Udeh Garners CSC 1st Team Academic All-American Honor
AUSTIN, Texas – Four standouts headline a group of outstanding student-athletes named to the 2023 Academic All-America® football teams as selected by the College Sports Communicators.
AUSTIN, Texas – Four standouts headline a group of outstanding student-athletes named to the 2023 Academic All-America® football teams as selected by the College Sports Communicators.
Wide receiver Rome Odunze from the University of Washington, linebacker Nolan Reeve from the Colorado School of Mines, linebacker Owen Grover from Wartburg College and running back Jaden Meizinger from Keiser University lead the Academic All-America® teams by being named as the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as the NAIA, respectively.
NAIA
Meizinger rushed for a career-high 261 yards on 22 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, to lead Keiser to its first NAIA national championship in December. He finished second in NAIA with 1,640 rushing yards – his second-consecutive 1,000-yard season - and set a program record with 23 rushing touchdowns this fall. The Port St. Lucie, Fla., native also caught 20 passes for 157 yards out of the backfield en route to All-America honors.
Three members of the 25-man Academic All-America® NAIA football teams – Matthew Disisto (Keiser University), Tray Kingsland (Midland University) and Keegan Martin (Friends University) - boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate or graduate work. The NAIA honorees combined for a 3.78 GPA.
Five student-athletes are repeat selections on the Academic All-America® NAIA football teams: Flinders Cameron (Sterling College); Ben Hruby (College of Idaho); John Mears (Montana Western); Brock Richardson (College of Idaho); and Abraham Stoesz (Dordt University).
The NAIA Academic All-America® program is financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist the College Sports Communicators with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2023-24 NAIA Academic All-America® program.
For more information regarding the Academic All-America® program, visit https://academicallamerica.com/.
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
QB Andy Peters College of Idaho Sr. 3.52 Business Administration
RB Jamin Arend Dakota Wesleyan University Gr. 3.75 /3.75 Business Finance
RB Jaden Meizinger Keiser University Sr. 3.70 Exercise Science
TE Ben Hruby (1) College of Idaho Gr. 3.88 Sport Administration
WR Levi Tidwell Indiana Wesleyan University Sr. 3.73 Youth Ministries
WR Brock Richardson (1) College of Idaho Sr. 3.89 Biomedical Sciences
OL Will Dowling Concordia University Ann Arbor Sr. 3.66 Special Education
OL Jared Noble St. Thomas University (Fla.) Gr. 3.75/3.75 Finance
OL Keegan Martin Friends University Gr. 3.60 /4.00 Teaching and Learning
OL Garrett Rehberg College of Idaho Gr. 3.63 Sport Administration
OL Gunnar Vanek Midland University Sr. 3.83 Agribusiness
DB Neil Campbell Indiana Wesleyan University Sr. 3.69 Sports Management
DB Abraham Stoesz (1) Dordt University Sr. 3.89 Engineering
DB Spencer Kuffel Southern Oregon University Jr. 3.59 Interdisciplinary Studies
DB Tray Kingsland Midland University Sr. 4.00 Business Administration
DL Harrison Udeh Hastings College Sr. 3.74/3.74 Health Systems
DL Tanner Harrell Montana Western Sr. 3.75 Physical Education & Health K-12
DL Kendall Adams-Young University of the Cumberlands Sr. 3.53 Exercise & Sport Science / Business Administration
DL Flinders Cameron (1) Sterling College Jr. 3.99 Sport Management
LB Bradley Myers Evangel University Sr. 3.71 Finance
LB Luke Bays Indiana Wesleyan University Jr. 3.97 Finance
LB Isaac Pingel Morningside University Sr. 3.70 Applied Ag & Food Studies
K John Mears (1) Montana Western Jr. 3.84 General Studies
P Matthew Disisto Keiser University Sr. 4.00 Sport Management
ST Kaleb Williams Morningside University Sr. 3.86 Elementary Education, Special Education
(1) – Academic All-America® first-team selection in 2022
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael MacEachern, Georgia College & State University | Academic All-America ® Co-Director for Publicity
michael.maceachern@gcsu.edu | (478) 445-1779
Ryan Klinkner, Saint John's University (Minn.) | Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
rklinkner@csbsju.edu | (320) 363-3127
