saint Francis (Pa.) and defensive back Donald Payne of Stetson have earned AFCA All-America honors for their schools, for the first time, in 2015.

Third Time’s A Charm: Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp joins 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), as the only three-time AFCA All-Americans in Football Championship Subdivision history. 

Yearly Leaders: North Dakota State (2014-OL Joe Haeg, DL Kyle Emanuel and DB Colten Haegle) joins Alabama State (2012-OL Terren Jones, DB Kejuan Riley and P Bobby Wenzig), Jackson State (1996-QB Grailyn Pratt, LB Otha Evans and DB Sean Woodson) and Grambling State (1979-DL Joe Gordon, LB Aldrich Allen and DB Robert Salters) as the only schools to have more than two players named to the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team in one year.

Two Players, Two Schools:  Punter Mark Bounds and placekicker Greg Zuerlein are the only players to earn 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 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 16 seniors, seven juniors and two sophomores.