There are still two rounds left until a national champion is crowned in NAIA football this season, but this week some individual honors were handed out. Four athletes from Nebraska schools have been named NAIA All-Americans, unveiled this week by the AFCA, the national coaches' association.

 

First Team All-America: Concordia WR Austin Jablonski

In Seward, the Concordia Bulldogs authored the best season in program history, narrowly missing out on the NAIA Tournament. And wide receiver Austin Jablonski was a big reason why. A former quarterback at Nebraska, he's become one of the best receivers in the NAIA in his time at Concordia, authoring back to back 1,000-yard receiving seasons and earning First Team All-America honors for the second straight year.

Second Team All-America: Concordia OT Blake Schlegel

A major anchor of the Bulldogs' success this season was their extremely experienced offensive line, keyed by right tackle Blake Schlegel [SHLAY-gul]. A Bruning native and a former member of the powerhouse high school program at BDS, Schlegel started every game this season for a Bulldog team that set single season program records in both points scored and total yards gained. He earns Second Team All-America honors.

Second Team All-America: Doane P Kelen Meyer

Punters are often unsung heroes in this sport, but Doane's Kelen Meyer has emerged as one of the very best specialists in the NAIA, which he proved this year, earning Second Team All-America honors, becoming the first Tiger to earn that level of achievement since 2021. He ranked third in the country in average yards per punt this season, and of the four best single-season punt average marks in Doane football history, three are owned by Kelen Meyer.

Third Team All-America: Midland RB Tyson Denkert

One of the most dynamic players in the GPAC this season is another former Nebraska high school standout: Midland running back and return man Tyson Denkert [DEN-kurt], who set team records in high school at Kenesaw and is doing the same thing in Fremont. He led the GPAC with more than two thousand all-purpose yards and scored 15 total touchdowns this season to earn Third Team All-America honors.