NEWS RELEASE 100 Legends Lane • Waco, Texas 76706 • (254) 754-9900 • Fax: (254) 754-7373 • www.afca.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 14, 2021 AFCA CONTACT: Vince Thompson, Director of Media Relations 254-754-9900 SACRED HEART’S JULIUS CHESTNUT AND SOUTH CAROLINA STATE’S DECOBIE DURANT HIGHLIGHT THE 2021 SPRING AFCA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION COACHES’ ALL-AMERICA TEAMS WACO, TEX. — Sacred Heart running back Julius Chestnut and South Carolina State defensive back Decobie Durant headline the 2021 Spring AFCA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Coaches’ All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association. The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves. A finalist for the Walter Payton Award, Chestnut led the FCS in yards rushing per game (171.0) and all-purpose yards per game (205.2). He rushed for a total of 855 yards in five games and was third in the nation in scoring at 14.8 points per game. Durant tied for the FCS lead in interceptions per game (1.0) and passes defended per game (2.2). In four games played, he totaled five pass break ups, four interceptions, seven solo tackles, two quarterback hurries and one tackle for loss. 2021 Spring AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team - First Team Offense Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School) QB Eric Barriere 6-0 200 R-Sr. Eastern Washington Aaron Best Inglewood, Calif. (La Habra) RB Julius Chestnut 6-1 215 Jr. Sacred Heart Mark Nofri Bowie, Md. (Archbishop Spaulding) RB Pierre Strong, Jr. 5-11 210 Jr. South Dakota St. John Stiegelmeier Little Rock, Ark. (McClellan) WR Avante Cox 5-10 170 Jr. Southern Illinois Nick Hill Rochester, Ill. (Rochester) WR DeAngelo Wilson 5-9 173 Sr. Austin Peay Scotty Walden Bowling Green, Ky. (Bowling Green) WR Jakob Herres 6-4 211 Jr. VMI Scott Wachenheim Easton, Pa. (Easton Area) OL *Drew Himmelman 6-10 325 Sr. Illinois St. Brock Spack Geneseo, Ill. (Geneseo) OL Tristen Taylor 6-6 325 Sr. Eastern Washington Aaron Best Stockton, Calif. (Stagg) OL J.D. DiRenzo 6-6 315 Sr. Sacred Heart Mark Nofri Hammonton, N.J. (St. Joseph) OL Garret Greenfield 6-6 295 So. South Dakota St. Joh Stiegelmeier Rock Valley, Iowa (Rock Valley) OL Ty Whitworth 6-4 300 Sr. Weber St. Jay Hill Temecula, Calif. (Linfield Christian) Defense Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School) DL Jahari Kay 6-2 255 Sr. Sam Houston K.C. Keeler Berkeley, Calif. (San Leandro) DL Isaiah Chambers 6-5 250 Gr. McNeese Frank Wilson Houston, Tex. (Aldine MacArthur) DL Jordan Lewis 6-3 195 Jr. Southern Dawson Odums Ocala, Fla. (Trinity Catholic) DL Jared Brinkman 6-2 290 Sr. Northern Iowa Mark Farley Iowa City, Iowa (Regina) LB ^Bryson Armstrong 5-11 205 Sr. Kennesaw St. Brian Bohannon Marietta, Ga. (Kell) LB Colby Campbell 6-0 230 Sr. Presbyterian Tommy Spangler Montmorenci, S.C. (South Aiken) LB Jared Folks 6-1 230 R-Sr. East Tennessee St. Randy Sanders Harrisburg, Pa. (Susquehanna Township) DB James Ceasar 5-10 185 Sr. Southern Illinois Nick Hill Detroit, Mich. (East English Village) DB *Kordell Jackson 5-9 188 Sr. Austin Peay Scotty Walden Birmingham, Ala. (Ramsay) DB Nicario Harper 6-1 205 R-So. Jacksonville St. John Grass Atlanta, Ga. (Carver) DB Decobie Durant 5-11 175 R-Jr. South Carolina St. Buddy Pough Lamar, S.C. (Lamar) Specialists Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School) P Daniel Whelan 6-6 215 Sr. UC Davis Dan Hawkins Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Rancho Mirage) PK Ethan Ratke 5-10 178 R-Sr. James Madison Curt Cignetti Mechanicsville, Va. (Atlee) AP Jequez Ezzard 5-9 190 Gr. Sam Houston K.C. Keeler College Park, Ga. (Hapeville Charter) *-2019 AFCA All-American ^-2017 & 2019 AFCA All-American -(MORE)- 2021 Spring AFCA FCS COACHES’ ALL-AMERICA TEAM PAGE 2 OF 3 2021 Spring AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team - Second Team Offense Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School) QB Eric Schmid 6-1 180 R-Jr. Sam Houston K.C. Keeler The Woodlands, Tex. (The Woodlands) RB Kevin Brown 5-9 204 Sr. UIW Eric Morris Mount Pleasant, S.C. (Wando) RB Juwon Farri 5-10 195 R-So. Monmouth (N.J.) Kevin Callahan Germantown, Md. (Northwest) WR Talolo Limu-Jones 6-5 220 R-Sr. Eastern Washington Aaron Best Vallejo, Calif. (Grace Davis) WR Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim 6-1 190 So. Alabama A&M Connell Maynor Miramar, Fla. (Miramar) WR Keith Pearson 5-9 175 Sr. Presbyterian Tommy Spangler Enoree, S.C. (Woodruff) OL Bucky Williams 6-3 290 R-So. Austin Peay Scotty Walden Ringgold, Ga. (Ringgold) OL Jake Dixon 6-6 290 Sr. Duquesne Jerry Schmitt Pittsburgh, Pa. (Bethel Park) OL Brian Foley 6-4 314 Sr. Holy Cross Bob Chesney Clarendon Hills, Ill. (Hinsdale Central) OL Kyle Nunez 6-2 340 R-Jr. Stony Brook Chuck Priore East Islip, N.Y. (East Islip) OL Tylan Grable 6-7 290 R-So. Jacksonville St. John Grass Gordon, Ga. (Wilkinson County) Defense Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School) DL Spencer Waege 6-5 274 Jr. North Dakota St. Matt Entz South Shore, S.D. (Watertown) DL Kobie Turner 6-3 285 R-Jr. Richmond Russ Huesman Clifton, Va. (Centreville) DL Kevin Glajchen 6-2 270 R-Sr. San Diego Dale Lindsey Saratoga, Calif. (Saint Francis) DL Devonnsha Maxwell 6-2 295 Jr. Chattanooga Rusty Wright Valdosta, Ga. (Valdosta) LB James Kaczor 6-0 211 Jr. North Dakota St. Matt Entz St. Cloud, Minn. (St. Cloud Tech) LB Tre Walker 6-1 235 Jr. Idaho Paul Petrino Dos Palos, Calif. (Fresno Central) LB Jomard Valsin 6-1 240 Jr. Northwestern St. Brad Laird Port Arthur, Tex. (Memorial) DB Zyon McCollum 6-4 195 Sr. Sam Houston K.C. Keeler Galveston, Tex. (Ball) DB Preston Smith 5-11 185 Sr. Weber St. Jay Hill Gilbert, Ariz. (Mesquite) DB Irshaad Davis 5-9 182 So. Alabama St. Donald Hill-Eley Opa Locka, Fla. (Carol City) DB Brandon Barbee 5-11 192 Jr. Morehead St. Rob Tenyer Orlando, Fla. (East River) Specialists Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School Coach Hometown (High School) P Noah Gettman 6-5 205 Jr. Sacred Heart Mark Nofri Daytona Beach, Fla. (Mainland) PK Luis Aguilar 6-3 200 R-Sr. Northern Arizona Chris Ball Nogales, Ariz. (Nogales) AP Devron Harper 5-10 165 So. Gardner-Webb Tre Lamb Conyers, Ga. (Heritage) Team Background: The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. In 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team. From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. A return specialist was added in 1997, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. The AFCA added a second team in 2016. Top Teams: North Dakota State has the most AFCA All-America selections of any current FCS school with 35 selections by 32 play- ers. The Bison are followed by Delaware (32/29), Montana (30/28), Eastern Washington (31/27), Eastern Kentucky (28/26), James Madison (24/24), Weber State (24/23), Northern Iowa (24/21), South Carolina State (22/20), Furman (21/20), Grambling State (21/20), Lehigh (20/20), New Hampshire (20/17), South Dakota State (21/16), North Dakota (19/17), Portland State (18/17), Eastern Illinois (18/16), Youngstown State (18/16), Western Illinois (17/16), McNeese (17/15), UC Davis (17/15), Illinois State (17/14), Northern Colorado (17/14), Montana State (16/16), Towson (16/16), Tennessee State (16/15), Cal Poly (16/14), Sam Houston (16/13), Abilene Christian (15/14), Florida A&M (15/14) and Stephen F. Austin (15/14). Class Distinction: This year’s AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 24 seniors, 16 juniors, 8 sophomores and 2 graduate students. -(MORE)- 2021 Spring AFCA FCS COACHES’ ALL-AMERICA TEAM PAGE 3 OF 3 Consecutive Years: Eastern Kentucky leads all schools, having had at least one player named to the AFCA FCS Coaches’ All- America Team in each of the first 15 years an FCS team was chosen (1979-93). South Dakota State has the longest current streak at seven years from 2014 to present. Back-to-Back: Illinois State offensive lineman Drew Himmelman and Austin Peay defensive back Kordell Jackson earned AFCA FCS Coaches’ All-America honors for a second consecutive season in spring 2021. First Time School: Sacred Heart earned AFCA All-America honors for the first time in spring 2021 when Julius Chestnut (RB), J.D. DiRenzo (OL) and Noah Gettman (P) were named to the team.