Crittenden named first team Academic All-American
12/3/2015 11:36:00 AM | Football
Montana Grizzly football captain and senior defensive end Derek Crittenden has been named to the 2015 Academic All-America® Division I football first team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Crittenden, a 2015 Rhodes scholarship finalist who holds a perfect 4.0 GPA in chemistry with minors in mathematics and philosophy, makes a repeat appearance on the CoSIDA Academic All-America list, after earning a place on the 2014 Academic All-America second team.
It's the third major academic accolade for the senior from Whitefish so far this season. This coming Sunday, Crittenden will board a plane for New York City where he will attend the award ceremony as a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the "Academic Heisman" award for college football.
Fourteen of the 49 members of the 2015 Academic All-America NCAA Division I football teams have at least a 3.90 G.P.A., with Crittenden and three other student-athletes sporting a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. The 26 members of the first-team have an average G.P.A. of 3.81.
One of two team captains, Crittenden has started in every game he's played for Montana this season, missing one game due to injury, and one game due to his Rhodes scholarship interview. Apart from the two games he's missed this season, he has seen playing time in every game of his collegiate career.
In the 2015 season, he is the Grizzlies' seventh leading tackler this season with 51 total take downs, six tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, a quarterback hit, a fumble recovery, and a safety.
Crittenden is also the only defensive lineman who is a returning member of the All-America team.
In addition to being a Rhodes scholarship finalist, Campbell Trophy finalist and a fist team Academic All-American, Crittenden's impressive resume also includes a place on the 2015 Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team, a four year member of the Big Sky All-Conference Academic Team, a four-time recipient of the University of Montana President's Award for highest student-athlete G.P.A. and a three year member of the Co-SIDA Div. 1 all-district academic first team.
Outside of athletic awards for academics, Crittenden has also been awarded UM's Eugene Davis Scholarship for Chemistry, Fessenden Scholarship for Chemistry and Jesse Scholarship as well.
Senior quarterback Carson Wentz of North Dakota State University was selected as the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Division I football. A health and physical education major with a 4.0 G.P.A., Wentz also was a first-team Academic All-America choice last year.
Crittenden plans to study organic chemistry in graduate school, and as a Campbell Trophy finalist, earned an $18,000 scholarship to go toward his post-graduate work.
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
QB Carson Wentz (1) North Dakota State Sr. Bismarck, N.D. 4.00 Health & physical education
RB Matt DelMauro Bucknell Sr. Nutley, N.J. 3.76 Accounting & financial management
RB Christian McCaffrey Stanford So. Castle Rock, Colo. 3.31 Undeclared
RB Tee Mitchell Mercer So. Jacksonville, Fla. 3.81 Management
WR Cooper Kupp (2) Eastern Washington Jr. Yakima, Wash. 3.54 Economics
WR Thomas Wilson U.S. Naval Academy Sr. Brandenburg, Ky. 3.86 Naval architecture (honors)
TE Matt Weiser Buffalo Sr. Womelsdorf, Pa. 3.49 Communication
OL Jacoby Boren (2) Ohio State Sr. Pickerington, Ohio 3.83 Sustainable plant systems
OL Ty Darlington (1) Oklahoma Gr. Apopka, Fla. 3.91 Planned programs (UG) / adult & higher ed (G)
OL Spencer Drango Baylor Gr. Cedar Park, Texas 3.71 Finance / MBA
OL Nick Faraci (2) Robert Morris (Pa.) Sr. McDonald, Pa. 3.94 Nursing
OL Jacob Rathmacher Northern Iowa Sr. Story City, Iowa 3.87 Biology & biochemistry
K Jack Willoughby Ohio State Gr. Princeton, N.J. 3.90 Economics & statistical sciences
DL Derek Crittenden (2) Montana Sr. Whitefish, Mont. 4.00 Chemistry
DL Joe Crochet The Citadel Jr. Stone Mountain, Ga. 3.81 Business admin. (UG) / MBA
DL Greg Menard North Dakota State So. Lakeville, Minn. 3.90 Civil engineering
DL Karter Schult Northern Iowa Jr. Tripoli, Iowa 3.83 Exercise science / family services
DL A.J. Wolf Duke Jr. Greenwich, Conn. 3.69 Public policy studies
LB Chris Beaschler Dayton Sr. Ada, Ohio 3.68 Mechanical engineering
LB Padyn Giebler Incarnate Word Sr. Ivan, Texas 3.82 Engineering
LB Geoffrey Hebert Nicholls State Jr. Thibodaux, La. 4.00 Finance / accounting
DB Matt Dobson (2) Georgia Southern Sr. Monticello, Fla. 3.72 History
DB Jordan Italiano (1) (#) Kent State Sr. Canfield, Ohio 3.98 Biochemistry / pre-med
DB Nick Mears South Dakota State Jr. Milbank, S.D. 4.00 Economics
DB Cody Sorensen Idaho State Sr. Spokane, Wash. 3.85 Mechanical engineering
P Landon Foster (2) Kentucky Sr. Franklin, Tenn. 3.97 Finance
SECOND TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
QB Alex Ross Coastal Carolina Gr. Alpharetta, Ga. 3.57 Management (UG) / MBA
RB Derrick Craine Chattanooga Jr. McDonough, Ga. 3.61 Health & human performance
WR Nelson Spruce Colorado Sr. Westlake Village, Calif. 3.58 Business (finance & management)
WR Jake Wieneke South Dakota State So. Maple Grove, Minn. 3.67 Physical education / teacher edu.
TE Brandon Lingen Minnesota So. Wayzata, Minn. 3.85 Pre-engineering
OL E.K. Binns U.S. Naval Academy Sr. Cape Coral, Fla. 3.43 Economics
OL Robert Kugler Purdue Gr. Pittsburgh, Pa. 3.85 History / political science
OL Justin Northern Fresno State Sr. Lakewood, Calif. 3.79 Mechanical engineering
OL Jordan Swindle Kentucky Sr. St. Johns, Fla. 3.91 Kinesiology
OL Tyler Yazujian Penn State Sr. Royersford, Pa. 3.86 Information sciences & technology
K Ross Martin Duke Sr. Solon, Ohio 3.57 Psychology
DL Ugonna Akoh Presbyterian Jr. Athens, Ga. 3.77 Chemistry
DL Isaac Ales Northern Iowa Sr. Muscatine, Iowa 3.44 Physical education
DL Shayne Gottlob South Dakota State Jr. Salem, S.D. 3.96 Economics
DL Steve Zaborsky Youngstown State Gr. Mineral Ridge, Ohio 3.71 Mechanical engineering
LB Don Cherry (2) Villanova Sr. Trumbull, Conn. 3.36 Finance
LB Brooks Ellis Arkansas Jr. Fayetteville, Ark. 3.77 Exercise science / pre-prof science
LB Sam Martello Duquesne Sr. Westlake, Ohio 3.68 Accounting
DB Nick Cuthbert Kent State Jr. Chesterland, Ohio 3.96 Criminal justice
DB DeVon Edwards Duke Jr. Covington, Ga. 3.36 Psychology
DB Jordan Lomax Iowa Sr. Upper Marlboro, Md. 3.49 Sport & recreation management
DB Will Quigley Brown Sr. Marblehead, Mass. 3.88 Business organizations (economics)
P Joseph Davidson Bowling Green State So. Findlay, Ohio 3.95 Mathematics
CoSIDA Academic All-American® of the Year: Carson Wentz, North Dakota State
1 = 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team
2 = 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-America® second team
# = 2013 CoSIDA Academic All-America® second team
Players Mentioned
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