NU Leads Big 12 in Academic Honorees

Nebraska placed a conference-leading 22 players on the Academic All-Big 12 Football Team announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.

Nebraska had 15 players named to the first team, with another seven Huskers earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. Leading the way for Nebraska was junior fullback Dane Todd, who was one of two players honored for having a cumulative 4.0 grade-point average.

Todd is one of six Huskers who were named first-team Academic All-Big 12 for the second time in their careers. Also named to the first team for the second time were senior offensive guard Brandon Koch,junior center Kurt Mann,sophomore tight end J.B. Phillips,junior defensive back Brandon Rigoni and junior defensive back Andrew Shanle. Koch is the lone Husker to have earned academic all-conference accolades three times, as he was a first-team selection in 2003 and a second-team honoree in 2004.

Players being named first-team Academic All-Big 12 for the first time were sophomore linebacker Lance Brandenburgh, senior defensive tackle Chris Bryant, sophomore cornerback Cortney Grixby, senior linebacker Adam Ickes, redshirt freshman receiver Todd Peterson, senior defensive back Joey Robison, senior safety Mike Stuntz, redshirt freshman receiver Nate Swift and senior safety Blake Tiedtke.

First-Team (3.20 GPA or higher; * 4.0 GPA)
Name Year Major Hometown
Lance Brandenburgh So. Undecided Overland Park, Kan.
Chris Bryant Sr. Business Education Aurora, Colo.
Cortney Grixby So. Business Administration Omaha, Neb.
Adam Ickes Sr. Business Administration Page, Neb.
Brandon Koch Sr. Social Science Education Gothenburg, Neb.
Kurt Mann Jr. Mechanized Systems Mgmt. Grand Island, Neb.
Todd Peterson RFr. Nutritional Science & Dietetics Grand Island, Neb.
J.B. Phillips So. Marketing Colleyville, Texas
Brandon Rigoni Jr. Psychology Lincoln, Neb.
Joey Robison Sr. Mechanized Systems Mgmt. Bertrand, Neb.
Andrew Shanle Jr. Family & Consumer Science Ed. St. Edward, Neb.
Mike Stuntz Sr. Professional Golf Management Council Bluffs, Iowa
Nate Swift RFr. Undecided Hutchinson, Minn.
Blake Tiedtke Sr. Exercise Science Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Dane Todd* Jr. Biological Sciences Lincoln, Neb.

Second-Team (3.0 ? 3.19 GPA)
Name Year Major Hometown
Greg Austin Jr. Management Cypress, Texas
Seppo Evwaraye Sr. Communications Laurel, Neb.
Tyler Fisher Sr. Exercise Science Grand Island, Neb.
Jared Helming Sr. Management Springfield, Mo.
Sam Koch Sr. Business Administration Seward, Neb.
Gary Pike Sr. Physics Pueblo, Colo.
Clayton Sievers So. Communication Studies Elkhorn, Neb.