BATON ROUGE — For the second time in as many days, LSU center Rudy Niswanger picked up another national honor as the senior has been named to the 2005 ESPN the Magazine First Team Academic All-America squad, the College Sports Information Director’s of America announced.
The honor comes just one day after it Niswanger was named the inaugural winner of the Wuerffel Trophy, named after the former Heisman Trophy winner. The Wuerffel Trophy is an award that goes to the player who combines exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement.
In the coming days, Niswanger will be up for two additional honors as he leads the third-ranked Tigers for their third Southeastern Conference title in five years on Saturday against Georgia in Atlanta.
On Tuesday, Niswanger will travel to New York City to take part in the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Banquet where he is one of 15 finalists for the Draddy Award, which goes to the top student-athlete in college football.
Niswanger joins former offensive lineman Rodney Reed as the only two-time first team academic All-Americas in school history. Reed did it in 2002 and 2003 after earning second team honors in 2001.
In the classroom, Niswanger graduated in May with a 4.0 grade point average in pre-medicine. He’s a recipient of the University Medal as well as being named the LSU student-athlete of the year twice. Niswanger has already been accepted to the LSU Medical School in Shreveport after scoring a 33 on the MCAT, which ranked in the top eight percent nationally.
On the gridiron, Niswanger has started all but one game for LSU over the past two seasons, helping the Tigers to a 19-4 mark over that span. In four years with the Tigers, Niswanger has started every position on the offensive line, including starts in 13 of LSU’s last 14 games at center.
Niswanger is one of only five players who are repeat first or second-team academic All-America selections in 2005 joining Nick Hartigan of Brown, Perry Cox of Western Illinois, Reed Doughty of Northern Colorado and Joey King. Niswanger is the only repeat selection from the Division IA level.
2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Football Team (University Division) as selected by CoSIDA
First-Team Offense
NAME
SCHOOL
POS.
YR.
HOMETOWN
GPA
MAJOR (Undergrad.)
Travis Lulay
Montana State
QB
Sr.
Aumsville, Ore.
3.85
Business
Nick Garton
San Diego
WR
Sr.
Dana Point, Calif.
3.63
Business Administration
Luke Palko
St. Francis (Pa.)
WR
Jr.
Imperial, Pa.
3.73
Accounting
Garrett Mills
Tulsa
TE
Sr.
Tulsa, Okla.
3.90
Management
Nick Hartigan
Brown
RB
Sr.
Fairfax, Va.
3.91
Political Science & History
Dane Todd
Nebraska
RB
Jr.
Lincoln, Neb.
4.00
Biological Sciences
LSU
OL
Gr.
Monroe, La.
4.00
Pre-Medicine
Michael Elgin
Iowa
OL
Sr.
Holy Cross, Iowa
3.90
Mechanical Engineering
Kurt Mann
Nebraska
OL
Jr.
Grand Island, Neb.
3.97
Mechanized Systems Mgt.
Hayden Lane
Kentucky
OL
Gr.
Lawrenceville, Ga.
3.95
Anthropology & Classics
Perry Cox
Western Illinois
OL
Sr.
Carrollton, Texas
3.98
Management
Taylor Begley
Kentucky
PK
Gr.
Danville, Ky.
3.82
Electrical Engineering
Josh Hoke
Coastal Carolina
PK
Jr.
Statesville, N.C.
4.00
Communications
First-Team Defense
NAME
SCHOOL
POS.
YR.
HOMETOWN
GPA
MAJOR (Undergrad.)
Reed Doughty
Northern Colorado
DB
Sr.
Johnstown, Colo.
4.00
Sport & Exercise Science
Will Meyers
Indiana
DB
Jr.
Chesterfield, Mo.
3.81
Accounting
Chad McMahan
Tennessee-Martin
DB
Sr.
Batesville, Miss.
3.76
Biology
Philip Bretsch
San Diego
DB
Sr.
Fallbrook, Calif.
3.79
Business Administration
Paul Posluszny
Penn State
LB
Jr.
Aliquippa, Pa.
3.67
Finance
Joey King
Portland State
LB
Sr.
Spokane, Wash.
3.93
Psychology
Jay Henry
West Virginia
LB
Jr.
Jenks, Okla.
4.00
Finance
Kyle Kinsell
Davidson
DL
Jr.
Chapel Hill, N.C.
3.76
Biology
Jordan Richardson
Austin Peay
DL
Sr.
Humboldt, Tenn.
3.78
Biology
Chris Daniels
Drake
DL
Sr.
Overland Park, Kan.
3.79
Secondary Education
Katon Bethay
Wofford
DL
Sr.
Milton, Wis.
3.48
Philosophy
Daniel Sepulveda
Baylor
P
Jr.
Dallas, Texas
3.51
Accounting
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN OF THE YEAR: Nick Hartigan, Brown University
NOTE: Two student-athletes received first-team honors at PK due to a tie. Thus, no second-team honor was awarded.