ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Drake University football team placed seven student-athletes on the 26th Academic All-Pioneer Football League teams as voted by the league's athletics communications directors. The Bulldogs had five first-team selections and two second-team selections. Drake's seven honorees tied for the second most in the 11-team league.
Fifth-year senior defensive lineman Nathan Clayberg added to his long list of awards with his third career first-team selection. Clayberg has already received his undergraduate degree in accounting and finance, finishing with a 3.76 cumulative grade-point average, and is currently working towards his MBA with a grade-point average of 3.50. He is also the lone member of either academic team to be in a post-graduate program.
Clayberg is joined on the first-team by four other Bulldogs, including junior offensive lineman Jacob Bacon and senior offensive lineman Isaiah Kent-Schneider. Bacon, who was also named to the first-team in 2017, currently holds a 3.94 grade-point average and is pursuing a double major in actuarial science and finance. Kent-Schneider is an environmental science and secondary education major with a 3.98 grade-point average, which is the best among the 50 players selected to Academic All-PFL teams.
Seniors Steven Doran and Kieran Severa rounded out the Bulldogs' five first-team selections. Doran holds a 3.40 grade-point average in physics and astronomy and was the team's leading receiver with more than 900 yards. Severa is a health sciences major with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.55. Severa also led the team in tackles and tackles for loss with 67 and 10.5, respectively.
Two Bulldogs were named to the Academic All-PFL Second Team with seniors Peter Read and Terry Wallen each being recognized for the first time in their careers. Read is a health sciences major with a 3.84 grade-point average, and Wallen is a finance major with a 3.60 grade-point average. Both of the Bulldogs' second-team honorees were also named All-PFL Honorable Mention earlier in the week.
The Academic All-PFL teams are a complement to the Capital One Academic All-America™ program presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Eight PFL student-athletes were named to their respective Capital One Academic All-District Teams® this fall including Drake's Jacob Bacon and Steven Doran.
Pioneer Football League athletic directors established the Academic All-PFL squads in 1993 as a way to recognize the league's outstanding student-athletes. To be eligible for Academic All-PFL consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00 and reached their second season both athletically and academically at his current institution.
