NAPERVILLE, Ill. - A total of 15 University of South Dakota football players were named to the 2011 Great West All-Conference Team, the conference office announced this week. The Coyotes had six players named to the first team, five named to the second team and four earned honorable mention honors.
The Coyotes had three first team selections on offense and three on defense, including three players making repeat appearances on the first team, including senior offensive lineman Tom Compton (Rosemount, Minn.), senior linebacker Adam Broders (Bloomfield, Neb.) and junior punter Cole Zwiefelhofer (Chippewa Falls, Wis.).
Compton earned his third all-conference honor and his second first team selection. As a sophomore, Compton was an honorable mention selection and followed with a first team selection last season and was a PhilSteele.com fourth team all-America selection in 2010.
Throughout his career, Compton was an integral part of the Coyote offense which averaged 460 yards per game which was good for fourth nationally in 2009 and 202 rushing yards per game which was 11th nationally. He also helped lead the Coyotes to 258 passing yards per game which was 16th nationally and was part of the offensive line that allowed just 10 sacks which was 10th nationally.
Broders also earned his third all-conference honor as he was a first team selection last season and a second team selection in 2009. Broders led the team and conference this season averaging 10.2 tackles per game. He compiled 102 tackles this season which was second in the league, but had a league-high 64 solo tackles. Both his tackles per game and solo tackles per game were among the leaders nationally throughout the season. He also led the league with three interceptions and had one interception returned for a touchdown - the first of his career. For his career, he tallied 280 total tackles which ranks him tied for eighth in school history with Josh Gassen (2000-03).
Zwiefelhofer continued his impressive career as he finished second in the league with a 43.1 average per punt in 2011. He punted 48 times for 2,069 yards this season and had a career-long 72-yard punt in the season opener at Air Force (Sept. 3), which also was the league's best punt this season. He had three touchbacks, eight fair catches, 11 punts inside the 20 and 13 punts of 50-yards or more. He was ranked in the top 10 nationally in punting average throughout the season.
Last season, Zwiefelhofer was named GWC Special Teams Player of the Year and his 43.2 yards earned him PhilSteele.com second team all-America honors. Zwiefelhofer owns the school record for career punt average at 42.8.
Junior wide receiver Will Powell (Sioux Falls, S.D.) earned second team all-conference honors as a sophomore last season. Powell led conference in receiving yards with 763 on 42 receptions for a 69.4 average which also was tops in the league. He really came on towards the end of the season as he had three, 100-yard or better receiving performances in his last six games, including a career-high 144 yards against Missouri S&T (Nov. 12). Powell also had a one-handed catch which garnered national attention on ESPN's Top 10 Plays of the Day in a thrilling 24-19 win over Southern Utah on Dakota Days (Oct. 8).
Powell tallied 933 yards receiving as a sophomore which was third-most in school history in a season. He finished 17th nationally in yards per game at an 84.8 clip in 2010. Powell has 1896 receiving yards in his career which ranks him sixth in school history. His 19 touchdown receptions ranks him tied for first and his 103 pass receptions ranks him seventh.
Sophomore kicker Kevin Robb (Rapid City, S.D.) makes his second appearance on the all-conference team as he was a second team selection a season ago. Fellow sophomore defensive end, Tyler Starr (Little Rock, Iowa)makes his first appearance. Robb had a record-setting sophomore season as he tied the school-record for field goals made in a season with 17 (Adam Hicks, 2000). He led the league and ranked in the top 10 nationally in field goals made per game at a 1.55 average. His 17 field goals were most in the conference and he ranked third in the league in scoring at 7.7 points per game. Robb kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal versus Missouri S&T Nov. 12 in the DakotaDome.
Starr was all over the field this season as he led the conference in sacks (14), tackles for loss (19) and forced fumbles (7). His 14 sacks ranks second all-time in school history in a single-season and his 19 tackles for loss ranks tied with Scott Larson (2000) for seventh all-time. Starr had 42 solo tackles on the year with nine assisted tackles.
Broders led the team being named GWC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season, while Starr earned the honor once. Robb was named Special Teams Player of the Week twice and Zwiefelhofer was named once. Junior running back Marcus Sims (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) earned the lone Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Wide receiver/return specialist Jeremy Blount (Tampa, Fla.) highlighted five second team selections for the Coyotes. Blount finished second on the team in receiving yards with 467 and tied Powell for the team lead in receiving touchdowns with five. He was fourth in the league in kick returns at 21.5 yards per return, but finished second in the league in kick return yards with 644.
Blount entered the season just 47 return yards behind James Vann (1985-89) for the most kickoff return yards in school history. Blount finishes his career with 1,950 return yards as Vann is second with 1,353. In addition, Blount also finished in the top three in career punt return yards with 715 as he is second behind Tom Berry (1978-80) with 968 punt return yards.
Senior offensive lineman R.J. Polley (Albert Lea, Minn.) earned second team all-conference honors this season after being a Great West Media Honorable Mention honoree last year. Polley started all 11 games helping the Coyotes to the third-highest scoring offense in the conference at 27.4 points. He helped lead the team to the third-highest total offense at 356.8 yard per game and the second-ranked rushing offense in the league at 158.2 yards per game. Polley helped quarterback Dante Warren (Arlington Heights, Ill.) to the third highest pass offense in the conference at 177.6 and the top ranking in pass efficiency at 144.5.
Like Compton, Polley also was a valuable member of the 2009 team which ranked nationally in a number of offensive areas.
Sims emerged as a solid running back this season and for the future as he led the team in rushing with 678 yards for a 60.0 average per game. He split time with senior Chris Ganious (Houston, Texas) Sims was second on the team in rushing touchdowns with four. He finished fourth in the league in rushing and was eighth in total offense. This is his first all-conference honor.
Senior linebacker Shea Williams (Alexandria, S.D.) also earned second team honors as he was a second team selection a year ago. Williams finished third on the team in tackles with 72. He had six tackles for loss and two sacks to go along with two pass breakups. He finished third on the team in solo tackles with 56.
Four Coyotes earned honorable mention all-conference honors as senior defensive back Shane Potter (Becker, Minn.) earned all-conference honors for three years, while junior center Tim Ross (Arvada, Colo.) earned honorable mention honors last season. Senior defensive back Jim Thompson (Hayward, Wis.) also earned honorable mention honors marking his first all-conference accolades, while Warren finished his career with his second all-conference honor. Warren moved into fourth all-time this season with 35 career passing touchdowns. He now is fifth in passing yards with 4,361 and is sixth all-time in total offense with 5,362 yards.
Southern Utah almost made a clean sweep of the specialty awards this year as the Thunderbirds tallied four of the five honors. Thunderbird quarterback Brad Sorensen earned Offensive Player of the Year honors, while Defensive Player of the Year honors went to Tyler Osborne. Teammate Austin Minefee earned Special Teams Player of the Year honors and Brady Measom earned Rookie of the Year honors. Chris Mussman of North Dakota earned Coach of the Year honors as his team was picked fifth in the preseason poll and clinched a share of the conference title with Cal Poly after going 8-3 and 3-1 in league play.
