AFCA Release

WACO – The NSIC had seven student-athletes honored with  American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches' All-American Team honors for the 2022 season.  UMD's Brent Laing and Northern State's Ian Marshall earned first team honors for their efforts on the gridiron.  
 

First Team-Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
OL	*Brent Laing	6-4	294	Gr.	Minnesota-Duluth	Curt Wiese	Lakeville, Minn. (North)
First Team-Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Ian Marshall	6-1	270	Gr.	Northern St. (S.D.)	Mike Schmidt	Springfield, Mo. (Glendale)

*-2021 AFCA All-American
 

Second Team-Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
RB	Thuro Reisdorfer	6-1	215	Gr.	Sioux Falls (S.D.)	Jon Anderson	Sioux Falls, S.D. (Washington)
WR	Brendan Beaulieu	6-3	215	Sr.	Bemidji St. (Minn.)	Brent Bolte	Cottage Grove, Minn. (Park)
Second Team-Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Grayson Diepenbrock	6-2	230	Sr.	Augustana (S.D.)	Jerry Olszewski	Parker, Tex. (Plano East)
DB	Eli Weber	6-1	205	Sr.	Augustana (S.D.)	Jerry Olszewski	Dawson, Minn. (Boyd)
DB	Knylen Miller-Levi	6-1	170	Sr.	Minot St. (N.D.)	Mike Aldrich	Las Vegas, Nev. (Canyon Springs)

*-2021 AFCA All-American
 
Fifth year offensive lineman Brent Laing, a native of Lakeville, Minn. and team captain started in all 11 games of the 2022 campaign. As a team the Bulldogs finished the season with an 8-3 record. Laing played a crucial role on the offensive side of the game, and helped propel the team to the Top 15 in the nation for rushing yards. With Laing on the offensive line, the team was also ranked first in the country for time of possession and Top 10 for third-down percent offense. While playing, Laing did not allow a single sack on the season. For his efforts, Laing has now received the First Team All-American honor twice, as he was named to the 2021 team as well. Additionally, Laing was honored on the All-NSIC First Team for the third time this year, and named to the Reese's Senior Bowl Watchlist for the two consecutive years. 

Northern State defensive lineman Ian Marshall named to the first team. Coming off honors from the NSIC and D2CCA, Marshall earned the first All-America award of his career. He led the NSIC in both tackles for a loss (24.5) and sacks (14.0), totaling 39 tackles on the year. He ranks third in the nation in tackles for a loss and sacks. The Springfield native broke the Northern State single game (4.0) and single season (14.0) sacks records in 2022, and sits third on the NSU all-time sacks list after just one season. He added one fumble recovery and four quarterback hurries. Marshall was honored on the D2CCA All-Region team and as the Super Region 4 Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, he earned both NSIC Defensive Newcomer and NSIC Defensive Player of the Year honors for the league. He is the 51st All-American in program history for the Wolves. 

 Thuro Reisdorfer, a Sioux Falls native, recorded eight 100-yard games this season while picking up 18 touchdowns and averaging 123.8 yards a game. This season, he was named to the NSIC All-Conference First Team while also picking up two NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Reisdorfer leads the NSIC in total rushing yards, touchdowns and scoring with 1,362 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns and 108 points on the year. Reisdorfer wraps up his career 9^th in NCAA DII football in rushing yards, 10^th in scoring and 13^th in touchdowns on the season. Throughout his career, Reisdorfer has produced 19, 100-yard games while picking up a total of 47 touchdowns and 282 total points. For USF, Reisdorfer leads the Coo in rushing yards during the DII era and sits 4th all-time for the Cougars. He wrapped up his career 12th in scoring and 9th in touchdowns.

 Brendan Beaulieu earns the AFCA honor for the first time in his career but was named an Associated Press All-America Second Team selection last season. One of the best receivers to come through the BSU Football program, Beaulieu shattered Bemidji State single-season and career records during the 2022 season and was near the top if not leading Division II in all receiving categories. The Cottage Grove, Minn., native led DII with 19 touchdown receptions which was also a single-season record at Bemidji State. Beaulieu also set a program record with 1,504 receiving yards during the season which was the second highest total in the nation. Beaulieu capped-off the most productive receiving season in Bemidji State history by catching a program record 82 passes, the sixth most in DII. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Beaulieu was named to the All-NSIC First Team and was one of three Beavers to be recognized as a D2CCA All-Super Region 4 First Team member and qualifies to earn votes as a D2CCA all-American to be announced, Dec. 15. Beaulieu finished his senior season with the Beavers as the program's career record holder in receptions (215), receiving yards (3,725) and receiving touchdowns (38) to cement himself as one of the all-time great receivers at Bemidji State.

Augustana's Grayson Diepenbrock and Eli Weber both earned Second Team All-America accolades. Diepenbrock, hailing from Parker, Texas, ranks 12^th in the nation with his nearly a sack a game while he set Augustana's single-season record with 10.5 sacks in 2022. He totaled 16 tackles for loss, racking up 100 yards lost in the process, a mark that ranks third in the NSIC this year. For his career, he holds Augustana's all-time sacks record with 26 quarterback sacks over his 44 games played. In addition, his 42.5 tackles for loss rank him second all-time at AU.
Weber, a three-time First Team All-NSIC honoree, recorded 53 tackles, four of which were tackles for loss. The defensive back led Augustana with four interceptions while adding another four pass breakups. His four interceptions, over the 11 starts, rank him fourth in the NSIC. A native of Dawson, Minnesota, Weber entered the season as a Lindy's Preseason All-America honoree and the NSIC South Division Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
 
 Knylen Miller-Levi set an NCAA Division II-era single-season school record with six interceptions this fall. The honor is the first for Miller-Levi who has twice earned All-NSIC North Division honors. A junior from Las Vegas, Nevada, majoring in General Studies, Miller-Levi had six interceptions in nine games for the Beavers this past season, giving him nine interceptions in his three-year career at Minot State. His nine career interceptions tie him for third all-time. Miller-Levi also added 42 tackles, including 3.5 for losses, and broke up eight passes defensively. Also a kick returner, Miller-Levi returned 13 kickoffs for a total of 250 yards and returned four punts for a total of 14 yards for the Beavers.

Selection Process: The AFCA’s Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the teams are chosen.