NDSU wide receiver Kole Heckendorf and running back Tyler Roehl were among 43 winners of the 11th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team. The winners were announced at the Football Championship Subdivision football championship in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Dec. 19.
Heckendorf and Roehl were selected to the team for the second straight year. Both are two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans and were first-team selections in 2008.
A physical education major with a 3.38 grade point average, the 5-foot-10, 232-pound Roehl was the leading rusher for the Bison who finished 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The senior was the eighth leading rusher in school history with 2,512 yards. He rushed for 1,053 yards and 13 touchdowns on 171 carries in 2008. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry this season. Roehl was named to the 22-member 2008 AllState/American Football Coaches Association Good Works team. He was an honorable mention on the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference team.
Heckendorf, a 6-foot-2, 188-pound senior from Mosinee, Wis., led the Bison in receiving for the fourth straight season. He caught 41 passes for 744 yards and four touchdowns. He maintains a 3.82 grade point average in physical education and finished his college football career as the program's all-time leader with 178 receptions for 2,732 yards. He was a finalist for the Awards and Recognition Association Sportsmanship Award and semifinalist for the Draddy Trophy. Heckendorf was named to the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference second team.
“The Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association looks forward to this annual academic all-star team announcement,” said Tim Van Alstine, chair of the Football Championship Subdivision Academic All-Star Team Selection Committee and athletics director at Western Illinois University. “Each year we honor outstanding players who represent the true meaning of the word student-athlete and this year is no different. We are proud of their accomplishments both in the classroom and on the field.”
Football players from all Football Championship Subdivision institutions are eligible for these prestigious awards. Each of the nominees is required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials. He must have reached his second year of athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution and have completed a minimum of one full academic year at the nominated institution. He also must have participated in 50 percent of the games played at his designated position.