THREE WONDER BOYS NAMED DON HANSEN'S FOOTBALL GAZETTE ALL-SUPER REGION TWO TEAM SELECTIONS

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys Torrence Wright, Jeremy Ashcraft and Michael Podobnik have been named Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Super Region Two Team selections released on Wednesday.

This marks the seventh consecutive year that Don Hansen Football Gazette has selected NCAA Division II All-Region team. The national publication has selected Division II All-America teams since 1988. The first and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2008 NCAA Division II Football Gazette All-America team will be selected.

Wright was a First-Team selection, while Ashcraft earned repeat Second-Team honors from last season and Podobnik earned Third-Team honors this year after being a second team selection in 2007.

          Super Two Region champion North Alabama leads all schools with 13 all-region selections, including six first-team honorees, while South Atlantic Conference champion Tusculum placed eight players on one of the three teams and Delta State, the Gulf South Conference champion had six players chosen to one of the three teams. The GSC had 38 players chosen overall from nine different schools for the Super Region Two teams. The SAC had 32 players chosen and the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) had 13 players selected.

Wright, a 6-3, 280-pound center from Sulphur Springs, Texas, earns First-Team honors on the offensive line after starting and playing in all 10 games for the Wonder Boys at center. On the season Wright, who was a First-Team All-GSC selection and a Second-Team Daktronics All-Super Two Region selection, had an average grade of 85 and recorded 53 knockdown blocks and had 10 pancake blocks. In addition, he helped anchor a Tech offensive line that allowed just eight sacks in 10 games, which was tied for fourth in all of NCAA Division II Football. Wright was also a candidate from the Super Two Region for the Gene Upshaw Award.

Ashcraft, a 6-foot-7, 335-pound offensive tackle from Dickinson, Texas, earned repeat Second-Team honors on the offensive line this season after finishing with an average grade of 81 percent in 10 games. In addition, Ashcraft, who was named a First-Team All-GSC selection and a Second-Team Daktronics All-Super Region Two honoree, led Tech with 78 knockdown blocks and had 13 pancake blocks on the season and helped Tech’s offensive line just allow eight sacks in 10 games. Ashcraft was also recently named the Outstanding Offensive Lineman at the 2009 Valero Cactus Bowl D-II All-Star Game.

Podobnik, a 6-foot, 244-pound punter, earned Third-Team honors as a punter after finishing the season second in the GSC with a 44 yard punting average. In 10 games, Podobnik, who was a First-Team All-GSC selection this season, punted 24 times for 1,057 yards and had four touchbacks and downed five punts inside the 20-yard line. In addition, he had five punts travel more than 50 yards, including a season-high 60 yard punt against Central Missouri. In his two years at Tech, Podobnik set a new career punting mark with a 44.8 yard average, which bettered the old mark of 39.7 held by former Wonder Boy Tommy Edwards (2000-03). That 44.8 yard average also set a new GSC career punting mark. Along with his punting this season, Podobnik was also 30-for-31 on extra point attempts and was 3-for-4 on field goals, including hitting game-winning field goals in back-to-back games against West Alabama and Arkansas-Monticello.

         2008 Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-Super Two Region Team

 -- Tech Athletics --