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
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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
