NCAA: Old Dominion's Heinicke, Wofford's Breitenstein lead AP FCS All-Americans

12-12-2012 01:00 PM
NEW YORK -- Payton Award finalists Taylor Heinicke, the record-setting quarterback from Old Dominion, and Eric Breitenstein, the 2,000-yard rusher from Wofford, were selected to The Associated Press FCS All-America team.
Heinicke had the most prolific passing season in the history of what used to be called Division I-AA football. The sophomore from Georgia passed for 5,076 yards and had 5,546 yards of total offense, breaking records set by the late Steve McNair when he was at Alcorn State in 1994.
''What Taylor did this year from an individual standpoint is nothing short of incredible,'' ODU coach Bobby Wilder said Wednesday.
''We build our system around our quarterback and what we feel like are his strengths. To run an offense that suits their needs. As (Heinicke) has gotten comfortable in our system, we've become more of a throwing team because of his comfort level.''
Directing the Monarchs' fast-paced spread, Heinicke also set FCS records for completions (398) and total plays (705). And Heinicke ran for 470 yards and 11 touchdowns.
''He understands our philosophy is to find a way to move the chains,'' Wilder said. ''If you need to run the ball, you run it to get a critical first down and those first downs lead to touchdowns. Protect the ball and find a way to move the chains.''
Heinicke did just that in September against New Hampshire when he passed for a Division I record 730 yards in a 64-61 victory. He threw 79 passes in that game without an interception.
Old Dominion finished 11-2 record, losing last week to Georgia Southern, 49-35, in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Breitenstein made his second consecutive appearance as a first-team All-American. The 230-pound senior fullback ran for 2,035 yards and 19 touchdowns this season.
The Walter Payton Award goes to the top player in FCS. Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman, the other finalist for the Payton Award, was picked second-team All-American.
Joining Heinicke and Breitenstein in the first-team backfield was Stony Brook's Miguel Maysonet, who ran for 1,964 and 21 touchdowns.
Eastern Illinois' Erik Lora and Elon's Aaron Mellette, ranked 1-2 in the nation in catches and yards receiving, were the receivers and Harvard's Kyle Juszczyk was the tight end.
A couple of guys who will be playing in this weekend's FCS semifinals highlight the offensive line.
Bill Turner and North Dakota State host Georgia Southern on Friday night and Will Post and Eastern Washington host Sam Houston State on Saturday.
The other linemen were Earl Watford from James Madison, Mike Sellers from The Citadel and Roger Gaines from Tennessee State.
The defense is led by Georgia Southern's 300-pound defensive tackle Brent Russell and Georgetown linebacker Robert McCabe, who leads the nation with 14.45 tackles per game.
Brandon Thurmond of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the nation's leader with 17 1/2 sacks, joined Russell on the line along with Colton Underwood of Illinois State.
Montana State placed two players on the defense. End Caleb Schreibeis leads FCS with eight forced fumbles and linebacker Cody Owens was the Big Sky defensive player of the year.
New Hampshire linebacker Matt Evans, who was a second-team All-American last year, made the first team this year.
Defensive back Marcus Williams of North Dakota State joined Breitenstein as a two-time All-American and became the only defensive player to repeat this season.
North Dakota State and Montana State were the only teams to place two players on the first team.
The other defensive backs were Darnell Taylor of Sam Houston State, Jaquiski Tartt of Samford and Cooper Taylor of Richmond.
Walter Powell of Murray State was the all-purpose player. He had 1,213 yards receiving and more than 900 yards returning kicks and punts.
Patrick Murray of Fordham was the kicker and Sam Martin of Appalachian State was the punter.

Position	Player	School	Year
OFFENSE
Quarterback	Taylor Heinicke	Old Dominion	Sophomore
Running Back	Miguel Maysonet	Stony Brook	Senior
Running Back	Eric Breitenstein	Wofford	Senior
Lineman	Earl Watford	James Madison	Senior
Lineman	Mike Sellers	The Citadel	Junior
Lineman	Will Post	Eastern Washington	Senior
Lineman	Bill Turner	North Dakota State	Junior
Lineman	Roger Gaines	Tennessee State	Senior
Tight End	Kyle Juszczyk	Harvard	Senior
Wide Receiver	Aaron Mellett	Elon	Senior
Wide Receiver	Erik Lora	Eastern Illinois	Junior
All Purpose	Walter Powell	Murray State	Junior
Kicker	Patrick Murray	Fordham	Senior
DEFENSE
Lineman	Caleb Schreibeis	Montana State	Senior
Lineman	Colton Underwood	Illinois State	Junior
Lineman	Brent Russell	Georgia Southern	Senior
Lineman	Brandon Thurmond	Arkansas-Pine Bluff	Senior
Linebacker	Matt Evans	New Hampshire	Senior
Linebacker	Jody Owens	Montana State	Senior
Linebacker	Robert McCabe	Georgetown	Senior
Defensive Back	Darnell Taylor	Sam Houston State	Senior
Defensive Back	Marcus Williams	North Dakota State	Junior
Defensive Back	Jaquiski Tartt	Samford	Sophomore
Defensive Back	Cooper Taylor	Richmond	Senior
Punter	Sam Martin	Appalachian State	Senior

Position	Player	School	Year
OFFENSE
Quarterback	Casey Brockman	Murray State	Senior
Running Back	Zach Zenner	South Dakota State	Sophomore
Running Back	Deonte Williams	Cal Poly	Senior
Lineman	Terren Jones	Alabama State	Senior
Lineman	Michael Bamiro	Stony Brook	Junior
Lineman	Bryan Witzmann	South Dakota State	Junior
Lineman	J.C. Tretter	Cornell	Senior
Lineman	Corey Howard	Central Arkansas	Senior
Tight End	A.C. Leonard	Tennessee State	Sophomore
Wide Receiver	Jordan Harris	Bryant	Junior
Wide Receiver	Brandon Kaufman	Eastern Washington	Junior
All Purpose	Dominic Dunn	Northern Colorado	Senior
Kicker	Colton Cook	Southern Utah	Junior
DEFENSE
Lineman	Cody Larsen	Southern Utah	Senior
Lineman	Davis Tull	Chattanooga	Senior
Lineman	Mike Catapano	Princeton	Senior
Lineman	Zach Wagenmann	Montana	Sophomore
Linebacker	Jeremy Kimbrough	Appalachian State	Senior
Linebacker	Stephon Robertson	James Madison	Junior
Linebacker	Blake Peiffer	Southeast Missouri State	Senior
Defensive Back	Robert Alford	Southeastern Louisiana	Senior
Defensive Back	B.W. Webb	William & Mary	Senior
Defensive Back	Demetrius McCray	Appalachian State	Senior
Defensive Back	Johnny Towalid	Indiana State	Senior
Punter	Andy Wilder	Northern Arizona	Junior

Position	Player	School	Year
OFFENSE
Quarterback	Gavin McCarney	Colgate	Junior
Running Back	Shakir Bell	Indiana State	Junior
Running Back	Tim Flanders	Sam Houston State	Junior
Lineman	Randy Richards	Missouri State	Senior
Lineman	Garrett Frye	Georgia Southern	Sophomore
Lineman	Aaron Adams	Eastern Kentucky	Senior
Lineman	Sean Davies	UC Davis	Senior
Lineman	Dakota Dozier	Furman	Junior
Tight End	Josh Hill	Idaho State	Senior
Wide Receiver	Cordell Roberson	Stephen F. Austin	Senior
Wide Receiver	Kevin Norrell	Stony Brook	Senior
All Purpose	Tyler Varga	Yale	Sophomore
Kicker	Jimmy Pavel	Eastern Washington	Senior
DEFENSE
Lineman	Caraun Reid	Princeton	Senior
Lineman	Ken Boatright	Southern Illinois	Senior
Lineman	Joseph Lebeau	Jackson State	Senior
Lineman	Andrew Weaver	Sam Houston State	Junior
Linebacker	Jordan Tripp	Montana	Junior
Linebacker	Keith Pough	Howard	Senior
Linebacker	Ian Sluss	Portland State	Senior
Defensive Back	Kejuan Riley	Alabama State	Senior
Defensive Back	Steven Godbolt	Tennessee State	Sophomore
Defensive Back	Ben Ericksen	Illinois State	Senior
Defensive Back	Caleb Schaffitzel	Missouri State	Sophomore
Punter	Bobby Wenzig	Alabama State	Junior

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