Nation-Leading Three Former Ferris State Football Standouts Named To D2Football All-Decade Team
Big Rapids, Mich. - A nation-leading three former Ferris State University football standouts, all of whom are currently competing in the National Football League (NFL), have earned distinction by being named to the D2Football.com All-Decade Team announced today by the online source.
The announcement of the 50 players and a coach for the 2010-19 decade span was made by D2Football.com in a special announcement.
The Bulldogs' honorees include two-time Harlon Hill Trophy winning quarterback Jason Vander Laan as the decade's first-team signal caller along with a pair of second-team selections in defensive end Zach Sieler and cornerback Tavierre Thomas. Presently, Vander Laan is a member of the New Orleans Saints while Sieler is with the NFL's Miami Dolphins and Thomas has spent the past two years on the Cleveland Browns' active roster.
To be eligible for the all-decade team, a student-athlete must have played during any season from 2010-2019, but must have completed his eligibility prior to the 2020 season. He must also have been honored as a D2Football.com All-American in that time period.
The GLIAC had the most selections (10) overall followed closely by the MIAA (9). Ferris State and Northwest Missouri each had three selections, which were the most by any program.
At the time of publication, 35 of the players on the team had made an active roster in the NFL. Sixteen of the members of the team had been drafted by the NFL, including Sieler. Three members await the 2020 NFL Draft. While participation in professional leagues creeped into the deliberation process, the student-athletes are on this team because of their accomplishments on the collegiate football field.
There are four D2Football.com Offensive Players of the Year selections on the team. They are joined by five Defensive Player of the Year selections. Three players on the team earned four Harlon Hill Trophies with Vander Laan honored claiming the honor as the nation's top player twice.
Both Vander Laan and Sieler were honored by D2Football.com as National Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, during their collegiate careers.
The D2Football.com All-Decade Team was selected by the staff of D2Football.com with input from coaches across the country.
The complete list of all-decade team selections can be found at this link:
https://www.d2football.com/2010-2019-all-decade/