Thunder linebacker Eric Stevenson named an AFCA Division III All-American
Wheaton, Ill. – Wheaton College senior Eric Stevenson has been named to the Division III All-American Team by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). There have been 17 AFCA Division III All-American selections from Wheaton through the years, including six since 2010.
Stevenson, a linebacker for the Thunder, is a First Team selection by the AFCA. Stevenson made a team-high 74 total tackles this fall, including 41 solo stops. The senior registered 9.5 tackles for lost yardage (-29 yards), including two quarterback sacks (-13 yards).
Stevenson, the 2018 CCIW Don Larson Defensive Player of the Year is a two-time First Team All-CCIW honoree. He was recently honored as a D3football.com First Team All-North Region selection after earning Third Team honors in 2017. He was recently named a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy and was this year's only Division III finalist for the Campbell Trophy.
Wheaton's leading tackler in each of the past three seasons, Stevenson made 268 career tackles, including 150 solo tackles. The linebacker made 27 tackles for loss (-79 yards) in his career, with 5-1/2 sacks (-27 yards).
Stevenson's selection marks the fifth-consecutive year that a Wheaton player has been selected to the AFCA team, joining: Chase Greenle (DE) in 2017, Peter Gibson (G), in 2016, Adam Dansdill (LB) in 2015 and Spencer Clark (C) in 2014. Wheaton's 17 selections to the AFCA Division III All-American Team since the awards began in 1996 is tied for seventh-most in the history of the award.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. 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 — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. The AFCA began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. Also in 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), 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.
The AFCA's Division III All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA's eight 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.
MOST AFCA DIVISION III ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS ALL-TIME
1.) Mount Union - 28
2.) Linfield - 23
T3.) Mary Hardin-Baylor, Wittenberg and Washington & Jefferson - 21
4.) UW-Whitewater - 20
5.) Augustana - 19
6.) UW-La Crosse - 18
7.) WHEATON, Springfield and Widener - 17
8.) St. John's (Minn.) and Wesley - 16
9.) Central (Iowa) and Montclair State - 15
10.) Ithaca and St. Thomas (Minn.) - 14
Originally published by Wheaton College Athletics: /news/2018/12/10/football-thunder-linebacker-eric-stevenson-named-an-afca-division-iii-all-american.aspx