St. John’s Jackson Erdmann And Lake Forest’s Jordan McInerney Headline The 2019 AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Teams

St. John’s (Minn.) quarterback Jackson Erdmann and Lake Forest (Ill.) defensive lineman Jordan McInerney headline the 2019 AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Teams announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.

RELATED ARTICLE: AFCA Announces 2019 Division II Coaches’ All-America Team

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.

Erdmann leads the nation in passing yards with 4,291 and is second in total offense with 365.1 yards per game. The 2018 Gagliardi Trophy winner has led St. John’s to the quarterfinals of the Division III playoffs and owns several Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference records including passing touchdowns with 133. McInerney led the conference and ranks second in the nation with 14.5 sacks and 22.0 tackles for loss on the season. The Midwest Conference Defensive Line MVP led his team with 76 total tackles and recorded one forced fumble and one block.

2019 AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team – First Team

Offense

Defense

Specialists

*-2018 AFCA All-American     #-2017 AFCA All-American

2019 AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team – Second Team

Offense

Defense

Specialists

*-2018 AFCA All-American

Team Background: The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. 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 began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. Also in 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively.

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. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.

Selection Process: The AFCA’s Division III All-America Selection Committee is made up of head coaches representing each conference from each of the AFCA’s eight 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.

The Award: Members of the AFCA Coaches’ All-America First Team will receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team, while members of the Second Team will receive a certificate.

Top Teams: Mount Union has been represented a total of 29 times by 27 players on the AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team since 1972. The Purple Raiders are followed by Linfield (23/21), Mary Hardin-Baylor (23/20), Wisconsin-Whitewater (21/19), Wittenberg (21/19), Washington & Jefferson (21/18), Augustana (Ill.) (19/17), Wisconsin-La Crosse (18/18), Wheaton (18/17), St. John’s (Minn.) (17/16), Springfield (17/14), Wesley (17/14), Widener (17/13), Central (Iowa) (16/15), Ithaca (15/15), Montclair State (15/13), St. Thomas (Minn.) (15/12), Emory & Henry (13/13), Salisbury (13/13), Frostburg State (13/12), John Carroll (12/12), North Central (12/11), Hardin-Simmons (11/11), Wabash (11/11), Ferrum (11/10) and Hampden-Sydney (11/10).

Consecutive Years: With Justin Hill’s selection in 2019, Mount Union has had a player chosen to the AFCA All-America Team for nine straight seasons (2011-19), the longest active streak. Wesley had a player chosen for 11 consecutive years, from 2005-15, which is the longest streak in AFCA Division III All-America Team history. Second on the list is Mount Union, which had a player chosen for 10 consecutive years, from 2000-09. Tied for third on the list are Washington & Jefferson, which had a player chosen for nine straight seasons (2002-10), and Mary Hardin-Baylor, which had a player chosen from 2006 to 2014. Emory & Henry is fourth on the list, having had a player named AFCA All-American for eight straight seasons from 1985-1992. Augustana (Ill.) and Wheaton have had players selected for six consecutive seasons from 2000-05 and 2003-08, respectively.

Repeat After Me: Five players have earned AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team honors three times. They are: DB Tom Deery, Widener, 1979-80-81; RB Scott Reppert, Lawrence, 1980-81-82; RB Joe Dudek, Plymouth State, 1983-84-85; DL Sean Brewer, Millsaps, 1990-91-92; and P Jeff Shea, California Lutheran, 1995-96-97.

Class Distinction: This year’s AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 39 seniors and 11 juniors.

First Time Schools: This year, running back Robert Shufford of Birmingham Southern, defensive back Peyton Haynes of LaGrange and defensive lineman Kyle Johnston of Massachusetts Maritime all earned All-America honors for their schools for the first time.

Back-to-Back: St. John’s (Minn.) quarterback Jackson Erdmann, Susquehanna defensive back Danial Shelton, Muhlenberg tight end Ryan Curtiss, Mary Hardin-Baylor defensive lineman Joey Longoria and College of New Jersey punter Zach Warcola earned AFCA Division III Coaches’ All-America honors for a second consecutive season in 2019.

It’s Been A While: Offensive lineman Zach Smith of Hope has earned AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team honors for his school for the first time since 1982.

 Three Players, Two Schools: Tight End Jacob Maher joins punter Mark Bounds and placekicker Greg Zuerlein as the only players to earn AFCA 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. Maher was named to the Division III Coaches’ All-America Team in 2017 while at Worcester State, then repeated the honor in 2019 after transferring to Framingham State.