Walls Named to Second Consecutive FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team
1/5/2018 12:17:00 PM | Football
2017 CoSIDA Football Academic All-American® of the Year, Marlon Walls, chosen as a FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team finalist, in the running for a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship
Complete 2017 FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The academic accolades continue to roll in for recently graduated Stephen F. Austin football safety Marlon Walls as he was named to the 20th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team Friday morning. It marks the second consecutive year Walls has earned the national distinction, and he is one of just four Southland Conference football players to appear on the 49-man list. Walls is joined by fellow Southland student-athletes Brian Hernandez of Nicholls, Chris Zirkle of Northwestern State and John Cook of Central Arkansas.
In addition, Walls was selected as one of nine finalists from the Academic All-Star team for the 17th Annual FCS ADA $5,000 Postgraduate Scholarships. Two student-athletes will receive postgraduate scholarships during the FCS ADA's annual membership meeting held in conjunction with the 2018 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention, being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington, D.C., June 28-30.
In December, Walls attained his bachelor's degree after posting an unblemished 4.00 grade point average while majoring in engineering physics and minoring in mathematics. One of just three FCS ADA Academic All-Stars with a perfect GPA, Walls completed his undergraduate degree in three and a half years of study in Nacogdoches.
The only Lumberjack to ever earn College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® of the Year honors, Walls was tabbed an Academic All-American® First Team selection for the second-straight year in December. He became just the third student-athlete in the history of the Southland to attain the title of CoSIDA Academic All-American® of the Year since the inception of the plaudit in 1987 and is the first SFA football player in program history to be named Academic All-American® First Team. In claiming the national honor, which includes both FCS and FBS football student-athletes, Walls joined an illustrious fraternity of Academic All-Americans® of the Year with some of the most notable names in the sport. Previous CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year selections include Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1995 & 1996), Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Drew Brees (Purdue, 2000), Alex Smith (Utah, 2004), Tim Tebow (Florida, 2008 & 2009) and Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011).
SFA's first William V. Campbell Trophy® finalist and National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete, Walls' accomplishments were highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports in early December at the 2017 NFF & College Hall of Fame Annual Awards Dinner in downtown New York City. The prestigious Campbell Trophy® is regarded as the highest scholar-athlete honor in all of college football and the academic equivalent to the Heisman Trophy. With SFA already having a Walter Payton Award winner in former quarterback Jeremy Moses (2010), the 'Jacks became just the sixth football program in the nation to have both a Walter Payton Award winner and a NFF National Scholar-Athlete. Of those, only five schools have had both a Walter Payton Award winner and a Campbell Trophy® finalist since the Campbell Trophy® began in 1990.
A native of Pearland, Texas (Pearland H.S.), Walls is the reigning Southland Football Student-Athlete of the Year and was the league's pick as a 2017 STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award finalist. The safety is also a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selection and was a nominee for both the 2016 and 2017 Allstate/American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. Placed on the Southland's All-Academic Team the past two seasons, Walls has been a member of the Southland fall commissioner's honor roll each year since his freshman campaign in 2014. Named to the SFA President's List every semester of his career, he was the recipient of the SFA physics department's Brian Patrick Hanson Memorial Scholarship last year and claimed the Murray Shaw Award for owning the highest GPA of any Lumberjack football player.
Last summer Walls completed an internship at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. While there, he joined other students from institutions such as MIT, Stanford and Yale to assist with the Europa Propulsion Module, a NASA space probe joint project. Walls will return to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory later this month to gain more work experience before pursuing a graduate degree in mechanical engineering this fall.
On the gridiron, Walls recorded 60 tackles, including 31 solo stops and two tackles for loss, while playing in all 11 games and making 10 starts this season. He registered a career-high 11 total tackles versus 17th-ranked Nicholls on Nov. 11 and posted nine tackles in two other outings. Walls also claimed three pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery throughout the year. No Lumberjack on SFA's current roster played in (46) or started (24) more games than Walls did throughout his four-year career in the purple and white.
Football players from all FCS institutions are eligible for the award. Each of the nominees were 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 must also have participated in 50 percent of the games played at his designated position.
About the FCS ADA: Now in its 24th year, the FCS ADA's mission is to enhance FCS football. For more information on the FCS ADA, please visit www.fcsada.com. The FCS ADA is administered by NACDA, which is in its 53rd year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
Previous SFA FCS ADA Academic All-Star Recipients
2017: Marlon Walls, Defensive Back
2014: Ryne Chambers, Offensive Lineman
2012: Drew Nelson, Punter
2011: Drew Nelson, Punter
2008: Cory Long, Kicker
-SFA-
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The academic accolades continue to roll in for recently graduated Stephen F. Austin football safety Marlon Walls as he was named to the 20th annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team Friday morning. It marks the second consecutive year Walls has earned the national distinction, and he is one of just four Southland Conference football players to appear on the 49-man list. Walls is joined by fellow Southland student-athletes Brian Hernandez of Nicholls, Chris Zirkle of Northwestern State and John Cook of Central Arkansas.
In addition, Walls was selected as one of nine finalists from the Academic All-Star team for the 17th Annual FCS ADA $5,000 Postgraduate Scholarships. Two student-athletes will receive postgraduate scholarships during the FCS ADA's annual membership meeting held in conjunction with the 2018 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention, being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington, D.C., June 28-30.
In December, Walls attained his bachelor's degree after posting an unblemished 4.00 grade point average while majoring in engineering physics and minoring in mathematics. One of just three FCS ADA Academic All-Stars with a perfect GPA, Walls completed his undergraduate degree in three and a half years of study in Nacogdoches.
The only Lumberjack to ever earn College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® of the Year honors, Walls was tabbed an Academic All-American® First Team selection for the second-straight year in December. He became just the third student-athlete in the history of the Southland to attain the title of CoSIDA Academic All-American® of the Year since the inception of the plaudit in 1987 and is the first SFA football player in program history to be named Academic All-American® First Team. In claiming the national honor, which includes both FCS and FBS football student-athletes, Walls joined an illustrious fraternity of Academic All-Americans® of the Year with some of the most notable names in the sport. Previous CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year selections include Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1995 & 1996), Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Drew Brees (Purdue, 2000), Alex Smith (Utah, 2004), Tim Tebow (Florida, 2008 & 2009) and Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011).
SFA's first William V. Campbell Trophy® finalist and National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete, Walls' accomplishments were highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports in early December at the 2017 NFF & College Hall of Fame Annual Awards Dinner in downtown New York City. The prestigious Campbell Trophy® is regarded as the highest scholar-athlete honor in all of college football and the academic equivalent to the Heisman Trophy. With SFA already having a Walter Payton Award winner in former quarterback Jeremy Moses (2010), the 'Jacks became just the sixth football program in the nation to have both a Walter Payton Award winner and a NFF National Scholar-Athlete. Of those, only five schools have had both a Walter Payton Award winner and a Campbell Trophy® finalist since the Campbell Trophy® began in 1990.
A native of Pearland, Texas (Pearland H.S.), Walls is the reigning Southland Football Student-Athlete of the Year and was the league's pick as a 2017 STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award finalist. The safety is also a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selection and was a nominee for both the 2016 and 2017 Allstate/American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. Placed on the Southland's All-Academic Team the past two seasons, Walls has been a member of the Southland fall commissioner's honor roll each year since his freshman campaign in 2014. Named to the SFA President's List every semester of his career, he was the recipient of the SFA physics department's Brian Patrick Hanson Memorial Scholarship last year and claimed the Murray Shaw Award for owning the highest GPA of any Lumberjack football player.
Last summer Walls completed an internship at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. While there, he joined other students from institutions such as MIT, Stanford and Yale to assist with the Europa Propulsion Module, a NASA space probe joint project. Walls will return to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory later this month to gain more work experience before pursuing a graduate degree in mechanical engineering this fall.
On the gridiron, Walls recorded 60 tackles, including 31 solo stops and two tackles for loss, while playing in all 11 games and making 10 starts this season. He registered a career-high 11 total tackles versus 17th-ranked Nicholls on Nov. 11 and posted nine tackles in two other outings. Walls also claimed three pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery throughout the year. No Lumberjack on SFA's current roster played in (46) or started (24) more games than Walls did throughout his four-year career in the purple and white.
Football players from all FCS institutions are eligible for the award. Each of the nominees were 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 must also have participated in 50 percent of the games played at his designated position.
About the FCS ADA: Now in its 24th year, the FCS ADA's mission is to enhance FCS football. For more information on the FCS ADA, please visit www.fcsada.com. The FCS ADA is administered by NACDA, which is in its 53rd year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
Previous SFA FCS ADA Academic All-Star Recipients
2017: Marlon Walls, Defensive Back
2014: Ryne Chambers, Offensive Lineman
2012: Drew Nelson, Punter
2011: Drew Nelson, Punter
2008: Cory Long, Kicker
-SFA-
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