Eight North Dakota State football players lead 2018 STATS FCS All-American team

National finalists, North Dakota State and the players invited to the unveiling of the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan awards help to highlight the 2018 STATS FCS All-America Team, announced Tuesday.

The two most prestigious player awards in the FCS will be announced at the STATS FCS Banquet and Presentation on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas — the eve of the national championship.

Up for the Payton are senior quarterbacks Chandler Burks of Kennesaw State, Devlin Hodges of Samford and Easton Stick of North Dakota State. The award's results will determine the order on the All-America team.

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Junior linebackers Zach Hall of Southeast Missouri and Dante Olson of Montana and senior defensive end Derick Roberson of Sam Houston State are in contention for the Buchanan. The trio of standouts made the first team.

North Dakota State, which seeks a second straight and record seventh FCS title on Jan. 5, placed an overwhelming eight players on the three teams. Besides Stick, center Tanner Volson and safety Robbie Grimsley made the first team, offensive tackle Zack Johnson and linebacker Jabril Cox the second team, and defensive end Greg Menard, punter Garret Wegner and Darrius Shepherd the third team.

MORE: Schools with the most all-time FCS football national championships | Full history

Eastern Washington, the other national finalist, had three selections: first-team place-kicker Roldan Alcobendas, second-team defensive lineman Jay-Tee Tiuli and third-team offensive lineman Spencer Blackburn.

Three players earned first-team All-America honors for the second time. UC Davis wide receiver Keelan Doss repeated from last year, while Cal Poly fullback Joe Protheroe and Princeton quarterback John Lovett, chosen as an all-purpose player, also made the first team in 2016.

MORE: Bracket, schedule, scores and how to watch the 2018 FCS playoffs

The All-America Team includes 100 players from 61 schools and all 13 FCS conferences. The Missouri Valley Football Conference had the most selections with 17, while CAA Football (12), the Big Sky Conference (11) and the Southern Conference (11) also reached double figures.

The All-America team included 19 players who were named either offensive or defensive player of the year in their respective conference.

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2018 STATS FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM

*-Order of quarterbacks to be determined after the STATS FCS Awards Banquet on Jan. 4.

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

*QB - Chandler Burks, senior, 5-10, 190, Kennesaw State; Devlin Hodges, senior, 6-1, 205, Samford; or Easton Stick, senior, 6-2, 221, North Dakota State

RB - Ryan Fulse, senior, 5-11, 195, Wagner

RB - A.J. Hines, junior, 5-11, 225, Duquesne

FB - Joe Protheroe, senior, 5-11, 230, Cal Poly

WR - Michael Bandy, junior, 5-11, 190, San Diego

WR - Keelan Doss, senior, 6-3, 210, UC Davis

WR - Josh Pearson, junior, 6-4, 205, Jacksonville State

TE - Donald Parham, senior, 6-8, 240, Stetson

OL - B.J. Autry, senior, 6-5, 340, Jacksonville State

OL - Drew Forbes, senior, 6-5, 305, Southeast Missouri

OL - Iosua Opeta, senior, 6-4, 305, Weber State

OL - Matt Pyke, senior, 6-2, 302, ETSU

OL - Tanner Volson, senior, 6-4, 306, North Dakota State

DEFENSE

DL - Darryl Johnson Jr., junior, 6-5, 232, North Carolina A&T

DL - Isaiah Mack, senior, 6-3, 305, Chattanooga

DL - Derick Roberson, senior, 6-4, 250, Sam Houston State

DL - Khalen Saunders, senior, 6-2, 310, Western Illinois

LB - B.J. Blunt, senior, 6-1, 220, McNeese

LB - Zach Hall, junior, 6-0, 230, Southeast Missouri

LB - Dante Olson, junior, 6-3, 237, Montana

LB - Sterling Sheffield, senior, 6-2, 240, Maine

DB - Nasir Adderley, senior, 6-0, 200, Delaware

DB - Robbie Grimsley, senior, 6-0, 194, North Dakota State

DB - Jimmy Moreland, senior, 5-11, 175, James Madison

DB - Isiah Swann, junior, 6-0, 190, Dartmouth

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK - Roldan Alcobendas, senior, 6-0, 180, Eastern Washington

P - Alex Pechin, senior, 6-0, 200, Bucknell

LS - Patrick Eby, senior, 6-3, 235, Columbia

KR - Jean Constant, junior, 5-9, 177, Bryant

PR - D'Angelo Amos, sophomore, 6-1, 180, James Madison

AP - John Lovett, senior, 6-3, 225, Princeton

North Dakota State heads to the FCS National Championship game

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SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

*QB - Chandler Burks, senior, 5-10, 190, Kennesaw State; Devlin Hodges, senior, 6-1, 205, Samford; or Easton Stick, senior, 6-2, 221, North Dakota State

RB - James Robinson, junior, 5-10, 220, Illinois State

RB - Marquis Terry, senior, 5-7, 180, Southeast Missouri

FB - Andre Stoddard, senior, 5-10, 240, Wofford

WR - Jazz Ferguson, junior, 6-5, 223, Northwestern State

WR - Alexander Hollins, senior, 6-1, 170, Eastern Illinois

WR - Jesper Horsted, senior, 6-4, 225, Princeton

TE - Charlie Taumoepeau, junior, 6-3, 240, Portland State

OL - J'Von Brown, junior, 6-3, 350, Central Connecticut State

OL - Tytus Howard, senior 6-6, 311, Alabama State

OL - Zack Johnson, junior, 6-6, 316, North Dakota State

OL - Matt Kaskey, senior, 6-7, 325, Dartmouth

OL - Oli Udoh, senior, 6-5, 336, Elon

DEFENSE

DL - Ahmad Gooden, senior, 6-2, 245, Samford

DL - Sully Laiche, junior, 6-2, 270, Nicholls

DL - Jay-Tee Tiuli, senior, 6-4, 315, Eastern Washington

DL - Nick Wheeler, junior, 6-2, 255, Colgate

LB - Jabril Cox, sophomore, 6-3, 231, North Dakota State

LB - Cam Gill, junior, 6-3, 230, Wagner

LB - Troy Reeder, senior, 6-3, 245, Delaware

LB - Pete Swenson, senior, 6-3, 230, Western Illinois

DB - Jordan Brown, senior, 6-1, 200, South Dakota State

DB - Abu Daramy-Swaray, junior, 5-10, 190, Colgate

DB - Manny Patterson, senior, 5-10, 180, Maine

DB - Tyree Robinson, sophomore, 5-11, 184, ETSU

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK - Austin Errthum, senior, 5-10, 180, UNI

P - Cade Coffey, sophomore, 6-1, 191, Idaho

LS - Steven Wethli, senior, 6-0, 230, Youngstown State

KR - Malik Wilson, senior, 5-11, 166, North Carolina A&T

PR - Booker Chambers, senior, 5-9, 185, Mississippi Valley State

AP - Tyrie Adams, junior, 6-2, 180, Western Carolina

AP - Shane Simpson, junior, 5-9, 200, Towson

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THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

*QB - Chandler Burks, senior, 5-10, 190, Kennesaw State; Devlin Hodges, senior, 6-1, 205, Samford; or Easton Stick, senior, 6-2, 221, North Dakota State

RB - Ra'Quanne Dickens, senior, 5-10, 195, Incarnate Word

RB - James Holland Jr., senior, 5-9, 210, Colgate

RB - De'Shawn Waller, junior, 5-11, 210, Alcorn State

FB - Cal Daniels, senior, 6-2, 255, Stony Brook

WR - Juston Christian, senior, 6-0, 188, Marist

WR - Cade Johnson, sophomore, 5-10, 180, South Dakota State

WR - Kelvin McKnight, senior, 5-8, 186, Samford

WR - Reggie White Jr., senior, 6-3, 210, Monmouth

TE - Charles Scarff, TE, senior, 6-6, 270, Delaware

OL - Spencer Blackburn, senior, 6-2, 285, Eastern Washington

OL - Garrett Bowery, senior, 6-2, 303, Lamar

OL - C.J. Collins, senior, 6-3, 255, Kennesaw State

OL - Daniel Cooney, senior, 6-8, 315, San Diego

OL - Micah Shaw, senior, 6-1, 264, North Carolina A&T

OL - Cal Twait, senior, 6-5, 305, UNI

DEFENSE

DL - Solomon Brown, senior, 6-1, 235, Charleston Southern

DL - Miles Brown, senior, 6-2, 320, Wofford

DL - Rocco Di Leo, senior, 6-3, 285, Dartmouth

DL - Greg Menard, senior, 6-2, 240, North Dakota State

DL - Nasir Player, junior, 6-5, 271, ETSU

LB - De'Arius Christmas, senior, 5-10, 220, Grambling State

LB - Anthony Gore Jr., senior 6-0, 201, Kennesaw State

LB - Jonas Griffith, junior, 6-4, 240, Indiana State

LB - Warren Messer, senior, 5-11, 227, Elon

LB - LeGrand Toia, senior, 6-2, 225, Weber State

DB - Davon Jernigan, senior, 6-0, 208, Lamar

DB - Hakeem Kinard, senior, 5-10, 200, Saint Francis

DB - Davanta Reynolds, senior, 5-10, 200, North Carolina Central

DB - Will Warner, junior, 6-3, 201, Drake

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK - Aidan O'Neill, junior, 6-1, 199, Towson

P - Chris Faddoul, sophomore, 6-1, 182, Florida A&M

P - Garret Wegner, sophomore, 6-0, 191, North Dakota State

LS - Patrick Keefe, senior, 5-11, 195, The Citadel

KR - Jimmie Robinson, senior, 5-8, 162, Bethune-Cookman

PR - Darrius Shepherd, senior, 5-11, 188, North Dakota State

AP - Troy Anderson, sophomore, 6-3, 215, Montana State

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