PITTSBURG, Kan. – Northwest Missouri State University linebacker Jacob Vollstedt has been named the 2016 Don Hansen Division II co-Defensive Player of the Year. Vollstedt was also named to the Don Hansen All-America first team and joined eight other Bearcats on the list of honorees this past season. Earning second team honors were quarterback Kyle Zimmerman, offensive lineman Jamie Thieman, defensive end Collin Bevins and safety Kevin Berg. Center Chase Sherman was named third team All-America while fullback Jordan Grove, kicker Simon Mathiesen and defensive end Cass Weitl were named honorable mention.
Vollstedt led the team with a career-high 140 tackles last season. He had 25.0 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, two blocked kicks and a fumble recovery. He was also named to the D2CCA All-America and D2Football.com All-America first team.
Zimmerman threw for 3,763 yards and 37 touchdowns this season. He was the MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, the CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year, the runner up for the Harlon Hill Trophy and was named second team AP All-America. Thieman appeared in 13 games for the Bearcats as a senior. He was a first team All-MIAA honoree. Bevins recorded 61 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He earned first team All-America honors from the AFCA and the AP Little team. Berg finished the year with 60 tackles with four interceptions. He was named to the D2CCA All-America first team, the AP All-America third team and the D2Football.com honorable mention All-America team.
Sherman started all 15 games for the Bearcats at center. He was named a D2CCA First Team All-America and AP All-America third team.
Grove was a first team All-MIAA performer, catching at team-high 60 passes for 614 yards and six touchdowns. He also ran for a pair of touchdowns on 24 carries as a junior. Mathiesen went 18-of-21 on field goal attempts and hit 86-of-88 PAT attempts in 2016. He was a D2Football.com second team All-America performer and was a first team All-MIAA honoree. Weitl led the team with 10 sacks and finished the year with a career-high 83 tackles and 19.0 tackles for loss. He forced three fumbles and blocked a pair of kicks. He was a first team All-MIAA performer.
The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.
— Northwest Athletics —