Nov. 27, 2006

Five Players Earn Academic All-Gateway Accolades

    Youngstown -- Youngstown State's Ryan Jewell, Bob Perez, Tom Zetts, Jeff Koval and Brad Samsa all earned Academic All-Gateway honors, the conference office announced Monday.
    Jewell, Perez and Zetts were first-team honorees while Koval earned second-team honors and Samsa was an honorable mention selection. Zetts also earned first-team honors as a sophomore last season, and Jewell was a second-team honoree in 2005.
    YSU's three first-team selections were the most by any team.
    To qualify for the academic all-league team, student-athletes need to be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average. They must also have reached sophomore academic and athletic standing and have completed at least one full academic year at their intuition. The teams were selected by sports information directors from the league's eight schools.
    Below are bio sketches on YSU's selections:

Ryan Jewell | Center | Senior | 3.36 GPA | Mechanical Engineering
Has started every game for the first time in his career…is the anchor for the offensive line, which paves the way for the third-ranked rushing offense in Division I-AA…one of three team captains along with senior defensive back Jason Perry and senior linebacker Jeremiah Wright… graded 76 percent during the regular season, which ranked one point behind guard Brad Samsa for the team lead…was the top performer on the line against Slippery Rock (67 percent) and Indiana State (86 percent)…registered a team-high 64 plays against Maine, and was on the field for a season-high 76 snaps at Illinois State…named the team’s Offensive Lineman of the Game against Western Kentucky…was the recipient of the Haines Family Player-of-the-Game award by the YSU radio broadcast crew for the Missouri State game…anchored a line that allowed Tom Zetts to throw for a career-high 314 yards on 24-of-40 passing against James Madison in the first round of the Football Championship Series...was named second-team CoSIDA Academic All-District IV on Nov. 9…is a semifinalist for the 2006 Draddy Trophy, an award that recognizes an individual as the best in the country for combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership...named the top center in Division I-AA by The Sports Network prior to the season…also tabbed a preseason first-team All-American by I-AA.org, The Sports Network and the Football Gazette.


Jeff Koval | Linebacker | Senior | 3.11 GPA | Marketing Management
Has played in all 12 games and started the past 11…has registered 46 tackles, including 25 solo stops…is credited with 9 tackles for 38 yards in losses…ranks second on the team in sacks with 4.5 for 23 yards in losses…had 1.5 sacks for six yards in losses against Northern Iowa…recorded one sack against Illinois State and Western Kentucky and a half sack against Maine and Southern Illinois…also had two tackles for loss against the Black Bears…also recorded tackles for loss against Penn State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Illinois State and Western Kentucky…recovered a fumble at Western Illinois that resulted in YSU’s first score…posted a season-high six tackles against UC Davis and Indiana State…had four solo stops against UC Davis and Northern Iowa…was credited with a pass breakup against Indiana State…was named the Hill, Barth & King Defensive Player of the Game against Northern Iowa…named the Jermaine Hopkins Defensive Lineman of the Game against Western Kentucky...Credited with six tackles, including four solo stops against James Madison.

Bob Perez | Free Safety | Junior | 3.88 GPA | Economics
Also a second-team Academic All-District IV selection...has made 22 total tackles, nine of which were solo stops...tied for third on the team with two interceptions...returned an interception 25 yards against Maine...also had an interception at Missouri State...made a season-high five tackles at Penn State...also had a season-high three solo stops against the Nittany Lions...posted a 4.0 grade-point average in five of six semesters at YSU.

Brad Samsa | Guard | Sophomore | 3.30 GPA | General Studies
Owns the highest cumulative grade percentage of all the linemen (77 percent)...started all 12 games at guard...three-time YSU lineman of the week...team is averaging a league-leading 240.6 yards on the ground...Guins had three 200-yard single-game rushers...team has had 100-yard rusher in nine games, including all Gateway contests (total of 11 performances)...team-high five winning performances...649 snaps played.

Tom Zetts | Quarterback | Junior | 3.73 GPA | Secondary Education
Named Honorable Mention All-Gateway and First-Team Academic All-Gateway in 2006...has started all 12 games at quarterback…has completed 147-of-253 passes for 1,790 yards and 11 touchdowns…has also been a valuable addition to the rushing game, running for 196 yards in the past four games…after throwing for more than 200 yards six times last season, has eclipsed the mark only twice because of YSU’s success on the ground…threw for five touchdowns in the first two games of the season…was 10-of-13 for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against Slippery Rock…connected with Rory Berry for a 20-yard score and Da’Michael Horne for a 21-yard touchdown…threw for a season-high three touchdowns and 178 yards on a 12-of-21 effort against Maine…hit T.J. Peterson for touchdowns of 42 and 16 yards and Louis Irizarry for a seven-yard score…was 12-of-20 for 95 yards against Penn State…completed 12-of-22 passes for 181 yards and a 48-yard touchdown to fullback Demetrius Ison against UC Davis…was 8-of-14 for 150 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri State…hit Max King from nine yards out and Peterson for a 48-yard strike in the third quarter against the Bears…completed 13-of-21 passes for 130 yards at Western Illinois…threw for a season-high 208 yards on a 17-of-30 effort against Northern Iowa…completed 9-of-17 passes for 93 yards at Illinois State…threw for 129 yards and a touchdown in a 13-for-19 day against Southern Illinois…hit Irizarry in the endzone from 18 yards out for the game tying score with 5:01 remaining in the fourth quarter…completed 7-of-17 passes for 83 yards against Western Kentucky…entered the season with -11 yards rushing in his career, but has run for 286 yards this season…had a 23-yard touchdown run against UC Davis…ran for a career-high 110 yards on 12 rushes at Illinois State…had a career-long 37-yard rush and scored on a one-yard run against the Redbirds…ran for 29 yards on nine attempts and scored from seven yards out against Southern Illinois…rushed for 44 yards on eight carries at Western Kentucky…was named the Hill, Barth & King Offensive Player of the Game against UC Davis and Illinois State…also named the Haines Family Player of the Game by the YSU radio broadcast crew at Illinois State...completed 24-of-40 passes for a career-high 314 yards with a touchdown against James Madison in the first round of the Football Championship Series...connected with seven different receivers against the Dukes...hit TJ Peterson 11 times, including a 30-yard strike and a six-yard touchdown...also connected with Peterson on a two-point conversion...named the Haines Family Player of the Game by the YSU radio broadcast crew against James Madison.