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Top Payton, Buchanan finalists headline STATS All-America team
(STATS) - The players invited to the unveiling of the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan awards help headline the 2017 STATS FCS All-America Team, announced Tuesday.
The two most prestigious player awards in the FCS will be announced at the STATS FCS Banquet and Presentation on Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas - the eve of the national championship.
Senior quarterbacks Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston State and Chris Streveler of South Dakota and UC Davis junior wide receiver Keelan Doss will decide the Payton Award. Doss was named a first-team All-American, and the Payton results will determine first-team quarterback between Briscoe and Streveler.
Senior defensive ends Andrew Ankrah of James Madison and Darius Jackson of Jacksonville State and Western Illinois senior linebacker Brett Taylor - who are in the top three of the Buchanan Award voting - also were first-team All-Americans.
The All-America team featured players from 54 schools and all 13 conferences. National semifinalist Sam Houston State had the most selections with five followed by Central Arkansas, Jacksonville State, James Madison, North Dakota State and Weber State with four each. The Missouri Valley Football Conference led all conferences with 17 selections.
Briscoe, the 2016 Payton Award winner, ranks No. 1 in the FCS with 5,003 passing yards and 45 touchdown passes, while Streveler averaged an FCS-best 373.4 yards of total offense per game, accounting for 43 touchdowns. Doss led all FCS receivers in the regular season with 115 receptions and 1,499 receiving yards.
Ankrah hopes to help James Madison win a second straight national title on Jan. 6, adding to his 54 tackles, 15 1/2 tackles for loss and 8 1/2 sacks. Jackson totaled 20 1/2 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 23 quarterback hurries. Taylor's 162 tackles and 13.5 tackles per game lead the nation.
The rest of the first-team offense included running backs Dom Bragalone of Lehigh and Josh Mack of Maine; fullback Cal Daniels of Stony Brook; wide receivers Nathan Stewart of Sam Houston State and Justin Watson of Penn; tight end Dallas Goedert of South Dakota State; and offensive linemen Austin Kuhnert of North Dakota State, Justin Lea of Jacksonville State, Brandon Parker of North Carolina A&T, Skyler Phillips of Idaho State and Aaron Stinnie of James Madison.
On defense, the other first-team selections were defensive linemen P.J. Hall of Sam Houston State and Jonathan Petersen of San Diego; linebackers Nick DeLuca of North Dakota State, Darius Leonard of South Carolina State and Sione Teuhema of Southeastern Louisiana; and defensive backs Mike Basile of Monmouth, Davontae Harris of Illinois State, Taron Johnson of Weber State and Tremon Smith of Central Arkansas.
The first-team special teams selections were Nicholls place-kicker Lorran Fonseca, Incarnate Word punter Joe Zema, North Dakota State long snapper James Fisher, Southeastern Louisiana kick returner Juwan Petit-Frere, Harvard punt returner Justice Shelton-Mosley and Western Carolina all-purpose back Detrez Newsome.
The All-America team included 18 players who were named offensive or defensive player of the year in their conference.
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2017 STATS FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM=
FIRST TEAM
*-To be determined by the winner of the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award on Jan. 5.
OFFENSE
*QB - Jeremiah Briscoe, senior, 6-3, 225, Sam Houston State, or Chris Streveler, senior, 6-3, 220, South Dakota
RB - Dom Bragalone, junior, 5-11, 230, Lehigh
RB - Josh Mack, sophomore, 6-1, 198, Maine
FB - Cal Daniels, junior, 6-2, 255, Stony Brook
WR - Keelan Doss, junior, 6-3, 206, UC Davis
WR - Nathan Stewart, sophomore, 5-11, 175, Sam Houston State
WR - Justin Watson, senior, 6-3, 225, Penn
TE - Dallas Goedert, senior, 6-5, 260, South Dakota State
OL - Austin Kuhnert, senior, 6-4, 304, North Dakota State
OL - Justin Lea, senior, 6-4, 290, Jacksonville State
OL - Brandon Parker, senior, 6-7, 309, North Carolina A&T
OL - Skyler Phillips, senior, 6-2, 315, Idaho State
OL - Aaron Stinnie, senior, 6-5, 309, James Madison
DEFENSE
DL - Andrew Ankrah, senior, 6-4, 248, James Madison
DL - P.J. Hall, senior, 6-1, 305, Sam Houston State
DL - Darius Jackson, senior, 6-3, 242, Jacksonville State
DL - Jonathan Petersen, senior, 6-1, 240, San Diego
LB - Nick DeLuca, senior, 6-3, 245, North Dakota State
LB - Darius Leonard, senior, 6-3, 235, South Carolina State
LB - Brett Taylor, senior, 6-2, 230, Western Illinois
LB - Sione Teuhema, senior, 6-4, 260, Southeastern Louisiana
DB - Mike Basile, senior, 6-1, 200, Monmouth
DB - Davontae Harris, senior, 6-0, 205, Illinois State
DB - Taron Johnson, senior, 6-0, 185, Weber State
DB - Tremon Smith, senior, 6-0, 190, Central Arkansas
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK - Lorran Fonseca, junior, 5-11, 185, Nicholls
P - Joe Zema, grad, 6-2, 210, Incarnate Word
LS - James Fisher, senior, 6-2, 225, North Dakota State
KR - Juwan Petit-Frere, sophomore, 5-7, 170, Southeastern Louisiana
PR - Justice Shelton-Mosley, junior, 5-10, 195, Harvard
AP - Detrez Newsome, senior, 5-10, 210, Western Carolina
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SECOND TEAM=
OFFENSE
*QB - Jeremiah Briscoe, senior, 6-3, 225, Sam Houston State, or Chris Streveler, senior, 6-3, 220, South Dakota
RB - Roc Thomas, senior, 5-11, 193, Jacksonville State
RB - De'Lance Turner, senior, 6-1, 214, Alcorn State
FB - Andre Stoddard, junior, 5-10, 230, Wofford
WR - Jaelon Acklin, senior, 6-2, 190, Western Illinois
WR - Neil O'Connor, junior, 5-11, 190, New Hampshire
WR - Troy Pelletier, senior, 6-3, 210, Lehigh
TE - Andrew Vollert, senior, 6-5, 245, Weber State
OL - John Cook, junior, 6-4, 325, Central Arkansas
OL - Jamil Demby, senior, 6-5, 335, Maine
OL - Jacob Ohnesorge, senior, 6-3, 295, South Dakota State
OL - Timon Parris, senior, 6-5, 320, Stony Brook
OL - Matthew Schmidt, senior, 6-3, 290, Furman
DEFENSE
DL - Anthony Ellis, senior, 6-1, 245, Charleston Southern
DL - Ahmad Gooden, junior, 6-1, 240, Samford
DL - Dalton Keene, senior, 6-4, 275, Illinois State
DL - Chris Terrell, sophomore, 6-3, 266, Central Arkansas
LB - Garrett Dolan, senior, 6-2, 240, Houston Baptist
LB - Jared Farley, senior, 5-11, 224, Northern Iowa
LB - Warren Messer, junior, 5-11, 229, Elon
LB - Christian Rozeboom, sophomore, 6-2, 225, South Dakota State
DB - Elijah Campbell, senior, 5-11, 193, Northern Iowa
DB - Raven Greene, senior, 6-0, 190, James Madison
DB - Robbie Grimsley, junior, 6-0, 191, North Dakota State
DB - George Odum, senior, 6-2, 187, Central Arkansas
DB - D'Montre Wade, senior, 6-0, 200, Murray State
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK - Trey Tuttle, freshman, 5-9, 190, Weber State
P - Keith Wrzuszczak, senior, 5-11, 212, Eastern Kentucky
LS - Hunter Winstead, senior, 6-0, 240, Liberty
KR - Desmond Hite, sophomore, 5-9, 178, Incarnate Word
PR - Xequille Harry, senior, 5-11, 160, Weber State
AP - Davion Davis, junior, 5-11, 180, Sam Houston State
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THIRD TEAM=
OFFENSE
QB - Kyle Lauletta, senior, 6-3, 215, Richmond
RB - Corey Avery, senior, 5-10, 195, Sam Houston State
RB - Zane Dudek, freshman, 5-9, 190, Yale
FB - Jared Mohamed, senior, 6-0, 227, Cal Poly
WR - Elijah Marks, senior, 6-1, 175, Northern Arizona
WR - Kelvin McKnight, junior, 5-9, 188, Samford
WR - Jesper Horsted, junior, 6-4, 215, Princeton
TE - Ross Dwelley, senior, 6-5, 240, San Diego
OL - Ben Huss, senior, 6-2, 310, Duquesne
OL - Jacob Judd, senior, 6-3, 300, Western Illinois
OL - Brody Kern, senior, 6-2, 285, Delaware
OL - Zach Larsen, sophomore, 6-1, 300, Southern Utah
OL - Mitchell Sweigart, senior, 6-5, 290, Princeton
OL - Alex Thompson, senior, 6-4, 300, Monmouth
DEFENSE
DL - Abdullah Anderson, senior, 6-4, 295, Bucknell
DL - Miles Brown, junior, 6-2, 320, Wofford
DL - Andrew Clyde, junior, 6-3, 275, Richmond
DL - Darin Greenfield, sophomore, 6-3, 235, South Dakota
DL - Jaison Williams, sophomore, 6-1, 225, Austin Peay
LB - Bryson Armstrong, freshman, 5-11, 201, Kennesaw State
LB - Brandon Bryant, senior, 5-11, 225, Lafayette
LB - De'Arius Christmas, senior, 5-10, 220, Grambling State
LB - Mario Jenkins, senior, 6-1, 245, Idaho State
LB - Shaheed Salmon, senior, 6-2, 232, Samford
DB - Marlon Bridges, sophomore, 6-0, 200, Jacksonville State
DB - Malik Duncan, senior, 5-10, 205, Saint Francis
DB - Danny Johnson, senior, 5-10, 194, Southern
DB - Rashad Robinson, junior, 5-11, 182, James Madison
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK - Marc Orozco, junior, 5-9, 170, Grambling State
P - Alex Pechin, junior, 6-0, 185, Bucknell
LS - Brandon Godsey, senior, 6-0, 220, South Dakota
KR - Jean Constant, sophomore, 5-9, 168, Bryant
PR - Khris Gardin, senior, 5-7, 180, North Carolina A&T
AP - John Santiago, junior, 5-9, 180, North Dakota
