ST. LOUIS—Six South Dakota football players have been named to the 2022 all-Missouri Valley Football Conference Team as selected by media, head coaches and sports information directors and announced Tuesday. The six selections equal the most by the program since joining the Valley in 2012.
 
South Dakota honorees include first-team selections Dalton Godfrey and Stephen Hillis and second-team selections Alex Jensen, Brock Mogensen, Myles Harden and John Bickle. Carter Bell, Travis Theis, Wesley Eliodor and Isaac Erbes earned honorable mention.
 
Godfrey joins alum Darin Greenfield as three-time all-MVFC honorees. Jensen and Mogensen are now two-time all-conference performers. Harden and Bickle are all-MVFC for the first time.
 
Information on each USD honoree follows:
 
Godfrey (Cedar Falls, Iowa) is a returning all-American long snapper and the first specialist in coach Bob Nielson's 30 years to be named a team captain. He worked with both a new punter and kicker this season in Bickle and Eddie Ogamba. The Coyotes led the Valley and ranked in the top-10 nationally in net punting (39 ypp). Godfrey also logged four tackles on punt coverage.
 
Hillis (Hartington, Nebraska) led the Valley and ranked fourth nationally with 114 tackles from his middle linebacker position. He led the Coyotes with 8.0 tackles-for-loss and 4.0 sacks. He also forced two fumbles and was credited with six pass breakups. Hillis was thrust into the lineup in week two when Jakari Starling was injured in the opener at Kansas State.
 
Jensen (Plymouth, Minnesota) has earned all-Valley honors for the second year in a row. He started all but the season opener this season. Jensen earned Valley Player of the Week honors after helping USD rack up 560 yards in a win against Cal Poly in the season opener. He was part of a unit that averaged 122 yards rushing and 163 yards passing this season.
 
Mogensen (Farmington, Minnesota) ranked second in the Valley and 14^th nationally with 104 tackles during the regular season. He lined up next to Hillis at middle linebacker. Mogensen had 1.5 tackles-for-loss and led the Coyotes with seven quarterback hurries. He has 12 or more tackles four times during the season including a season-high of 15 vs. North Dakota State.
 
Harden (Miami Gardens, Florida) forced more turnovers through the first four games – six – than all but three players nationally during the regular season. Harden, a cornerback, was the Coyotes' third-leading tackler before sustaining a season-ending injury at the end of game six. Despite playing half the season, only one player nationally forced more fumbles than Harden and he finished second in the Valley in passes defended with nine.
 
Bickle (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) finished second in the Valley and 18^th nationally with a 42.4-yard punt average. He helped USD lead the Valley and rank in the top-10 nationally in net punting. Bickle drew a fair catch on half of his 60 punts and led the Valley with 12 punts of more than 50 yards. He pinned 22 inside the 20, second-best in the league.
 
Bell (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Theis (Pratt, Kansas) and Eliodor (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) earned honorable mention honors for the second year in a row. Bell caught 23 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns and returned eight punts for 115 yards. Theis was the fifth-leading rusher in the league with 774 yards and five touchdowns. Eliodor led USD with 30 catches for 482 yards and his six touchdown catches were fourth-most in the Valley. Erbes (Urbandale, Iowa) started all 11 games at right guard and aided USD to two games with more than 200 yards rushing.