AUSTIN, Texas – Mercer defensive lineman Jack Raines and Chattanooga wide receiver Bryce Nunnelly earned Academic All-America honors as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, CoSIDA announced Monday.
Raines was a first-team selection, while Nunnelly was a second-team pick.
A redshirt senior, Raines becomes just the second Mercer football player to receive Academic All-America honors, joining former Bear standout Tee Mitchell in 2015. He also joins a cast of 13 different Mercer student-athletes across all sports to be named Academic All-Americans, nine of whom were first-teamers.
A former walk-on turned scholarship student-athlete, Raines emerged as one of the leaders defensively for the Bears in 2019 – starting all 12 games of the season at defensive end or outside linebacker. He recorded 53 tackles with 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks during his senior campaign, while also adding a forced fumble at No. 15 Furman in September.
The Tifton, Georgia, native was named to the President’s List every semester at Mercer and proceeded to graduate with a 4.0 GPA with his undergraduate degree in finance and Spanish. He is set to continue his education in January, as he has been accepted into Columbia University’s Master of Business Administration program.
Nunnelly carries a 3.81 GPA in mechanical engineering. He has twice made the CoSIDA Academic All-District squad and is an Academic All-Southern Conference honoree.
On the field, Nunnelly is a two-time first-team All-SoCon receiver for the Mocs. He led the team with 57 catches for 794 yards and five scores in 2019. He was fourth in the league with 4.8 receptions per game and third with 66.2 receiving yards per contest.
In his three-year career, Nunnelly has 143 receptions for 2,120 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is fourth all-time at UTC in receiving yards and ninth all-time in receptions.
Nunnelly is the 13th Moc and the third member of the football program to earn Academic All-American honors. The last from UTC was runner Abby Bateman last season. Other representatives from the football program include Davis Tull (2013 and 2014) and Derrick Craine (2015 and 2016).
CoSIDA began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors.
To be eligible for Academic All-America team consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic status at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
For CoSIDA's full release, click here.