Football season is almost here, and with that comes preseason awards. Several publications announced their preseason All-Americans this past week and two teams from the PSAC West landed players on the list. Cal U landed one player on the Lindy’s and Sporting News lists while Slippery Rock landed five on the 25th Annual USA College Football Division II list.
Cal U’s senior defensive end BJ Stevens was named to the First-Team All-American squad by both Lindy’s and Sporting News. Stevens set the school mark for tackles-for-loss last season with 22.5, with 14.5 of those being sacks. His 22.5 TFL led the entire PSAC last season. He also led the NCAA Division II with 1.32 sacks per game and racked up sacks in seven straight contests. He was named a First-Team All-American by the AP, Daktronics, and Don Hansen last season.
Slippery Rock’s senior defensive end Derek Walker and senior cornerback Anthony Saunders were both named to the Third-Team All-American list for the 25th Annual USA College Football Division II list. Senior linebacker Quindell Dean, sophomore return man Jaimire Dutrieuille, and senior wide receiver LaQuinn Stephens-Howling were all named as Honorable Mentions on the list.
Walker registered 37 tackles last season, with 5.5 of those being for a loss. He also had 3.5 sacks and one pass deflection.
Saunders led the PSAC with 17 defended passes and picked off three passes, ranking eighth. Two of his three interceptions were returned for touchdowns. On top of that he finished with 62 total tackles for the season.
Dean ranked second on the team in tackles last season, taking down ball carriers 79 tackles, seven times in the backfield. Four of those were sacks. He also finished with one interception.
Dutrieuille averaged 28.6 yards per kick return last season, taking one 92 yards to the house. He also caught 28 passes for 325 yards and ran the ball 165 yards and three scores.
Stephens-Howling, the younger brother of NFL running back LaRod Stephens-Howling, caught 37 passes for 464 yards and 5 touchdowns last season, leading the team.
With the season set to start in September, more players are likely to be named to other several publications’ All-American teams.
Photo Credit: Laura Rayle, Cal U Athletics
