Jared Veldheer named AFCA First-Team All-American
December 8, 2009 - Hillsdale College senior offensive lineman Jared Veldheer was recognized among Division II's very best Tuesday morning.
Veldheer, a left tackle for the Chargers, was named First-Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. The
team was released by the AFCA Tuesday morning.
After starting all 46 games of his career and leading the Chargers to a 10-3 record in 2009, the postseason honors have been piling up for the 6-foot-9, 321-lb. Veldheer, who is from Grand Rapids, Mich. Earlier this fall, Veldheer was named First-Team All-GLIAC and First-Team All-Region, the latter honor being bestowed by both Daktronics and the AFCA.
Unique to college football is the number of postseason "all star" games that will take place, and Veldheer figures to be busy participating in many of those in the coming weeks. He has already secured a spot in the Texas vs. The Nation game, scheduled for Feb. 6 in El Paso, Texas. Veldheer is one of two Division II players on The Nation team, which will be coached by former University of Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger.
Veldheer is also a nominee for the Cactus Bowl, the Division II All-Star Game, scheduled for January. The rosters for that game have not yet been released.
In the most recent issue of Pro Football Draft Newsletter, Veldheer is projected as the No. 36 overall prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft. A capsul summary of Veldheer states that it wouldn't be surprising to see him get drafted before the fourth round.
Earlier this season, D2football.com pegged Veldheer as the fourth-best draft prospect among all Division II players.
Veldheer is also one of six finalists for the Gene Upshaw Award, which goes to the top lineman (offense and defense included) in the nation. He is one of two All-Region representatives from Super Region 3 for the award and was the top regional vote-getter.
During his Hillsdale career, Veldheer led the Chargers to a 30-16 record from 2006-09 and was named First-Team All-GLIAC twice. He blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher each season of his career, and the Chargers had two of their highest-scoring seasons in their history (2007 and 2009) during Veldheer's career.
In 2009, Veldheer helped lead Hillsdale to a second-place finish in the GLIAC and the team's first-ever NCAA Division II playoff appearance. The Chargers won their first-round game, 27-24 in overtime, over Minnesota State-Mankato before losing to Grand Valley State in the regional semifinals on Nov. 21.
Veldheer has plenty of GLIAC company on the AFCA All-American Team this season. Joining Veldheer from other GLIAC schools on the team are Wayne State RB Joique Bell, Grand Valley State OL Nick McDonald, and Saginaw Valley State LB John Jacobs.
The AFCA has selected an All-American Team every year since 1945. The AFCA’s Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen. Only 25 players are named AFCA All-Americans each year in Division II.
To view the complete AFCA Division II All-American Team and press release, please click on the link below.
2009 AFCA Division II All-American release
Veldheer, a left tackle for the Chargers, was named First-Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. The
team was released by the AFCA Tuesday morning.After starting all 46 games of his career and leading the Chargers to a 10-3 record in 2009, the postseason honors have been piling up for the 6-foot-9, 321-lb. Veldheer, who is from Grand Rapids, Mich. Earlier this fall, Veldheer was named First-Team All-GLIAC and First-Team All-Region, the latter honor being bestowed by both Daktronics and the AFCA.
Unique to college football is the number of postseason "all star" games that will take place, and Veldheer figures to be busy participating in many of those in the coming weeks. He has already secured a spot in the Texas vs. The Nation game, scheduled for Feb. 6 in El Paso, Texas. Veldheer is one of two Division II players on The Nation team, which will be coached by former University of Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger.
Veldheer is also a nominee for the Cactus Bowl, the Division II All-Star Game, scheduled for January. The rosters for that game have not yet been released.
In the most recent issue of Pro Football Draft Newsletter, Veldheer is projected as the No. 36 overall prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft. A capsul summary of Veldheer states that it wouldn't be surprising to see him get drafted before the fourth round.
Earlier this season, D2football.com pegged Veldheer as the fourth-best draft prospect among all Division II players.
Veldheer is also one of six finalists for the Gene Upshaw Award, which goes to the top lineman (offense and defense included) in the nation. He is one of two All-Region representatives from Super Region 3 for the award and was the top regional vote-getter.
During his Hillsdale career, Veldheer led the Chargers to a 30-16 record from 2006-09 and was named First-Team All-GLIAC twice. He blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher each season of his career, and the Chargers had two of their highest-scoring seasons in their history (2007 and 2009) during Veldheer's career.
In 2009, Veldheer helped lead Hillsdale to a second-place finish in the GLIAC and the team's first-ever NCAA Division II playoff appearance. The Chargers won their first-round game, 27-24 in overtime, over Minnesota State-Mankato before losing to Grand Valley State in the regional semifinals on Nov. 21.
Veldheer has plenty of GLIAC company on the AFCA All-American Team this season. Joining Veldheer from other GLIAC schools on the team are Wayne State RB Joique Bell, Grand Valley State OL Nick McDonald, and Saginaw Valley State LB John Jacobs.
The AFCA has selected an All-American Team every year since 1945. The AFCA’s Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen. Only 25 players are named AFCA All-Americans each year in Division II.
To view the complete AFCA Division II All-American Team and press release, please click on the link below.
2009 AFCA Division II All-American release
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