Dec. 18, 2006

Elmhust, Ill. - Cal Poly linebacker Kyle Shotwell received yet another honor as he was named by The Sports Network I-AA/FCS as first-team All-America, it was released Monday. The announcement comes four days after Shotwell was named recipient of the Buck Buchanan Award, symbolizing the top defensive player at the Football Championship Subdivision.

Shotwell was one of six Great West players named to either the first, second or third All-America teams. North Dakota State placed three players - offensive tackle Nate Safe and punter Mike Dragosavich were both second-team selections, while defensive tackle Justin Frick was named to the third-team. It's the first time the Bison have had players named to The Sports Network's postseason All-America team; UC Davis defensive back Jonathan Barsi was named to the second team and Cal Poly's defensive back Kenny Chicoine was named to the third team.

Voting was conducted among I-AA sports information directors and selected media, with more than 100 ballots being cast.

Shotwell, a 6-1, 235-pound senior from Goleta, Calif., led the nation in tackles for a loss with 21, and made plays all over the field for a defense that was once again one of the nationâ€^TMs best. He finished the season with 122 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, while leading a unit that ranked in the top ten nationally in total and scoring defense and pressured opposing quarterbacks with 37 sacks.

Safe, a 6-foot-4 1/2 inch, 307-pound junior from Cannon Falls, Minn., was named to the Associated Press I-AA/FCS second team this season. He is a two-time all-Great West Football Conference first team performer for the Bison. Safe was the anchor of an offensive line that ranked sixth nationally in scoring offense (34 ppg), ninth in total offense (398.91 ypg), 17th in rushing offense (193.82 ypg) and 34th in passing offense (205.1 ypg). The NDSU offensive line was tied for fifth in tackles for loss allowed (3.73 tflapg) and 33rd in sacks allowed (1.27 sapg).

Dragosavich, a 6-6, 196-pound junior from Oak Lawn, Ill., only punted 30 times but it was for an average of 46.2 yards per punt -- tops in NCAA I-AA/FCS. He landed 14 punts inside the 20 and had seven touchbacks. Dragosavich had a season best punt of 67 yards. He led the league in punting and earned first team All-GWFC honors this season. He is the program's all-time leader in punting average (44.3 ypk), and has spotted 50 punts inside the 20 and recorded 24 touchbacks on 131 career attempts.

Frick, a 6-3, 295-pound senior from Yankton, S.D., was an All-GWFC first team performer in 2006. He recorded 39 tackles including 18 solo stops, six tackles for loss and five sacks from his defensive line position. Frick was credited with one forced fumble, a fumble recovery and four pass breakups.

NDSU's defense started with the push upfront and Frick sparked an effort that saw the Bison hold nine of 11 opponents to 100 yards or less rushing during the season. NDSU was fourth in rushing defense (67.2 ypg), eighth in scoring defense (13.4 ppg), ninth in total defense (253.64 ypg). The Bison defense was also tied for 22nd in sacks (2.45 spg).

Barsi, a senior from Los Altos, Calif., led UC Davis with six picks this season, including intercepting three passes against rival Sacramento State during UC Davis' 30-16 win. A player named first-team All-America last week by the Associate Press, Barsi led the team with 61 total tackles in 2006, including 34 solo. He finished his career with 11 interceptions, tying him for fourth all-time at UC Davis. His season total ties him for fifth. He was named to the All-GWFC first team in November for the second straight year.

Chicoine, 6-0, 205, senior from Huntington Beach, Calif., recorded 42 starts in 46 career games and had 266 career tackles and a school record 20 career interceptions, including two in the 2006 finale against Savannah State. He recorded five interceptions and three pass breakups this season and also averaged 8.4 yards per punt return en route to first-team All-Great West honors.

In all, 78 players from 15 different conferences were selected to either the first-, second-, or third-team.

THE SPORTS NETWORK 2006 I-AA/FCS ALL-AMERICA OFFENSE

First-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Ricky Santos New Hampshire QB Jr. 6-2 215 Marcus Mason Youngstown State RB Sr. 5-9 215 Arkee Whitlock Southern Illinois RB Sr. 5-10 195 David Ball New Hampshire WR Sr. 6-2 200 Alex Watson Northern Arizona WR Jr. 5-10 180 Ben Patrick Delaware TE Sr. 6-4 270 Kerry Brown Appalachian State OL Jr. 6-6 300 Matt Isenhour Appalachian State OL Sr. 6-1 275 Ryan Jewell Youngstown State OL Sr. 6-4 285 Ed McCarthy Yale OL Sr. 6-5 302 Alex Miller Massachusetts OL Jr. 6-2 290 Craig Coffin Southern Illinois K Sr. 5-11 200 Steven Whitehead McNeese State RS Jr. 5-8 170

Second-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Jason Murrietta Northern Arizona QB Sr. 6-1 215 Steve Baylark Massachusetts RB Sr. 6-0 225 Justise Hairston Central Conn. State RB Sr. 6-1 210 Bruce Hocker Duquesne WR Jr. 6-4 190 Maurice Price Charleston Southern WR Jr. 6-1 190 Patrick Bugg Eastern Kentucky TE Sr. 6-5 215 Brennan Carvalho Portland State OL Jr. 6-1 310 Corey Davis James Madison OL Sr. 6-4 325 Will Justice Southern Illinois OL Sr. 6-4 290 Chad Rinehart Northern Iowa OL Jr. 6-5 310 Nate Safe North Dakota State OL Jr. 6-4 315 Rob Zarrilli Hofstra K Jr. 6-0 193 Jesse Burton Tennessee-Martin RS Jr. 5-10 185

Third-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Josh Johnson San Diego QB Jr. 6-3 195 Clifton Dawson Harvard RB Sr. 5-10 210 Kevin Richardson Appalachian State RB Jr. 5-9 190 Micah Rucker Eastern Illinois WR Jr. 6-6 230 Jerome Simpson Coastal Carolina WR Jr. 6-3 190 Braden Jones Southern Illinois TE Sr. 6-4 260 Matt Austin Massachusetts OL Jr. 6-5 285 Cody Balogh Montana OL Jr. 6-7 325 Jacob Bender Nicholls State OL Sr. 6-6 305 Tucker Peterson New Hampshire OL Sr. 6-2 310 Brad Poston Coastal Carolina OL Sr. 6-5 290 Blake Bercegay McNeese State K So. 6-2 168 Tuff Harris Montana RS Sr. 6-0 193

THE SPORTS NETWORK 2006/FCS I-AA ALL-AMERICA DEFENSE

First-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Matt King Maine DL Sr. 6-3 242 Marques Murrell Appalachian State DL Sr. 6-2 245 Bryan Smith McNeese State DL Jr. 6-3 206 Kevin Winston James Madison DL Sr. 6-3 230 Adam Hayward Portland State LB Sr. 6-0 235 Akeem Jordan James Madison LB Sr. 6-0 235 Kyle Shotwell Cal Poly LB Sr. 6-1 235 Cameron Siskowic Illinois State LB Sr. 6-2 225 Dre Dokes Northern Iowa DB Sr. 5-9 162 James Ihedigbo Massachusetts DB Sr. 6-1 202 Stacey Thomas Texas Southern DB Sr. 6-0 200 Jeremy Wiggins Appalachian State DB Sr. 5-9 190 David Simonhoff SE Missouri State P Sr. 6-2 200

Second-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Kroy Biermann Montana DL Jr. 6-3 233 Rudolph Hardie Howard DL Sr. 6-1 270 Edgar Jones SE Missouri State DL Jr. 6-5 250 Mike Murphy Montana DL Sr. 6-3 238 Justin Durant Hampton LB Sr. 6-2 230 Mike Gallihugh Colgate LB Jr. 5-11 185 Chad Nkang Elon LB Sr. 6-1 215 Donald Thomas Eastern Illinois LB Jr. 5-10 222 Jonathan Barsi UC Davis DB Sr. 6-1 205 Tony LeZotte James Madison DB Jr. 6-0 200 Corey Lynch Appalachian State DB Jr. 6-0 205 Jason Perry Youngstown State DB Sr. 5-8 175 Mike Dragosavich North Dakota State P Jr. 6-5 196

Third-Team School Pos. Cl. Ht. Wt. Mike Berg Harvard DL Sr. 6-2 265 Justin Frick North Dakota State DL Sr. 6-3 292 Ray Gensler Robert Morris DL Sr. 6-0 220 Lorenzo Wims Southern Illinois DL Sr. 6-2 260 Zak DeOssie Brown LB Sr. 6-4 240 Chris Dupuy Alabama State LB Sr. 6-0 210 Chris Hunsaker Northern Arizona LB Sr. 6-0 245 Marcus Taylor Fordham LB Sr. 6-1 244 Allyn Bacchus Villanova DB Sr. 6-0 205 Tristan Burge Eastern Illinois DB Sr. 6-0 200 Kenny Chicoine Cal Poly DB Sr. 6-0 205 Bobbie Williams Bethune-Cookman DB Jr. 6-1 180 Colin McDonough Princeton P Sr. 6-0 185