WACO, Texas – West Liberty University senior tight end Ryan Travis has been named offensive captain of the 2010 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America Team, which was announced Wednesday morning by the American Football Coaches Association.
The AFCA All-America Teams are considered more significant than many All-America teams as they are the only teams selected exclusively by the coaches themselves. The AFCA has compiled All-America teams every year since 1945.
The 25-man Division II All-America Team is composed of 11 offensive players and 11 defensive players along with a punter, placekicker and all-purpose player.
Travis turned in one of the greatest receiving seasons in NCAA Division II history to become the first West Liberty player ever to be named an AFCA All-American.
The 6-3, 235-pound senior from the football hotbed of Massillon, Ohio led the nation with 126 catches and an average of 140.2 yards per catch this fall as Coach Roger Waialae’s Hilltoppers just missed a second consecutive NCAA Division II playoff berth with a 7-3 record.
Travis’s 126 receptions were the second-highest single-season total in NCAA Division II history and his average of 12.6 catches per game also ranks No. 2 all-time in Division II.
He was the only college receiver in America – all divisions – to catch at least 10 passes in every game this season. Travis also tied the NCAA Division II single-season record for tight ends with 15 TD catches.
Although he was a four-year letterman at West Liberty, Travis didn’t become a full-time receiver until his junior season. He was the Hilltoppers’ starting fullback as a freshman and alternated between running back and tight end throughout his sophomore campaign.
He exploded onto the regional and national scene as a junior with 104 catches for 1,250 yards to earn first-team Daktronics All-Region and All-America honors to set the stage for his record-setting senior season.
Despite the limited receiving opportunities in his first two varsity campaigns, Travis finished his career with 285 catches for 3,228 yards and 34 touchdowns. Travis’s 285 career catches are No. 5 all-time in NCAA Division II while all three numbers are West Liberty school records.
Morehouse (Ga.) senior defensive lineman Derrin Nettles was named defensive captain of the 2010 AFCA Division II All-America Team.
Nettles ranked No. 2 nationally with 27.5 tackles-for-loss and was also charted with 9 quarterback sacks, 12 quarterback hurries and a national-best 7 forced fumbles.
This year’s AFCA Division II All-America Team is composed of 18 seniors, 6 juniors and one sophomore with only two repeat All-Americans from 2009.
This year’s repeat honorees are junior running back Jonas Randolph of Mars Hill (N.C.) and senior defensive lineman Marc Schiechl from the Colorado School of Mines.
The AFCA’s Division II All-American Selection Committee includes three head coaches from each of the organization’s nine districts along with another head coach who serves as chairman of the committee.
The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the best players in their districts. One coach from each district is designated as district chairman and represents his district on a conference call to select the AFCA All-America Team. The nine district chairman and the committee chairman participate in the conference call.
The AFCA selects five All-America teams each year – FBS, FCS, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
