Offense
QB: Theo Day (UNI)

• Day was sensational this year leading the league in TDs (26) and yards (3,121) by a wide margin. Honestly, I came away very impressed with him in the live matchup even with 2 INTs.

RB: Jaleel McLaughlin (YSU), Isaiah Davis (SDSU)

• McLaughlin ends his career as the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history. The Jacks didn’t face him this year but he was sensational rushing for 1,588 yards and 13 TDs. He also had 19 receptions for 300 yards!
• Davis was injured and missed some time but he has still put up strong numbers for the Jacks finishing with 932 yards and 10 TD. Davis also chipped in with 18 receptions for 145 yards.

FB: Hunter Luepke (NDSU)

• There aren’t too many fullbacks remaining in football but Luepke certainly is one of the best. He finished the season with 621 yards and 9 TD but battled through injury for much of the year. He also added 14 receptions for 196 yards and 4 TDs.

WR: Bo Belquist (UND), Avante Cox (SIU), Bryce Oliver (YSU), Sam Schnee (UNI), Jaxon Janke (SDSU)

• There are a ton of good receivers in the MVFC this season. This was a really challenging group to sort out as I tried to balance production with the “eye test” and considering “garbage time stats.”
• Belquist is dangerous with the ball in his hands and finished first in the valley in receptions (61), 3rd in yards (790), and tied for 4th with 6 TDs. Really a smart player and he fits perfectly in UNDs offense.
• Avante Cox had another really good year for SIU finishing with 46 receptions for 612 yards and 8 TD. He is an absolute gamebreaker!
• Bryce Oliver quietly put together a terrific year for YSU as the main threat in the passing game. He finished with a league leading 10 TDs, was second in yards (821) and receptions (59).
• Sam Schnee came out of nowhere to become UNIs leading receiver this year. He is very similar to Belquist with better top-end speed. He finished with 48 receptions for 764 yards, and 3 TD.
• Jaxon Janke rounds out this group because of his completeness. The Jacks utilize him in so many ways and he responds as a receiver and a blocker. He had 46 receptions for 603 yards and 5 TDs.

TE: Zach Heins (SDSU), Tucker Kraft (SDSU)

• Heins finished the year with 27 receptions for 310 yards and 4 TD
• Kraft has finished the year strong with 19 receptions for 232 yards and 2 TD. It is amazing that he missed so much time and still ended the year as one of the leading TEs in the MVFC. I almost had Tanner Taula (Illinois State) and Alex Allen (UNI) in this spot but their statistic are not much better than Kraft’s even with nearly a full season of games.

OL: Cody Mauch (NDSU), Garrett Greenfield (SDSU), Mason McCormick (SDSU), Jaison Williams (YSU), Nash Jensen (NDSU)

• Mauch and Jensen have done a terrific job anchoring the left side of the line for NDSU. In a year where they have dealt with injuries upfront, the NDSU rushing attack was still formidable and the unit only allowed 8 sacks on the year, these two are a major reason why.
• McCormick and Greenfield will go down as two the best to every put on the pads for the #605Hogs. Their styles and personalities are opposite but they helped SDSU average 160 rushing yards per game and were part of a unit that surrendered just 16 sacks.
• Williams has been a fixture along the offensive line for YSU earning 28 career starts. YSU’s run game was terrific all season and Williams is a huge reason why.

Defense

DL: Caleb Sanders (SDSU), Spencer Waege (NDSU), Reece Winkelman (SDSU), Jason Lewan (Illinois State)

• This is a terrific group of seniors and in my mind, seperated themselves from the pack fairly easily.
• Sanders deserves All-American recognition this season finishing with 24 tackles and 5 sacks.
• Waege has such a rare combination of size and athleticism and ended the year with 33 tackles, 13 TFL and 7 sacks.
• Winkelman maybe didn’t have as strong of season statically but still ended with 20 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 3 PBUs and 3 passes defended. His disruption will be greatly missed in Brookings!
• Lewan for years just did his job as the elephant end in Illinois States 3-4 defense. Nothing flashy statistically but the dude was hard to move off the LOS and finished with 27 tackles and 1 sack

LB: Zeke Vandenburgh (Illinois St), Jason Freeman (SDSU), Adam Bock (SDSU), Stephen Hillis (USD), Spencer Cuvelier (UNI)

• The Valley has a strong tradition of great linebacker play and this group is no different! There are many others who could be on this list but to the eye-test, these are the best!
• Vandenburgh delivered one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen live. He finishes the season with 100 tackles, 21 TFL, 14 sacks, 1 INT, 4 PBU, and 2 forced fumbles
• Jason Freeman may be a surprise on this list to many and statistically he probably doesn’t make sense with just 56 tackles and 3 sacks on the season. However, I don’t know if you can find a linebacker who made as big of an impact as quickly as Freeman did.
• Stephen Hillis led the MVFC with 114 total tackles and had 4 sacks. He was USDs best defensive player
• Cuvelier capped off a terrific career at UNI with a great senior season! He finished with 90 tackles and 3 sacks. His play made UNI one of the toughest teams to run against in the MVFC.
• Adam Bock is part of this group because of the impact he made in just 7 games. He finished with 58 total tackles, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble. If he had played the last 4 games who knows how strong his statline would have been!

CB: Woo Governor (UNI), Courtney Eubanks (NDSU), DyShawn Gales (SDSU)

• This is a fun group of outstanding corners. Myles Harden (USD) would have been on this list had he been available for more the season as he had a terrific start to the year.
• Woo Governor came in as a CMU transfer and had a huge impact on UNIs defense. He had 4 INT on the year and 2 TDS. He also added 3 PBU and 61 tackles
• Courtney Eubanks was on my preseason list when few others had him there. He may not have the stat line but he is fun to watch and shuts down his side of the field. He finished with 34 tackles, 1 INT and 3 PBUs.
• DyShawn Gales has had a terrific season for the Jackrabbits. Always physical in the run game, DyShawn really improved his technique at corner and it led to 3 INT, 2 PBUs and 5 passes defensed along with 22 tackles. Teams seemed to quit throwing it his direction as the season went along.

S: Colby Huerter (SDSU), Benny Sapp III (UNI), Michael Tutsie (NDSU)

• This is an interesting group. Tutsie and Sapp III were on my preseason list and have had very good senior seasons. Huerter on the other hand, really broke through and had a terrific season.
• Huerter finished with 31 total tackles, 4 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 INT, 2 PBU and 4 passes defended. He did it all for the Jacks and was a consistent presence on the backend all season long.
• Sapp III finished with 4 INT and 2 PBUs and was a physical presence in the run game with 54 tackles.
• Tutsie was second on the Bison with 50 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 4 PBUs. I don’t think this was his best year in run support but he was still a major impact player for that defense!

Special Teams

Kicker: Matthew Cook (UNI)

• Cook wraps up a fantastic career for UNI and was 14/17 on the year with a long of 42. His kickoffs were also very good and opponents only averaged 21 yards on 31 return attempts + another 34 touchbacks.

Punter: Hunter Dustman (SDSU)

• Dustman was the most consistent punter in the league finishing with an average of 42.6 yards on 40 punts. He only had 2 touchbacks and forced 16 to be faircaught while landing 11 in side the 20.

Kick Return: Montrae Braswell (MSU)

• Braswell is the only kick returner I actually feared this year. He had 1 kick return of 98 yards and averaged 30.3 yards per return on 11 attempts. Truly a dynamic player in the return game!

Punt Return: Jadon Janke (SDSU)

• Janke led the MVFC in return average with 8 returns for 142 yards (17.8 yard average). On 3 more attempts, Jayden Price of NDSU has just 12 more yards which includes a 66 yard TD return. If Janke had been returning punts all season he would be much much greater statistically.

Players of the Year

Offense: Theo Day (UNI) and Jaleel McLaughlin (YSU)

Defensive: Zeke Vandenburgh (Illinois State)

Coach: John Stiegelmeier (SDSU)

Go Jacks!

Matt