Dec. 2, 2008

Football: Five Penguins Earn MVFC All-Academic Accolades

    St. Louis, Mo. – The Youngstown State football team had five members named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference's All-Academic squad, the league announced on Tuesday.

    Offensive lineman Brian Mellott was a first-team selection while defensive back Tom Krupko, punter Ben Nowicki and kickoff specialist Stephen Blose were second-team picks and offensive lineman Brad Samsa was an honorable-mention choice.

    Mellott, a junior who owns a 3.96 grade-point average in accounting, is a repeat first-team selection. Samsa, a senior who has a 3.25 GPA in Industrial and Systems Engineering finished his career as a three-time honorable-mention all-academic selection.

    Blose, Nowicki and Krupko all earned conference academic honors for the first time in their careers. Blose, a sophomore, has a 4.00 GPA in Middle Childhood Education. Nowicki, a junior, has a 3.57 GPA in Chemistry and Krupko, a fifth-year senior, has a 3.92 grade-point average in Biology/Pre-Med.

    Earlier this year, Mellott earned second-team Academic All-District honors while Blose was a first-team Academic All-District selection.

    Thirty-nine student-athletes, including 14 who earned first-team honors, highlighted the all-Missouri Valley Football Conference all-academic team. Notably, six of those honored have maintained perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point averages.

KO Stephen Blose, 5-10, 185, So., 4.00 Middle Childhood Education
Team’s kickoff specialist…had 52 kickoffs during the season…averaging 58.2 yards per kick…had four kickoffs that were touchbacks…executed successful on-side kicks against UNI and Missouri State…credited with three tackles…2008 CoSIDA All-District IV first-team selection.

DB Tom Krupko, 5-7, 170, Sr., 3.92 Biology/Pre-Med
Member of special teams units and a reserve on defense…four-time recipient of MVFC Commissioners Academic Excellence Award and four-time member of league honor roll...nominee for 2008 NACDA FCS Academic All-Star.

OL Brian Mellott, 6-3, 280, Jr., 3.96 Accounting
Played in all 12 games as a reserve offensive lineman and tight end…played 100 snaps for the season…nominated for AFCA’s Good Works Team…two-time recipient of the MVFC’s Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award…started nine games on the line last season…2008 CoSIDA All-District IV second-team selection…2007 first-team Academic All-MVFC.

P Ben Nowicki, 5-10, 170, Jr., 3.57 Chemistry
Had 44 punts for an average of 41.1 yards per kick…placed 13 punts inside the opposition’s 20-yard line and had eight punts of 50 yards or more…had a career-long boot of 66 yards at Southern Utah…increased average by four yards per kick from 2007.

OL Brad Samsa, 6-3, 290, Sr., 3.25 Industrial and Systems Engineering
Started all 12 games on the offensive line…started at center for the first nine before moving to right guard for the final three…first-team all-conference selection in 2007 and second-team pick in 2006…as a junior was a second-team All-American…2007 Honorable-Mention Academic all-conference…played more than 700 snaps on the line, most on the team…YSU averaged 166 yards rushing and 170 yards passing…graded at 83 percent or better in four of final five games.