MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois senior offensive lineman Jimmy Holtschlag (Quincy/Notre Dame) represented the 38th time a Fighting Leatherneck received the prestigious honor of being named to the Capital One Academic All-America team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Holtschlag was a Second Team selection, and one of five representatives from the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Student-athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 and completed at least one year of eligibility at their institution. Holtschlag's honor marks the 11th time a Leatherneck Football student-athlete received the distinction, and first since Kyle Glazier was a First Team selection in 2010.
Holtschlag owns a 3.94 GPA majoring in Agricultural Sciences with minors in Zoology and Chemistry. After earning Academic All-District honors the past two seasons, Holtschlag earned the national award and was one of two offensive linemen from MVFC institutions chosen.
“Jimmy epitomizes the student-athlete concept. He is an outstanding student, a great leader and high-quality football player,” said head coach Bob Nielson. “He's a great representative of what we want our program to be, and I know Jimmy will be a great ambassador of Western Illinois University.”
Earlier this week, Holtschlag was voted Second Team All-MVFC and First Team Academic All-MVFC. He joined an elite group, becoming just one of five Leathernecks all-time to receive First Team Academic honors the maximum of three times. He joins: Matt Barr, Perry Cox, Justin Langan and Joe Lopez in earning the distinction. In fact, Holtschlag and Langan are the only Leathernecks in history to earn All-MVFC honors on the playing field for at least three years and First Team Academic honors three times.
He closed out his career making his 40th start all-time as he helped pave the way for eight 100-yard rushing games this season. Holtschlag was part of an offensive line that allowed five fewer sacks this season compared to 2012 while playing one extra game. The offense scored the second-highest point total during the last five years.
"Jimmy is a model student-athlete. This prestigious award not only recognizes his hard work in the classroom and on the field, it is also a reflection of the great coaches and faculty here at WESTERN," said Director of Athletics Tommy Bell.
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