TU Football Has Five Named Capital One Academic All-District

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor University's Alec Eickert, Steven Medlock, Tyler Mills, Cody Schwerin and Stephen Straits were each honored recently for academic excellence, by being named as Capital One Academic All-District II selections.

Taylor was one of four teams to place five student-athletes on the 27-man list, joining Lindsey Wilson, Robert Morris and Saint Francis, as the group accounted for 20-of-27 spots available from the district.

The award is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements in the classroom, as well as on the field of play. In order to be eligible for the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have reached sophomore status academically and have participated in over half of the team's competitions during the current season.

Eickert picked up his first Academic All-District honor in his first year of eligibility with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.73 in environmental science. The St. Charles, Ill., native has connected on 10 field goals during his sophomore season, ranking No. 8 in the NAIA with 1.1 made attempts per game.

Medlock also picked up his first Academic All-District nod with a 3.61 cumulative GPA in biology as a junior. The Guilford, Ind., native has started all nine games this season at the right tackle position, anchoring an offensive line that has helped TU rank No. 19 in the NAIA with 29.8 point per game.

Mills joined Eickert and Medlock in notching his first Academic All-District award by posting a 3.93 grade-point average in biology science education. The Greenwood, Ind., native currently ranks fifth on Taylor with 40 tackles and has started all nine games from his cornerback position as a sophomore.

Schwerin repeated as an Academic All-District performer one year after earning CoSIDA Academic All-America status from his defensive line position with a 3.72 GPA in social studies education. The Flanagan, Ill., native leads TU with eight quarterback hurries during his junior season, and has helped Taylor rank No. 2 in the NAIA with 3.7 sacks per game. Schwerin was also an All-MSFA performer last season, while collecting MSFA All-Academic and NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

Straits earned his first Academic All-District accolade as a senior with a 3.73 GPA in engineering physics. The Winona Lake, Ind., native ranks No. 40 in the NAIA with 38.6 yards per punt and has pinned the opposition inside the 20-yard line a total of 12 times this season, after being named All-MSFA, Academic All-MSFA and NAIA Scholar-Athlete last year.

Eickert, Medlock, Mills, Schwerin and Straits will now be placed on the national ballot for the Capital One Academic All-America Team, which will be announced on December 2.

While they wait for the Academic All-America team to be unveiled, the group will lead the Trojans in their regular season finale at Saint Francis (IL) on November 16 at 1:00 pm.