Football Gameplan Announces 2016 Preseason All-American Team
Contact: info@footballgameplan.com
Twitter: @FBallgameplan, @TheFCSKickoff
_____
Two-time Football Gameplan FCS All-Americans WR Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington) and DB Donald Payne (Stetson) headline the 2016 Football Gameplan Preseason FCS All-American Team as announced today by Football Gameplan and FBGP’s FCS Kickoff show.
Football Gameplan, established in 2007, has selected a Preseason FCS All-American team since 2013 as it has for the FBS, D2, D3 and NAIA levels.
Football Gameplan CEO/Founder & Analyst Emory Hunt, who is also a college football color-commentator ( www.footballgameplan.com/tv-network ), is the host of The FCS Kickoff presented by the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.
Football Gameplan has also released two football motivational/inspirational books entitled Football: A Love Story and What Did Football Teach Me. Both books feature over 100 interview from current and former coaches, players, executives and entertainers detailing the journey, love affair and life lessons learned from the game.
www.footballgameplan.com/books
2016 also marks the debut of Football Gameplan’s FCS Kickoff Show which is the first show of its kind to exclusively cover the Football Championship Subdivision entirely.
Here is The FCS Kickoff’s 2016 Preseason FCS All-American Team special
__________
As a true freshman, Northern Arizona QB Case Cookus had five games where he threw for 4 touchdowns or more including a 7 touchdown effort in a victory vs Northern Colorado. Sam Houston State’s DL P.J. Hall is another two-time FBGP FCS All-American who has an impressive 5 blocked kicks in his Bearkat career. And PR Khris Gardin of North Carolina A&T set an FCS Punt Return record for most yards in a season with 740. Gardin also returned three for touchdowns including a 74-yarder in the inaugural Celebration Bowl vs Alcorn State – which helped him break the record.
1st Team Offense
QB – Case Cookus – 6’4 200 – Northern Arizona, Soph.
RB – Chase Edmonds – 5’9 195 – Fordham, Jr.
RB – Kade Harrington – 5’8 185 – Lamar, Sr.
FB – Tyler Renew – 5’11 217 – Citadel, Sr.
WR – Cooper Kupp – 6’1 195 – Eastern Washington, Sr.
WR – Jake Wieneke – 6’4 210 – South Dakota State, Jr.
TE – Jordan Powell – 6’3 244 – New Hampshire, Sr.
OL – Julie’n Davenport – 6’6 320 – Bucknell, Sr.
OL – Corey Levin – 6’5 305 – Chattanooga, Sr.
OL – Casey Dunn – 6’3 285 – Jacksonville State, Sr.
OL – Mitch Kirsch – 6’6 300 – James Madison, Sr.
OL – Zack Johnson – 6’4 329 – North Dakota State, Sr.
All-Purpose – John Santiago – 5’9 170 – North Dakota, Soph.
1st Team Defense
DL – Keionta Davis – 6’4 260 – Chattanooga, Sr.
DL – Derek Rivers – 6’3 245 – Youngstown State, Sr.
DL – P.J. Hall – 6’1 280 – Sam Houston State, Jr.
DL – Karter Schult – 6’2 265 – Northern Iowa, Jr.
LB – Javancy Jones – 6’2 230 – Jackson State, Sr.
LB – Christian Kuntz – 6’1 220 – Duquesne, Sr.
LB – Nick DeLuca – 6’3 245 – North Dakota State, Sr.
DB – Dee Delaney – 6’1 191 – Citadel, Jr.
DB – Donald Payne – 6’1 217 – Stetson, Sr.
DB – David Jones – 6’1 187 – Richmond, Sr.
DB – Casey DeAndrade – 5’11 212 – New Hampshire, Sr.
1st Team Specialists
K – Lance Geesey – 5’10 180 – St. Francis, Sr.
P – Chris Fraser – 6’2 211 – Cornell, Sr.
KR – Lorenzo Jerome – 6’0 195 – St. Francis, Sr.
PR – Khris Gardin – 5’7 158 – North Carolina A&T, Jr.
______
A pair of talented wide receivers headline the 2nd Team All-Americans. Richmond’s Brian Brown finished third in the nation in receiving yards with 1,450, while Illinois State’s WR Anthony Warrum finished tied for 2nd in receiving touchdowns with 15. Colgate’s DE Pat Afriyie finished 2015 with 9.5 sacks. Southeast Missouri State Punter Alex Knight averaged an impressive 44.8 yards per punt for the Redhawks last season.
2nd Team Offense
QB – Eli Jenkins – 6’2 200 – Jacksonville State, Sr.
RB – Tarik Cohen – 5’6 190 – North Carolina A&T, Sr.
RB – Cory Avery – 5’10 190 – Sam Houston State, Jr.
FB – Joe Protheroe – 6’0 230 – Cal Poly, Jr.
WR – Brian Brown – 6’1 198 – Richmond, Sr.
WR – Anthony Warrum – 6’2 190 – Illinois State, Sr.
TE – Derrick Griffin – 6’7 230 – Texas Southern, Soph.
OL – Erik Austell – 6’3 285 – Charleston Southern, Sr.
OL – Brandon Parker – 6’7 280 – North Carolina A&T, Jr.
OL – Kyle Avaloy – 6’5 330 – Illinois State, Sr.
OL – Jessamen Dunker – 6’5 290 – Tennessee State, Sr.
OL – Markus Cook – 6’3 310 – Jackson State, Sr.
All-Purpose – Harold Cooper – 5’9 187, Rhode Island, Jr.
2nd Team Defense
DL – Isaiah Golden – 6’2 335 – McNeese, Jr.
DL – Patrick Ricard – 6’3 285 – Maine, Sr.
DL – Pat Afriyie – 6’2 235 – Colgate, Sr.
DL – Greg Menard – 6’2 240 – North Dakota State, Jr.
LB – Kourtney Berry – 6’1 220 – Alabama State, Sr.
LB – Andrew Ankrah – 6’4 234 – James Madison, Jr.
LB – Brett McMakin – 6’4 230 – Northern Iowa, Sr.
DB – Jevon Elmore – 5’10 190 – Central Connecticut State, Sr.
DB – Taylor Reynolds – 6’0 195 – James Madison, Sr.
DB – Xavier Coleman – 5’11 190 – Portland State, Sr.
DB – Marquis Green – 5’10 175 – Mississippi Valley State, Soph.
2nd Team Specialists
K – Nick Dorka – 6’0 180 – William & Mary, Jr.
P – Alex Knight – 6’3 190 – Southeast Missouri State, Sr.
KR – Jacob Arnell – 5’10 172 – San Diego, Sr.
PR – Warren Robinson – 5’9 160 – Robert Morris, Soph.
______
Penn Quakers WR Justin Watson is the only offensive Ivy League player to make the All-American team. Watson is coming off an outstanding sophomore season finishing the year with 74 receptions for 1,082 yards and 9 touchdowns. Bucknell’s DL Abdullah Anderson was a 1st team All-Patriot League performer last season totaling 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Davidson’s Ben Rowell, in addition to his stellar play as a defensive back, finished with over 900 total return yards and averaged 28.4 yards per kickoff return.
3rd Team Offense
QB – Peter Pujals – 6’1 196 – Holy Cross, Sr.
RB – Kendell Anderson – 5’9 200 – William & Mary, Sr.
RB – Lenard Tillery – 5’10 186 – Southern, Sr.
FB – Brady Tibbits – 5’10 240 – Illinois State, Jr.
WR – Justin Watson – 6’3 210 – Penn, Jr.
WR – Emmanuel Butler – 6’3 210 – Northern Arizona, Jr.
TE – Dallas Goedert – 6’5 248 – South Dakota State, Jr.
OL – Jacob Judd – 6’3 290 – Western Illinois, Jr.
OL – Armando Bonheur – 6’3 300 – Samford, Sr.
OL – Zach Duffy – 6’5 325 – Lehigh, Sr.
OL – Bret Treadway – 6’3 280 – Lamar, Sr.
OL – Bret Niederreither – 6’3 290 – Mercer, Sr.
All-Purpose – Daquan Isom – 5’8 172 – Southern Illinois, Soph.
3rd Team Defense
DL – Aaron Thompson – 6’3 260 – Stony Brook, Sr.
DL – Anthony Ellis – 6’1 245 – Charleston Southern, Jr.
DL – Abdullah Anderson – 6’4 295 – Bucknell, Jr.
DL – Mack Marrin – 6’2 246 – Drake, Sr.
LB – James Rentz – 6’2 230 – Sacred Heart, Sr.
LB – Mac Bignell – 6’1 205 – Montana State, Jr.
LB – Victor Egu – 6’4 245 – Yale, Sr.
DB – Maleek Hall – 5’10 190 – Tennessee Tech, Sr.
DB – Devyn Bryant – 5’10 185 – San Diego, Sr.
DB – Travon Hunt – 6’1 190 – Howard, Sr.
DB – Tremon Smith – 6’0 185 – Central Arkansas, Jr.
3rd Team Specialists
K – Mar Orozco – 5’10 175 – Grambling, Jr.
P – Mitch Meindel – 6’3 190 – North Dakota, Jr.
KR – Ben Rowell – 5’10 211 – Davidson, Jr.
PR – Dane Forlines – 5’10 190 – VMI, Sr.
______
Total FCS All-Americans by Conference
Big Sky: 8
Big South: 2
CAA: 11
Ivy: 3
MEAC: 4
MVFC: 13
NEC: 6
OVC: 5
Patriot: 6
Pioneer: 5
SoCon: 7
Southland: 6
SWAC: 7
Many would believe that losing Coby Fleener would make the Colts worse in their unit, but it actually opens up more opportunity for Dwayne Allen and the other tight ends on the roster. Allen has shown flashes of elite ability. In quarterback Andrew Luck’s two best seasons, Allen was a major factor in his success. In 2012, both of their rookie seasons, Luck hooked up with Allen 45 times for 521 yards and three touchdowns. In 2014, they connected on eight of Luck’s 40 touchdowns. Now that he doesn’t have to share time with Fleener, and if he is able to stay healthy, Allen can be a 1000 yard receiver with double-digit touchdowns. That, mixed with his excellent blocking ability inline and in space, would make him a top five tight end in the league.
The Seahawks have a good core of tight ends to work with anchored by Jimmy Graham. Graham had a difficult adjustment coming to Seattle from New Orleans where they never really asked him to block. He actually did most of his damage with the Saints detached from the offensive line. Seattle wanted him to make a larger contribution to their balanced offense by doing more inline blocking. He struggled to adjust to his new role and with an injury, but with one year under his belt, he will be much better in that system. He is still an elite level athlete and mixed with his height, it makes him an absolute nightmare in the red zone. Especially when teams have to concern themselves with the quarterback’s ability to run the ball.
