Furman Football Places Three On Academic All-District III Team
GREENVILLE, S.C. --- Three Furman Paladins have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III football team, it was announced today.
Furman center David Menocal, defensive tackle Daniel Leagans, and free safety Thomas Twitty were picked to the squad, which was selected by vote of the District III College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). All three Paladins will now be placed on the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.
Furman accounted for three of the six selections garnered by Southern Conference football playing institutions. Davidson, a league member that competes in the non-scholarship football Pioneer League, also placed three on the squad.
Menocal, a first-year graduate student from Gainesville, Ga., compiled a 3.42 undergraduate GPA in Spanish and political science. He is a three-year letterman in his first full season as the Paladins’ starting center.
Leagans has seen action in all 10 games for Furman this year and tallied eight tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, and a fumble recovery. A former walk-on and three-year letterman, the Ware Shoals, S.C., product sports a 3.47 GPA in business administration.
Twitty, of Birmingham, Ala., is in his second season as a starter and has racked up 52 tackles this year, including an interception he returned for a touchdown in Furman’s 23-21 win over Delaware. A consensus 2007 All-Southern Conference selection, he is a health and exercise science major carrying a 3.50 GPA.
All three players have been named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll every year since joining the Paladin program.
Furman football has produced a SoCon leading 15 Academic All-Americans over the years, almost 40 percent of the league’s tally of 39.
Furman is currently 7-3 on the season and ranked 15th in the latest FCS Sports Network Top 25 Poll. Idle this weekend, the Paladins return to action on Nov. 15 when they entertain Georgia Southern in a 3:05 p.m. game that will be televised by Sports South.
SAMFORD FOOTBALL’S LEVIE AND FORDHAM NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?Samford’s Ty Levie and Ryan Fordham were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District second team released by the College Sports Information Directors of America on Thursday.
Levie, a junior safety from LaFayette, Ga., has a 3.46 GPA in biology at Samford. He was named to the OVC’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2006-07 and 2007-08, and he made the Samford Dean’s List in Fall 2006 and Spring 2007. He has also been a member of the Samford Athletics Department Dean’s List Club in Spring 2008.
On the field, Levie is second on the team in interceptions with three. He has 25 total tackles on the season, including 19 solo tackles and two tackles for a loss.
Fordham, a junior fullback from Birmingham, Ala., is majoring in business and has posted a GPA of 3.41. Fordham was named to the OVC’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.
He was a Dean’s List member in Spring 2007 and Fall 2007, and he is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society. Fordham has also been a member of the Samford Athletic Department Dean’s List Club and the department’s 3.0 Club.
This season, Fordham made the transition from linebacker to fullback. He has two receptions for 14 yards on the season.
To be nominated to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team a student-athlete must have a GPA of 3.30 or higher.
Levie, Fordham and the Bulldogs will next play at Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at 11 a.m. (CT). The game can be heard live on the Samford Football Radio Network. The flagship station for the network is WVSU-FM 91.1. The game can also be heard worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/.
Ben Quick Named Academic All-District
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Wofford College football student-athlete Ben Quick has been named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team.
Quick, a senior from San Diego, California, has started all eight games so far this season at left tackle. He was named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference first team. The offensive line has been a key factor in the success of the Terriers’ offense, which is first in the nation in rushing and second in the nation in total offense. In addition, the line has allowed only two sacks this season, the fewest in the nation.
In 2007, he started twelve games at left tackle, earning second team All-Southern Conference honors. Quick has also been a member of the Southern Conference All-Academic Team and the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll the past two seasons.
The ESPN The Magazine All-District team is selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Wofford is in the third district, which includes schools in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Nominees must have at least a 3.30 grade point average. As a member of the first team, Quick will be included on the ballot for Academic All-America honors which will be announced on November 25.
The Terriers will host The Citadel on Saturday at 3:00 pm at Gibbs Stadium.