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University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Football Leads Big Ten Academic Team
12/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
No Big Ten Conference football team had more Academic All-Conference selections than the University of Minnesota. The Golden Gophers had 29 student-athletes honored by the Big Ten Conference for their academic prowess Wednesday.
The Big Ten released its Fall 2008-09 Big Ten Academic All-Conference Team Wednesday morning. To earn this distinction, student-athletes must be letterwinners, be in at least their second year at the institution and carry a 3.0 grade-point average.
The Gophers ranked No. 1 in the conference, as Northwestern and Ohio State had 26 student-athletes on the Big Ten Academic All-Conference Team. Minnesota’s 29 represented an increase of five over 2007’s total of 24 Gopher football student-athletes who were honored.
“I’m tremendously proud of the academic work done by our student-athletes,” Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster said. “They have dedicated themselves to making Minnesota proud, both on the field and in the classroom.”
The following is a look at the Golden Gopher football players who were honored by the Big Ten as members of the Academic All-Big Ten Team:
William Brody (Sr., Garfield Heights, Ohio)
D.J. Burris (So., Kenton, Ohio)
Ryan Collado (So., Cincinnati, Ohio)
Steve Davis (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.)
Trey Davis (R-Fr., Farmington, Minn.)
Eric Decker (Jr., Cold Spring, Minn.)
Deon Hightower (Sr., Arlington, Texas)
Jon Hoese (So., Glencoe, Minn.)
Justin Kucek (Sr., Canfield, Ohio)
Ben Kuznia (Jr., Olivia, Minn.)
Mike Maciejowski (Sr., Columbus, Ohio)
Chris Mensen (Jr., Solon, Iowa)
Barrett Moen (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.)
Joel Monroe (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.)
Steve Moore (Sr., Coon Rapids, Minn.)
Tony Mortensen (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.)
Damola Ogundipe (So., New Brighton, Minn.)
Derrick Onwuachi (Jr., Newhall, Calif.)
Ryan Orton (R-Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.)
Ryan Ruckdashel (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.)
Marcus Sherels (Jr., Rochester, Minn.)
Jack Simmons (Sr., Libertyville, Ill.)
Eric Small (Jr., Naperville, Ill.)
Matt Stommes (Jr., Richmond, Minn.)
Kyle Theret (So., Murietta, Calif.)
Jeff Tow-Arnett (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn.)
Nick Tow-Arnett (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn.)
Adam Weber (So., Shoreview, Minn.)
Ryan Wynn (R-Fr., Plymouth, Minn.)
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