ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The postseason accolades for Drake football continued to accumulate as Ryan Kriceri headlines five Bulldogs on the Academic All-Pioneer Football League Team, the league announced Wednesday (Nov. 30).
 
Kriceri, a sixth year player has been pursuing his master's in business administration with a 4.0 grade point average earned a spot on the Academic All-PFL First Team. The Aurora, Ill., native is nearing his third degree from Drake University. In the middle at linebacker, Kriceri made 71 total tackles (42 solo) including 5.0 tackles for loss while forcing and recovering a fumble in his final season as a Bulldog.
 
Four Drake football student-athletes were placed on the Academic All-PFL Second Team including Colin Howard, Finn Claypool, Joey Lukrich and Shane Dunning.
 
Howard led Drake with 366 receiving yards this season on 22 receptions and has been a three-time selection to the PFL Academic Honor Roll. He is a senior management & organizational leadership/economics major with a 3.73 GPA.
 
Claypool, 2022 PFL Freshman Defensive Player of the Year is a sophomore academically with a 3.36 GPA majoring in Business Law. He finished in the top 3 in the PFL with 8.0 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss while forcing 11 quarterback hurries.
 
Lukrich, a senior finance major with a 3.81 GPA once again excelled as a cornerback for Drake with 28 tackles (17 solo) and four pass breakups. On the special teams side, Dunning earns the honor after being a preseason All-PFL Honorable Mention. He averaged 36.3 yards per punt and pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 11 times.