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Football Alumni Round-up: Awards and All-Conference Special

01/21/2020, 1:15pm CST
By Colton Wilson

Many high school football standouts in Wisconsin go on to big things at the college level and in the pros, and this is our spot to recognize those athletes each week and help you keep up with what is going down on some of your favorite players from the past. If you have alumni news, please send it to Colton Wilson by 10 p.m. on Tuesdays.

NFL Awards

Ryan Ramczyk, Stevens Point: Ryan continued his great start to his professional career for the New Orleans Saints. In his third season, Ryan was named to the AP All-Pro team for the first team in his career after making the second team last season in 2018. He was rated the second best right tackle in the NFL through week 15. Ryan has started 47 of a possible 48 games through his first three seasons.

T.J. Watt, Pewaukee: T.J. had a breakout season this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The third linebacker made a name for himself in opposing backfields all year. This year, T.J. was tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks with 14.5. He was tied for second in the NFL with 23 tackles for loss, and third in quarterback hits with 36. T.J. also led the NFL in forced fumbles with eight and added two interceptions and 55 total tackles on the year. He was named a first team AP All-Pro and voted to his second straight Pro-Bowl.

Brandon Brooks, Milwaukee Riverside: Brandon has been a steady force at right guard for the Philadelphia Eagles. In his fourth year with the Eagles and eighth overall, Brandon became the highest paid guard in NFL history. He was also rated as the top offensive lineman through week 15 by Pro Football Focus. Despite being snubbed on the All-Pro team, Brandon was voted to his third straight Pro Bowl. Due to injury, he will not be attending to rehabilitate. For his career, Brandon has started 106 games in the NFL. 

Travis Frederick, Big Foot: Travis had an incredible bounce back year after sitting out all of the 2018-19 season with Guillain-Barre syndrome. In his sixth season with the Dallas Cowboys, Frederick was named to his fifth Pro Bowl, missing only the one season he sat out due to illness. Travis has started 96 game for the Cowboys in his career thus far.

FBS Awards

Zack Baun, Brown Deer: Baun shot up draft boards this past year at UW-Madison, finishing second in the Big 10 with 12.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss on the season. Zack was named First Team Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. He was also named second team All-American by both the Associated Press and Sporting News, and a first team Walter Camp All-American.

Tyler Biadasz, Amherst: Tyler has accumulated many and more awards and recognition in his three seasons at UW-Madison. He was named a Freshman All-American and third team All-Big Ten in 2017. He Followed that up by being named first team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-American by College Football news in his sophomore campaign. In this, his junior and final season at Wisconsin, Tyler took home even more awards. He was named first team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive season, while garnering Academic All-Big Ten for the third straight year. Tyler was also named unanimous first team All-American by the AFCA, Associated Press, ESPN, FWAA, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, and Walter Camp. Above all that, Tyler was named a finalist for the Outland Trophy and the winner of the Rimington Trophy; awarded to the nation's top center.

Ben Bredeson, Arrowhead: After being named second team All-Big Ten the past two seasons, Ben garnered unanimous first team honors in his senior season at Michigan. A four year starter, Ben started 45 games for the Wolverines and this year was named third team Associated Press All-American and second team Walter Camp All-American.

 

FBS All-Conference

CONFERENCE NAME COLLEGE AWARD HIGH SCHOOL
Big 10 Ben Bredeson Michigan First Team (U) Arrowhead
Nate Stanley Iowa Honorable Mention (Coaches) Menomonie
Kristian Welch Iowa Honorable Mention (U) Iola-Scandinavia
Robert Windsor Penn State Third Team (Coaches) Fond du Lac
Zack Baun Wisconsin First Team (U) Brown Deer
Tyler Biadasz Wisconsin First Team (U) Amherst
Matt Henningsen Wisconsin Honorable Mention (Coaches) Menomonee Falls
Logan Bruss Wisconsin Honorable Mention (U) Kimberly
Jake Ferguson Wisconsin Honorable Mention (U) Madison Memorial
Cole Van Lanen Wisconsin Second Team (Media) Bay Port
Ben Bredeson Michigan
Conference USA James Morgan Florida International Honorable Mention Ashwaubenon
Mid-American Jordan Steckler Northern Illinois First Team Two Rivers
Mike Caliendo Western Michigan Second Team Brookfield East
Sun Belt Jarrett Horst Arkansas State Third Team Middleton

FCS All-Conference

CONFERENCE NAME COLLEGE AWARD HIGH SCHOOL
Missouri Valley Ty DeForest Illinois State Second Team Marshall
Trevor Heit North Dakota State Honorable Mention Alma-Pepin
Hunter Luepke North Dakota State Honorable Mention Spencer
Brett Samson South Dakota Second Team Oconomowoc
Pioneer League Chris Evans Drake Second Team Slinger
Alex Rogers Drake Honorable Mention Racine Case

Division 2 Awards

Chris Garrett, Wisconsin Lutheran: Chris has put together quite the resume at Concordia-St. Paul over his first three seasons for the Bears. This past season, he set the record for sacks in school history with 36.5 total in his career, ranking second in the Northern Sun Conference (NSIC) and thirteenth in Division 2 football history. He led the NSIC in sacks with 14, for the second straight year and came in second in all of Division 2 after leading the category last year. He was named to the All-NSIC-South First Team for the second straight year, and took home NSIC Defensive Player of the Year laurels. 

To go along with the all-conference recognition, he was named the D2CCA All-Super Region 4 Defensive Player of the Year as well as to the Regions First-Team. Chris was named a first team All-American by the Associated Press for the second straight year, while also being named to the D2CCA and D2Football.com first team All-American Teams. Lastly, Garrett was named a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, which recognizes the nation's small college defensive player of the year.

Evan Heim, De Pere: Evan finalized an incredible four year career at Minnesota State-Mankato where he started an impressive 54 games over that stretch. Besides being named to the NSIC-South first-team All-Conference team for the third straight season, Evan took home All-American honors for the second straight year. Evan was named to a first team All-American by D2Football.com for the second straight year. He was also named to the AP and D2CAA All-American first teams.

Division 2 All-Conference

CONFERENCE NAME COLLEGE AWARD HIGH SCHOOL
GLIAC Will Ark Michigan Tech Second Team Ashwaubenon
Xavier Ciardo Michigan Tech Honorable Mention Kenosha Indian Trail
Brady Hanson Northern Michigan Honorable Mention Kewaskum
Great Lakes Valley Payton Rose Lindenwood First Team Cumberland
Great Midwest Athletic Justin Growel Lake Erie First Team East Troy
MIAA Matt Wendelberger Fort Hays State Honorable Mention Pewaukee
Northern Sun Kyle Theis Augustana Honorable Mention Germantown
Jacob Anderson Bemidji State Honorable Mention Merrill
Ryan Fuller Bemidji State Honorable Mention Necedah
Chris Garrett Concordia-St. Paul First Team Wisconsin Lutheran
Dalton Smerchek Concordia-St. Paul Honorable Mention Luxemburg-Casco
Bailey Meyer University of Mary Second Team Sheboygan North
Will Cross Minnesota Crookston Honorable Mention Turtle Lake
Noah LeBlanc Minnesota Duluth First Team Hayward
Isaac Erdmann Minnesota Duuth First Team Menasha
Tom Johnson Minnesota Duluth First Team Xavier
Austin Kurylo Minnesota Duluth First Team Westosha Central
Nate Pearson Minnesota Duluth First Team Northwestern
Cole Refsnider Minnesota Duluth First Team Saint Croix Central
Zach Oruruo Minnesota Duluth Second Team Madison La Follette
Joe Kordus Minnesota Duluth Second Team Menasha
Dain Hudson Minnesota Duluth Second Team Waukesha West
Jared Gossen Minnesota State-Mankato First Team De Pere
Evan Heim Minnesota State-Mankato First Team De Pere
Hunter Toppel Minnesota State-Mankato Second Team DeForest
Michael Buetow Minnesota State-Mankato Second Team St. Mary's Springs
Jakup Sinani Minnesota State-Moorhead Second Team Oak Creek
Nathan Belisle Minnesota State-Moorhead Honorable Mention Athens
Preston Droessler Northern State Second Team Cuba City
Nolan Kern Sioux Falls First Team Regis
Nick Zimmerman Sioux Falls Second Team Laconia
Anthony Carver St. Cloud State First Team Wisconsin Lutheran
Robert Kraklow St. Cloud State Second Team Mukwonago
Matthew Lechner St. Cloud State Second Team Catholic Memorial
Devon Krzanowski St. Cloud State Second Team Fond du Lac
Adam Stage St. Cloud State Second Team Kimberly
Dwayne Lawhorn St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Germantown
Skyler Kurt St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Lodi
Zach Stecklein St. Cloud State Honorable Mention Mount Horeb
Sam Santiago-Lloyd Winona State First Team Brookfield East
Nick Pridgeon Winona State First Team Wauwatosa East
Carter Berlin Winona State Second Team Augusta
Cole LaLiberty Winona State Honorable Mention Chetek-Weyerhaeuser

Division 3 Awards

D3 West Region Honorees:

Quinn Meinerz -- First Team
Mike Olsen -- First Team
Sam Romanski -- First Team
Jed Schlegel -- First Team
Joshuah Kren -- Second Team
Samuel Staehling -- Second Team
Jaydon Haag -- Second Team
Kaleb Kaminski -- Second Team
Alec Benzinger -- Second Team
Nate Ihlenfeldt -- Third Team
Kyle Gannon -- Third Team
Austin Rupiper -- Third Team
Donovan Lucas -- Third Team
Peter Kissling -- Third Team

Joshuah Kren, Wisconsin Lutheran: In his first season at Martin Luther College after transferring from St. Cloud State, Joshuah made an immediate impact offensively. He finished the season third in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) in rushing with 936 yards and 11 scores, averaging a conference-best 8.9 yards per carry. He had a conference-best 1,409 all-purpose yards and had 17 total touchdowns. Joshuah was named the UMAC Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year to go along with his All-Conference and All-Region accolades.

Ian Paulsen, Watertown Luther Prep: Kren led the Martin Luther offense, but it was Ian who led their impressive defensive effort all season. Ian had 46 total tackles in UMAC play, while recording a safety and two blocked kicks. Ian was named the UMAC Most Valuable Defensive Player of the Year.

Samuel Staehling, Plymouth: Samuel capped off an incredible four-year career at wide receiver at St. Norbert College, culminating in being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American team and the Associated Press All-American second team. After finishing the nine-game season with 46 catches for 1,028 yards and 11 scores, Samuel was named to the Midwest Conference first-team for the third straight season. On top of that, he was named the Midwest Conference's Offensive Skill MVP for the season.

Quinn Meinerz, Hartford: Quinn was integral to the success of the UW-Whitewater offense this season starting on their talented offensive line. En route to a runner-up finish in all of Division 3, Quinn was named an Associated Press first team All-American and also a D3football.com second team All-American.

Mike Olsen, Arrowhead: Like Quinn, Mike was impressive on the offensive line for UW-Oshkosh and was named to the first team WIAC and All-West Region teams. To go along with those honors, Mike was named to the second team of the D3football.com All-American team.

Sam Romanski, Wausau East: Sam was a mainstay in opposing team's backfield for UW-Eau Claire this year. He led the WIAC with 11.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. To go along with his All-Conference and All-Region accolades, Sam was named to the D3football.com All-American second team.

Kaleb Kaminski, Tomahawk: Kaleb was stout all year for UW-Whitewater. He finished second in the WIAC with 101 total tackles, playing sideline to sideline at the linebacker position. Kalbe was named first team WIAC and also an Honorable Mention D3football.com All-American.

Jed Schlegel, Spring Valley: Jed tied for the WIAC in interceptions this year at UW-Stout with five, adding another seven breakups. He also was fifth in the WIAC in tackles from the defensive back position with 84. Jed was named to the D3football.com All-American third team.

Jaydon Haag, Sparta: Jaydon was incredible on special teams for UW-Oshkosh this year. Just a sophomore, Jaydon pinned 19 punts inside the 20 a WIAC lead. He also connected on all 12 field goals he attempted during the season with a long of 49. Jaydon was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Year. He also garnered second team All-American laurels from D3football.com and the Associated Press.

Division 3 All-Conference

CONFERENCE NAME COLLEGE AWARD HIGH SCHOOL
College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin David Meza Carroll College First Team Berlin
Alex Kujawa Carroll College Second Team Oshkosh North
American Rivers Conference Kordell Stillmunkes Dubuqe College First Team Cuba City
Jacob Beasley Dubuque College First Team Edgerton
Kody Riemer Dubuque College Second Team Menasha
Upper Midwest Joshuah Kren Martin Luther First Team Wisconsin Lutheran
Austin DeNoyer Martin Luther First Team Lakeside Lutheran
Carrington Cunningham Martin Luther First Team Wisconsin Lutheran
Jacob Schmidt Martin Luther First Team Watertown Luther Prep
Ian Paulsen Martin Luther First Team Watertown Luther Prep
Joe Herrewig Martin Luther First Team (KR), Second Team (DB) Winnebago Lutheran
Mike Radue Martin Luther Second Team Wisconsin Lutheran
Derek Gulrud Martin Luther Second Team Lakeside Lutheran
Micah Otto Martin Luther Second Team Watertown Luther Prep
Benjamin Hodel Martin Luther Second Team Lakeside Lutheran
Sam Glaubitz Northwestern Second Team River Falls
Mitchell Adrian St. Scholastica First Team Altoona
Midwest Conference Garrett Rau Knox College First Team (ST), Second Team (DB) Abbotsford
Ean Rau Knox College Second Team Abbotsford
Will Tews Lawrence University Second Team Appleton North
Austin Bunders Ripon College First Team Almond-Bancroft
Cameron Gruenwald Ripon College First Team (P), Second Team (DB) Iola-Scandinavia
Cormac Madigan Ripon College Second Team Laconia
Brad Guell Ripon College Second Team New Holstein
Matt Vanden Heuvel St. Norbert College Elite 20 Award Denmark
Samuel Staehling St. Norbert College First Team Plymouth
John Leonhard St. Norbert College First Team Notre Dame
E.J. Mastrocola St. Norbert College First Team Waterford
Austin Rupiper St. Norbert College First Team Evansville
Nate Ihlenfeldt St. Norbert College First Team Notre Dame
Kordell Draves St. Norbert College First Team Southern Door
Blake Olejniczak St. Norbert College First Team Notre Dame
Joe Peterson St. Norbert College First Team Union Grove
Jake Berken St. Norbert College Second Team Green Bay Preble
WIAC Sam Romanski UW-Eau Claire First Team Wausau East
Victor Martinelli UW-Eau Claire First Team Milton
Drew Shrader UW-Eau Claire Second Team Arrowhead
Austin Belot UW-Eau Claire Second Team Neenah
Ben Peterson UW-Eau Claire Honorable Mention New Richmond
Rusty Murphy UW-La Crosse First Team Cudahy
Peter Kissling UW-La Crosse First Team Oregon
Jake Simuncak UW-La Crosse Second Team South Milwaukee
Cameron Sorenson UW-La Crosse Honorable Mention Oshkosh North
Zachary Zillmer UW-La Crosse Honorable Mention Black River Falls
Connor Wears UW-La Crosse Honorable Mention Amery
Justin Kasuboski UW-Oshkosh First Team Omro
Alex Wipperfurth UW-Oshkosh First Team Sauk Prairie
Mike Olsen UW-Oshkosh First Team Arrowhead
Brady Heimer UW-Oshkosh First Team Kimberly
Nick Noethe UW-Oshkosh First Team Mount Horeb
Jaydon Haag UW-Oshkosh First Team Sparta
Mitchell Berghs UW-Oshkosh First Team Arrowhead
Brandon Kolgen UW-Oshkosh Second Team Appleton North
Trenton LaCombe UW-Oshkosh Second Team Seymour
Kollyn Beyer UW-Oshkosh Second Team Mount Horeb
Riley Kallas UW-Oshkosh Honorable Mention Winneconne
Brandon Hughes UW-Oshkosh Honorable Mention Brookfield Central
Logan Heise UW-Oshkosh Honorable Mention Wausau West
Tory Jandrin UW-Oshkosh Honorable Mention Southern Door
Calvin Shilling UW-Oshkosh Honorable Mention South Milwaukee
Kobe Berghammer UW-Oshkosh Newcomer of the Year Cumberland
Wyatt Thompson UW-Platteville First Team Mount Horeb
Tyler Reinhardt UW-Platteville First Team Slinger
Tyler Knigge UW-Platteville Second Team Waukesha South
Andrew Schweigert UW-Platteville Second Team Sussex Hamilton
Hunter Grams UW-Platteville Second Team Lodi
Drew Rakers UW-Platteville Second Team Brookfield East
Bryce Arneson UW-Platteville Honorable Mention Barneveld
Jackson McMahan UW-Platteville Honorable Mention Belleville
Antonio-Jose Ramos UW-Platteville Honorable Mention Arrowhead
Alex Herink UW-River Falls First Team Hudson
Jared Hunter UW-River Falls Second Team Luck
Max Praschak UW-River Falls Second Team Somerset
Andy Metcalf UW-River Falls Honorable Mention La Crosse Logan
Donovan Lucas UW-Stevens Point First Team (DB &KR) Brown Deer
Jonte Webb UW-Stevens Point Second Team Marinette
Jalen Burks UW-Stevens Point Second Team Milwaukee Riverside
Kameron Kryzanski UW-Stevens Point Second Team Thorp
Berkley Corvino UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention D.C. Everest
Nevada Laabs UW-Stevens Point Honorable Mention Merrill
Jed Schlegel UW-Stout First Team Spring Valley
Alec Benzinger UW-Stout First Team Mukwonago
Bailey Roux UW-Stout Second Team Rice Lake
Luke Wilz UW-Stout Second Team Manawa
Sean Borgerding UW-Stout Honorable Mention Spring Valley
Kyle Gannon UW-Whitewater First Team Waukesha West
Quinn Meinerz UW-Whitewater First Team Hartford
Ryan Wisniewski UW-Whitewater First Team Sparta
Kaleb Kaminski UW-Whitewater First Team Tomahawk
Jacob Erbs UW-Whitewater Second Team Reedsburg
Nate Tranel UW-Whitewater Second Team Lancaster
Jared Zausch UW-Whitewater Honorable Mention Ozaukee
JT Parish UW-Whitewater Honorable Mention Cambridge
Justin Hansen UW-Whitewater Honorable Mention Beloit Turner
Justin Prostinak UW-Whitewater Honorable Mention Lake Country Lutheran

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