Ferris State's Vander Laan Receives MAJOR Award As Nation's Top Academic All-America Athlete

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Big Rapids, Mich. - Two-Time Harlon Hill Trophy winning quarterback Jason Vander Laan (Frankfort, Ill./Chicago Christian) of the back-to-back Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Champion Ferris State University football program has added yet another major national honor to his resume as he was recognized today (July 20) as the 2015-16 CoSIDA Division II All-American of the Year as the nation's top scholar-athlete in all sports.

Previously, Vander Laan was chosen last fall as CoSIDA's Division II Football All-American of the Year and then was selected today as the country's overall winner of the prestigious honor. The overall Academic All-America of the Year honor for Division II was determined in voting by members of the Academic All-America committee, the CoSIDA board of directors, and the CoSIDA staff.

Vander Laan becomes the fifth-ever winner of the prestigious honor determined by the nation's sports information directors and the first-ever football recipient. He's also the only collegiate football player from the state of Michigan to ever be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year at any level.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America in recognition of the nation's top student?athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.

It's the latest major national honor for Vander Laan, who was picked last fall as the 2014-15 Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) National Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He recently was tabbed the GLIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive campaign and will advance again to the D2CCA ballot where he could potentially receive the honor for a second-straight time.

On the field, Vander Laan officially capped off one of the most historic collegiate football careers in history by being chosen as the recipient of the 2015 Harlon Hill Trophy presented to NCAA Division II's Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year last fall. Vander Laan signed with the National Football League's (NFL) New York Jets and is currently preparing for training camp with the franchise as a tight end prospect.

The standout signal caller became only the fourth player ever in the history of Division II football to receive the coveted Harlon Hill Award twice and the first since current NFL standout Danny Woodhead in 2006 and 2007. It also marked the first time ever a player from the GLIAC and the state of Michigan received the honor for a second time as past GLIAC winners Curt Anes (2002) and current Detroit Lions tailback Joique Bell (2009) each attained one of the most recognized awards in collegiate sports only once in their respective careers.

As a senior last fall, Vander Laan became the greatest rushing quarterback in NCAA college football history at any level, concluding his career with 5,953 total yards on the ground. He also became the first player in NCAA history to top 1,000 yards rushing and passing for four consecutive seasons. The four-year starting quarterback finished with more than 14,000 yards of total offense and ranks as the GLIAC's all-time leader in career yardage while setting numerous other school and league marks. His 81 career rushing TD's are the second-most by a QB in the history of college football and represent the most in NCAA Division II history.

The senior signal caller led the Bulldogs to a cumulative 37-9 overall mark, two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, two NCAA playoff appearances and back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons as the Ferris State quarterback. The two-time GLIAC Player of the Year and three-time All-American finished his senior campaign passing for 2,625 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 1,542 yards and 24 more scores. Behind Vander Laan's play as the signal caller, Ferris State again ranked among the nation's top offensive units, ranking among the top 10 last fall in total offense, scoring offense and rushing.

Along with being the Harlon Hill Trophy recipient, he was also chosen as the 2015 Division II Conference Commissioners Association National Offensive Player of the Year for the second time and named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America First Team for the second-straight year. The NCAA Division II National Scholar-Athlete of the Year was tabbed as the 2015 CoSIDA Division II Football Academic All-American of the Year for his efforts in the classroom and was one of 12 finalists for the Campbell Trophy, which is also known as the Academic Heisman of college football, while becoming a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. Additionally, he was tabbed as the nation's top small college quarterback outside of the Division I level by being chosen to the Associated Press Little All-America First Team for the second year in a row.

Vander Laan helped the Bulldogs finish with an 11-1 overall record for the second-straight year this past season. FSU captured the school's second GLIAC Championship in a row while capping off back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. The Bulldogs won their last 25 consecutive regular-season games with Vander Laan at the offensive controls and posted the school's first NCAA Playoff victory in 19 years during the 2015 season. In his final two seasons, the Bulldogs won 22 of their 24 games overall.

Along with his national accomplishments, Vander Laan was recently selected as Ferris State University's male Dean Davenport "Bulldog of the Year" award winner for the second-straight campaign.