The Valparaiso University football team placed four individuals on the Academic All-Pioneer Football League First Team and three more on the Second Team as the league office announced the honors on Wednesday.

The following quartet earned Academic All-PFL First Team status – redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Drew Parrish (New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln Way Central), redshirt sophomore linebacker Evan Annis (Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Davidson), sophomore defensive lineman Kurt Kessen (Shelby Township, Mich. / Utica) and fifth-year senior punter Ben Niesner (Black Diamond, Wash. / Tahoma [Portland State]). In addition, the trio of redshirt junior offensive lineman Aaron Byrd (Bradley, Ill. / Bourbonnais), redshirt junior quarterback Ben Nimz (Waukesha, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) and fifth-year senior defensive lineman Cade Bishop (Lafayette, Ind. / William Henry Harrison) all received Academic All-PFL Second Team nods.

Also named a First Team All-PFL honoree earlier this week, Niesner earned Academic All-PFL First Team for a second straight season. He posted a punting average of 43.2 this fall, a mark that ranked third in program history. The Washington native tied program and PFL records for single-season punting average during the Spring 2021 campaign at 43.6, earning him PFL co-Special Teams Player of the Year recognition for the spring slate. Niesner finished this season with the league’s top punting average, a mark that ranked 16^th nationally. He owns a 4.00 grade point average toward his master’s in sports administration after finishing his undergraduate degree in leadership in sport at 3.73.

A team captain, Annis led Valpo in tackles both overall and in PFL play. The Spring 2021 All-PFL Academic All-PFL Second Team honoree was tabbed All-PFL Honorable Mention earlier this week. Following the Spring 2021 season, he won the team’s Koenig Award, which is presented to an individual who displays outstanding sportsmanship and character. Annis owns a 3.74 GPA in bioengineering.

A 3.97 student in electrical engineering, Parrish is an Academic All-PFL first teamer for a second straight season. He is a starter on a Valpo offensive line that helped running back Robert Washington rush for the second-most yards in single-season program history this year and helped running back Nick Orekoya tie a single-game record for rushing touchdowns. Parrish’s play on the line helped Valpo shatter a school record for single-game rushing TDs with eight. The team finished the season with 23 rushing TDs, the third most in program history and most since 1971.

The owner of a perfect 4.00 GPA in electrical engineering, Kessen was a member of a Valpo defensive line that led the PFL in sacks this season and had 80 tackles for loss, the second-most in program history and most since 1984.

A Spring 2021 Academic All-PFL First Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team choice, Bishop won the team’s Most Inspirational Player Award following the spring slate. This spring, the 3.64 GPA student in actuarial science was a member of a Valpo defensive line that led the PFL in sacks and had 80 tackles for loss, the second-most in program history and most since 1984. He was one of the team’s community service liaisons and is a member of Hampshire Honor Society.

Named All-PFL Honorable Mention this week, Byrd repeated as an Academic All-PFL Second Team selection. Last year, he won the team’s Sever Award, which is presented to the team’s top offensive lineman. This year, Byrd was the leader of a Valpo offensive line that helped starting running back Robert Washington rush for the second-most yards in single-season program history. His group helped running back Nick Orekoya tie a single-game record for rushing touchdowns and helped Valpo shatter a school record for single-game rushing TDs with eight. The program finished the season with 23 rushing TDs, the third most in program history and most since 1971. Byrd holds a 3.42 GPA in bioengineering.

A 3.60 student in finance, Nimz came off the bench with 2:39 remaining on Sept. 25 at Drake to lead a game-winning touchdown drive. He completed a 42-yard pass to Ollie Reese on 4th-and-17 and a 30-yard TD pass to Jordan Bingham on 4th-and-10 in the dramatic win over the Bulldogs. Nimz, Valpo’s starting quarterback for the bulk of the season, threw for a career-high 241 yards on Nov. 13 at Butler, passing for three touchdowns and rushing for one while throwing no interceptions.

2021 Pioneer Football League Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Jake Chisholm, University of Dayton

2021 Academic All-Pioneer Football League First Team

(as selected by PFL athletics communications directors)

Student-Athlete School Class. Pos GPA Major

OFFENSE

BJ Byrd (2) Morehead State Sr. WR 3.58 Strategic Communications

Bryan Bystol (1) Butler Jr OL 4.00 Middle/Secondary Education

Jake Chisholm (U) Dayton Jr. RB 3.98 Pre-Medicine

Jack Cook Dayton Sr. QB 3.35 Finance

Dylan Demaison Dayton So. OL 3.83 Mechanical Engineering

Bennett Dondoyano (1) San Diego RSr. WR 3.82 Finance And Marketing

Andrew Holderer Dayton Sr. TE 3.94 Pre-Dentistry

Cam Marriott (1) Morehead State Jr. OL 3.90 Political Science

Drew Parrish (1) Valparaiso RSo. OL 3.97 Electrical Engineering

Colton Ruhland Butler Jr OL 3.90 Computer Science

Jaxsen Spears Morehead State RFr. WR 4.00 Accounting

David Tkatch Dayton So. OL 3.86 Finance

DEFENSE

Evan Annis (1) Valparaiso RSo. LB 3.74 Bioengineering

Cameron Barrett (1) Morehead State Sr. LB 3.80 Marketing

Seth Bickett St. Thomas Sr. DL 4.00 Actuarial Science

Ethan Hull Stetson RSo. LB 3.97 Accounting

Kama Kamaka (1) San Diego Sr. LB 3.60 Accountancy

Kurt Kessen Valparaiso So. DL 4.00 Mechanical Engineering

Jarrett Nagy Presbyterian Lb SR. 3.90 Physics And Medical Physics

Ben Schmiesing Dayton Grad. LB 3.95 Business

Colby Smith Presbyterian So. DB 4.00 English

Vaughn Taylor Jr. Morehead State Sr. DL 3.32 Sports Management

Preston Toner Morehead State RFr. LB 4.00 Exercise Science

SPECIAL TEAMS

Brandon Eickert (1) San Diego Jr. K 3.91 Electrical Engineering And Physics

Andrew Foster (2) Morehead State Grad. K/P 3.50

3.50

Sports Management (Master’s)

Business

Ben Niesner (1) Valparaiso RSr. P 4.00

3.73 Sports Administration (Master’s) Leadership In Sport

Notes in parentheses: U-Unanimous First Team selection; 1-was a first-team selection in 2020; 2-was a second-team selection in 2020.

2021 Academic All-Pioneer Football League Second Team

Student-Athlete School Class Pos. GPA Major

OFFENSE

Aaron Byrd Valparaiso RJr. OL 3.42 Bioengineering

Michael Carner San Diego Sr. WR 3.45 Finance

Michael Gadinis San Diego RSr. TE 3.52 Real Estate And Finance

Rhyle Hanson San Diego RSo. RB 3.77 Environmental & Ocean Sciences

Ben Johnson Marist RJr. OL 3.68 Business Administration: Finance

Ben Nimz Valparaiso RJr. QB 3.60 Finance

Bradyn Oakley Davidson Jr. SLOT 3.90 Psychology

Nick Rice St. Thomas Sr. RB 3.67 Mathematics

Cade Sexauer St. Thomas Sr. QB 3.63 Mechanical Engineering

Eli Turner Jr. Davidson Sr. SLOT 3.55 Interdisciplinary Studies

Mickey Walker Presbyterian RFr. OL 4.00 Business Administration With Data Analytics Concentration

DEFENSE

Cade Bishop Valparaiso RSr. DL 3.64 Actuarial Science

Noah Borgeson St. Thomas Sr. DL 3.93 Political Science

Jonathan Bunce St. Thomas So. LB 3.91 Business Administration

Nolan Defranco Stetson Gr. DE 3.83 MBA

Brandon Easterling Dayton Sr. S 3.46 Management Information Systems

Jonathan Hammond Davidson So. DL 3.37 Undecided

Jahleel Holmes Morehead State So. DL 4.00 Biology

Brent Robley St. Thomas Sr. DL 3.93 Biology

Alex Rogers Drake 5th Yr. DB 3.55 Data Analytics And Computer Science

Elijah Smith Dayton So. CB 3.96 Business Economics

Jack Wiese Davidson So. LB 4.00 Neuroscience

Vincent Winey Morehead State Sr. LB 3.40 English Education

SPECIAL TEAMS

Brady McKnight Morehead State So. LS 3.87 Agriculture Science

Danny Morales Drake Sr. DB 3.85 Health Sciences

Drew Nieman Dayton So. P 3.81 Mechanical Engineering

Evan Pritchard Davidson Sr. P 3.85 Physics