Kansas Wesleyan’s Johnny Feauto & Missouri Valley’s Drake Higgins Headline 2019 AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Teams

Kansas Wesleyan quarterback Johnny Feauto and Missouri Valley punter Drake Higgins headline the 2019 AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Teams announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.

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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.

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Feauto, who helped lead Kansas Wesleyan to a conference title and a trip to the NAIA quarterfinals, leads the nation in total offense (4,523 yards), passing yards (4,089) and pass efficiency (196.4). He also earned Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors. Higgins earned his second straight AFCA All-America honor by leading the nation in punting with a 45.1 average, which set a new school record. He had a long punt of 71 yards and pinned 12 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

2019 AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team – First Team

Offense

Defense

Specialists

*-2018 AFCA All-American

2019 AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team – Second Team

Offense

Defense

Specialists

*-2018 AFCA All-American     #-2017 AFCA All-American

Team Background: The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. 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 — FBS and FCS. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively.

From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.

Selection Process: The AFCA’s NAIA All-America Selection Committee is made up of two or 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 team is chosen.

The Award: Members of the AFCA Coaches’ All-America First Team will receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team, while members of the Second Team will receive a certificate.

AFCA NAIA Player Selection History: NAIA players who were selected to AFCA All-America teams were named to the AFCA College Division team from 1967-71. In 1972, the AFCA College Division was split to College I and College II. Players from NAIA Division I teams were placed in AFCA College I, while players from NAIA Division II were placed in AFCA College II. That process lasted until 1996, when College I and College II were renamed Division II and Division III. From 1996-2005, all NAIA players who were selected as AFCA All-Americans were placed on the AFCA Division II team. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.

Top Teams: Morningside has been represented a total of 25 times with 24 different players on AFCA Coaches’ All-America Teams to lead all schools in NAIA. In second is Carroll (Mont.), which has had 21 different players selected as All-Americans on 19 different occasions. Trailing Morningside and Carroll (Mont.) are: Georgetown (Ky.) (19/16), Saint Francis (Ind.) (17/16), Baker (15/13), Marian (14/13), Grand View (13/13), Saint Xavier (13/12), Benedictine (Kan.) (12/10), Northwestern (Iowa) (12/10), Southern Oregon (11/11), Missouri Valley (11/8), Bethel (Tenn.) (10/8), Kansas Wesleyan (10/7), St. Ambrose (9/9), Dickinson State (9/8), Montana Tech (9/7), Friends (8/7), Dakota Wesleyan (7/7), Southwestern (Kan.) (7/7), Sterling (7/7), Reinhardt (7/5), Tabor (7/5), Eastern Oregon (6/6), Doane (6/5), MidAmerica Nazarene (6/5), St. Francis (Ill.) (6/5), College of Idaho (6/4), Hastings (5/5), Jamestown (5/5), Olivet Nazarene (5/5), Southeastern (Fla.) (5/5), Dakota State (5/4), Faulkner (5/4), Nebraska Wesleyan (5/4), Ottawa (Kan.) (5/4) and Rocky Mountain (5/4).

First Time Schools: This year, wide receiver Brayden Smith of Indiana Wesleyan, wide receiver Jermaine Trotman Jr. of St. Andrews, offensive lineman Austin Sherrill and defensive back Sage Chen-Young of Keiser, defensive lineman Robert Robinson of Briar Cliff and defensive lineman Dominic Valentino of Cincinnati Christian have earned their schools AFCA All-America honors for the first time.

Consecutive Years: Morningside has had at least one player named to the AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team for 14 straight seasons, from 2006 to present, the longest streak by any team in NAIA history. Following Morningside is Carroll (Mont.) with 11 straight selections from 2005 to 2015. Marian is third on the list with nine straight AFCA All-Americans from 2011 to present.

Five Time: Morningside joined Baker as the only schools to have five AFCA All-Americans named in one season. Morningside achieved the feat in 2017 with Caden McDonald (LB-first team), Bubba Jenkins (RB-second team), Connor Niles (WR-second team), Trae Bradburn (OL-second team) and Spencer Wyant (P-second team). Baker earned its five selections in 2016 with Logan Brettell (QB-first team), Clarence Clark (PK-second team), Josh Kock (DL-second team), Darrain Winston (DB-second team) and Cornell Brown (AP-second team).

Three-peat: With his second team All-America selection in 2017, College of Idaho defensive back Nate Moore became the first NAIA player to be named to three straight AFCA NAIA All-America Teams. Moore was a first team selection in 2015 and 2016.

Repeat After Me: Offensive lineman Tre Coney of Reinhardt, linebacker Jason Ferris of Montana Western, punter Drake Higgins of Missouri Valley, running back Demarco Prewitt of Kansas Wesleyan, offensive lineman Dustin Rivera of Southwestern (Kan.), defensive lineman Shaq Bradford of Kansas Wesleyan, linebacker Damarcus Wimbush of Bluefield and punter Austin Bohn of Ottawa (Ariz.) earned AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America honors for the second consecutive season in 2019. Tight end Trenton Poe-Evans of Kansas Wesleyan earned his second honor in 2019 after being named All-America in 2017.

Class Distinction: This year’s AFCA NAIA Coaches’ All-America Team is made up of 32 seniors, 13 juniors and five sophomores.

One Player, Two Positions: Bethel’s (Tenn.) Stoney Burns and Baker’s Clarence Clark are the only players in AFCA All-America Team history at all levels to repeat as AFCA All-Americans at two different positions. Burns was named to the 2013 squad as a defensive back, then earned 2014 honors at all-purpose. Clark was named to the 2015 squad as a receiver, then earned 2016 honors as a place-kicker.

Two Players, Two Schools: Punter Mark Bounds and placekicker Greg Zuerlein are the only players to earn AFCA Coaches’ All-America honors at two different schools. Bounds was named to the AFCA College Division I team in 1990 while playing for West Texas A&M. He transferred to Texas Tech after West Texas dropped football and earned I-A All-America honors as a Red Raider in 1991. Zuerlein was named to the Division II Coaches’ All-America Team in 2009 while playing for Nebraska-Omaha. He transferred to Missouri Western State after Nebraska-Omaha dropped its football program and earned Division II honors in 2011 as a Griffon.