Ohio Dominican quarterback Cris Reisert and Carroll (Mont.) linebacker Owen Koeppen headline the 2008 AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.

THE OFFENSE
Cris Reisert of Ohio Dominican has earned AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team honors for the second time and is one of two two-time AFCA All-Americans on this year’s squad. Reisert was previously honored as a sophomore in 2006. Reisert threw for 3,027 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. He ends his career as the Mid-States Football Association’s most prolific passer and owns 10 NAIA offensive records, including most touchdowns responsible for in a season with 57.

Reisert’s receiving corps on this year’s team includes Derek Deardorff of Malone, Chauncey Calhoun of Valley City State and Conor Walsh of Benedictine (Kan.).
Deardorff ended the regular season as the NAIA’s leading receiver, averaging 115.5 yards per game and 16.7 yards per reception. He established new Pioneer single-season records with 69 receptions for 1,155 yards and 14 touchdowns. Calhoun was the No. 2 receiver in the NAIA with an average of 113.7 yards per game, and added 14 touchdowns. Walsh hauled in 71 passes for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Ravens to rank among the nation’s receiving leaders.

Campbellsville’s Greg Fountain and Minot State’s Nick Banks are the runningbacks on this year’s AFCA NAIA All-America Team. Fountain averaged 156.9 yards rushing this season to lead the NAIA. He carried the ball 283 times for 1,726 yards and 21 touchdowns. Banks finished No. 2 nationally, averaging 143.8 yards per contest and scored 17 touchdowns.  

The offensive line features Jacob Bruster of Friends, Steven Dawley of William Penn, Jeff Hynes of Lindenwood, T.J. Wendt of Sioux Falls and Beau Weiss of Bethel (Tenn.). Bruster helped clear the way for an offense that averaged more than 400 yards per game and scored 59 touchdowns this season. Dawley was the lead blocker for a Statesmen offense that rushed for more than 2,600 yards and scored 29 touchdowns on the ground in 2008. Hynes leads a Lindenwood offensive line that surrendered just six sacks this season for an offense that averaged 460.8 yards per game in 2008. Wendt anchors an offensive line that has helped the Cougars rank eighth in scoring offense at 37.5 points per game, and earn a berth in the NAIA national title game. Weiss was the key blocker for a Bethel offense that averaged more than 300 yards per game in total offense this season.

THE DEFENSE
The linebackers on this year’s team include Owen Koeppen of Carroll (Mont.), Clayton Norberg of St. Francis (Ill.) and Nathan Jansen of Northwestern (Iowa).
Koeppen joins Reisert as a returnee on this year’s AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team. He anchors a Saints defense that is holding opponents to 264.4 yards per game in 2008. On the season, Koeppen has 105 tackles and two interceptions for the defending NAIA champions. Norberg led St. Francis with 74 total tackles, including 13.5 for a loss, to go with three sacks and two pass break-ups. Jansen was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. He led the conference in tackles for loss with 15 and posted 61 total tackles, seven sacks, three interceptions and four pass break-ups.

This year’s defensive linemen include Larry Wentzel of Missouri Valley, Tim Farrell of St. Francis (Ind.), Lantz Mathers of Northwestern Oklahoma State and Cedric Fisher of Lambuth. Wentzel finished the season with 25 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss along with 2.5 sacks. Farrell anchors a St. Francis defensive front that limited teams to 98.5 yards rushing per game. He recorded 67 tackles this season. Mathers led the NAIA in fumbles forced and tackles for loss per game and was No. 5 in the country in sacks per game while finishing the season with 82 tackles. Fisher posted 77 stops along with 13 tackles for loss this season. He also recorded a team-leading 5.5 sacks.

The secondary features Chris Rodgers of St. Xavier, Darnell Brown of Langston, Ryan Oetken of Morningside and Ryley McPeters of Dickinson State. Rodgers recorded 46 tackles, three interceptions and 18 pass break-ups for the Cougars. He also set a school record by blocking three punts in one game against Walsh. Brown finished the season with 60 tackles, an NAIA-leading 10 interceptions and seven pass break-ups. Oetken had 68 tackles, nine interceptions and 10 pass break-ups for the Mustangs. He tied a Morningside single-game record with three interceptions in a Sept. 6, 31-7 win against Dakota Wesleyan. McPeters had 47 tackles, nine interceptions and 10 pass break-ups for the Blue Hawks.

THE SPECIALISTS
The specialists on this year’s NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team are punter Nick Tolsma of Dakota Wesleyan, placekicker Kyle Chilton of Pikeville and all-purpose player Patrick Ealy of MidAmerica Nazarene. Tolsma averaged 42.6 yards per punt for the Tigers to rank among the national leaders. Chilton converted on seven of nine field goal attempts this season, three of which were 45 yards or longer, for the Bears. Ealy was the HAAC Player of the Year for the Pioneers after averaging 145 all-purpose yards per game and scoring 11 touchdowns in 2008.

**-2006 AFCA All-American

*-2007 AFCA All-American

AFCA NAIA Player Selection History: NAIA players who were selected to AFCA All-America teams were named to the AFCA College Division team from 1967-71.  In 1972, the AFCA College Division was split to College I and College II.  Players from NAIA Division I teams were placed in AFCA College I, while players from NAIA Division II were placed in AFCA College II.  That process lasted until 1996, when College I and College II were renamed Division II and Division III.  From 1996-2005, all NAIA players who were selected as Coaches’ All-Americans were placed on the AFCA Division II team. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.

Current NAIA Teams with AFCA Coaches’ All-America Selections: Georgetown (Ky.) has been represented a total of 15 times by 12 players on AFCA Coaches’ All-America Teams. Trailing Georgetown (Ky.) are Carroll (Mont.) (12/11), Montana Tech (5/4), Lambuth (5/4), Baker (4/4), Morningside (4/4), Sioux Falls (4/4), Azusa Pacific (3/3), Cumberlands (Ky.) (3/3), Jamestown (3/3),  Northwestern (Iowa) (3/3), St. Ambrose (3/3), St. Xavier (3/3), Southern Oregon (3/3), West Virginia Tech (3/3), William Jewell (3/3), Benedictine (Kan.) (3/2), Bethel (Tenn.) (3/2), Ohio Dominican (3/2), Bethel (Kan.) (2/2), Dickinson State (2/2), Hastings (2/2), Lindenwood (2/2), McKendree (2/2), Missouri Valley (2/2), Peru State (2/2), Pikeville (2/2), St. Francis (Ind.) (2/2), Southwestern (Kan.) (2/2), Valley City State (2/2), Cumberland (Tenn.) (2/1), Menlo (2/1), Montana St.-Northern (2/1), Virginia-Wise (2/1), Walsh (2/1), Bethany (Kan.) (1/1), Campbellsville (1/1), Central Methodist (1/1), Dakota Wesleyan (1/1), Eastern Oregon (1/1), Friends (1/1), Iowa Wesleyan (1/1), Langston (1/1), Malone (1/1), MidAmerica Nazarene (1/1), Midland Lutheran (1/1), Minot State (1/1), Nebraska Wesleyan (1/1), Northwestern Oklahoma St. (1/1), Rocky Mountain (1/1), St. Francis (Ill.) (1/1), St. Mary (Kan.) (1/1), South Dakota Tech (1/1), Southern Nazarene (1/1), William Penn (1/1).

Consecutive Years: Carroll (Mont.) joins Georgetown (Ky.) as the only two NAIA schools to have had at least one player named to an AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team for four straight seasons. Georgetown’s (Ky.) consecutive selections came from 2000 to 2003, while Carroll’s (Mont.) streak runs from 2005 to this season.

Repeat After Me: Only 10 current NAIA schools have had players earn consecutive AFCA Coaches’ All-America honors, with one coming from this year’s team, Carroll’s Owen Koeppen (2007-08, LB). The rest of the schools include: Benedictine’s (Kan.) Truman Ashby (2006-07, OL), Bethel’s (Tenn.) Adrain Smith (2006-07, RB), Lambuth’s Jo Jo Jones (1993-94, RB), Menlo’s Nate Jackson (2000-01, WR), Montana St.-Northern’s Marc Samson (2006-07, DB), Montana Tech’s J.J. Perino (2006-07, DL), Virginia-Wise’s Ra’Shad Morgan (2006-07, RB) and Walsh’s Mike Galassi (2006-07, OL). Georgetown (Ky.) is the only school with three players to earn that distinction. Clay Hamblen was a repeat selection at defensive back in 2006-07, followed by offensive lineman Chris Reed in 1987-88 and defensive lineman Chris Hogan from 1991-92.

Class Distinction: This year’s AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 19 seniors, five juniors and one sophomore.

Players From First Time Schools: Greg Fountain of Campbellsville, Nick Tolsma of Dakota Wesleyan, Jacob Bruster of Friends, Darnell Brown of Langston, Derek Deardorff of Malone, Patrick Ealy of MidAmerica Nazarene, Nick Banks of Minot State, Lantz Mathers of Northwestern Oklahoma St., Clayton Norberg of St. Francis (Ill.) and Steven Dawley of William Penn are the first players from their schools to earn AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team honors.

Repeat After Me: Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Johnny Bailey is the only player to earn Coaches’ All-America honors in four consecutive years at any level. Bailey was a four-year pick at runningback in 1986-87-88-89.

One Player, Two Schools: Punter Mark Bounds is the only player to earn Coaches’ All-America honors at two different schools. He 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.

Team Background
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. The AFCA has selected an NAIA-only team since 2006.

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. 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.

Selection Process
The AFCA’s NAIA All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine 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.