KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Julius Rucker, Southern Oregon University's junior safety, on Tuesday was named to the 25-person American Football Coaches' Association NAIA All-America first team.

Rucker, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound product of Portland's Westview High, is the 13th Raider in program history to become an All-American defender and the sixth defender named to the first team. He joins Nathan Mart (2000) and Nick Danicken (2002) as SOU's only first-team defensive backs.

Last year's NAIA championship defensive player of the game, Rucker spilled that momentum into his third season to compile a team-high 92 tackles, including 73 solo and four for losses. He's broken up nine passes, intercepted one, forced a fumble and brought a 94-yard fumble recovery to the house for his second touchdown as a Raider.

For his career, Rucker has 201 tackles and seven interceptions. He established a career-high with 14 tackles in SOU's season-opener at Carroll.

The AFCA has selected an All-American team every year since 1945. SOU was represented by four All-American's last year: player of the year Austin Dodge, Daniel Breaux, Drew Gibson and Dylan Young, all of whom graduated.

Also representing the Frontier Conference on the first team were Carroll offensive lineman Josh James, Montana Tech running back Nolan Saraceni, Montana Western defensive back AJ Wilson and College of Idaho defensive back Nate Moore. On the second team were Rocky Mountain receiver Andre McCullouch, Eastern Oregon receiver/tailback Jace Billingsley and Rocky kicker Evan Connolly.

Morningside quarterback Ryan Kasdorf and Dakota State linebacker Ben Kullos received the most votes. One of them will likely be named player of the year when the announcement is made Friday night in Daytona Beach, Fla.
 

2015 AFCA-NAIA Coaches' All-America First Team

Offense
Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	School	Hometown
WR	Krishawn Hogan	6-4	210	Jr.	Marian (Ind.)	Indianapolis, Ind.
WR	Clarence Clark	5-10	185	So.	Baker (Kan.)	Phoenix, Ariz.
WR	Rob Lockhart	6-1	185	Sr.	Faulkner (Ala.)	Delray Beach, Fla.
OL	Jeff Lindenmoyer	6-4	285	Sr.	Ave Maria (Fla.)	St. Johns, Fla.
OL	Hea Tuifua	5-10	240	Jr.	William Penn (Iowa)	Salt Lake City, Utah
OL	Josh James	6-6	315	Sr.	Carroll (Mont.)	Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
OL	Gus Hancock	6-3	280	Sr.	Saint Francis (Ind.)	Spencer, Ind.
OL	Meyer Bohn	6-2	265	Sr.	Dickinson State (N.D.)	Bismarck, N.D.
QB	Ryan Kasdorf	6-1	215	Sr.	Morningside (Iowa)	Newhall, Calif.
RB	Nolan Saraceni	5-10	195	Jr.	Montana Tech	Billings, Mont.
RB	Quan Weaver	5-11	200	So.	Pikeville (Ky.)	Frankfort, Ky.
Defense
Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	School	Hometown
DL	D'Vonn Brown	6-4	260	Jr.	SAGU (Texas)	Houston, Texas
DL	Mike Erpelding	6-2	210	Sr.	Grand View (Iowa)	Algona, Iowa
DL	Dylan Delk	6-3	220	Sr.	Tabor (Kan.)	Peabody, Kan.
DL	Sam Van Ginkel	6-5	241	Jr.	Northwestern (Iowa)	Rocky Valley, Iowa
LB	Aaron Cooper	6-4	233	Jr.	Kentucky Christian	Mayfield, Ky.
LB	Ben Kullos	5-9	210	Sr.	Dakota State (S.D.)	Peoria, Ariz.
LB	Alden Mann	5-10	200	Jr.	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	Wimberly, Texas
DB	AJ Wilson	6-1	240	Sr.	Montana Western	Helena, Mont.
DB	Adam Sauder*	6-3	220	Sr.	Taylor (Ind.)	Grabill, Ind.
DB	Nate Moore	5-9	170	Jr.	College of Idaho	Meridian, Idaho
DB	Julius Rucker	6-2	200	Jr.	Southern Oregon	Portland, Ore.
Specialists
Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	School	Hometown
P	David Strickland*	6-0	228	Sr.	Point (Ga.)	Opelika, Ala.
K	Matt Cotiguala	6-2	180	Sr.	St. Ambrose (Iowa)	Orland Park, Ill.
AP	Stephen Simms	5-8	175	Jr.	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	Valparaiso, Ind.

2015 NAIA Coaches' All-America Second Team

Offense
Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	School	Hometown
WR	Christian Haack	6-0	181	Jr.	Benedictine (Kan.)	El Paso, Texas
WR	Andre McCullouch	6-0	202	Sr.	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	Riverside, Calif.
WR	Jace Billingsley	5-9	190	Sr.	Eastern Oregon	Winnemucca, Nev.
OL	Mitch Butterfield	6-1	270	So.	Friends (Kan.)	Wichita, Kan.
OL	Macander Dieudonne	6-2	260	Sr.	Webber International (Fla.)	Fort Pierce, Fla.
OL	Jess Croley	5-11	286	Sr.	Tabor (Kan.)	Wylie, Texas
OL	Zavon Moore	6-1	290	Sr.	Missouri Valley	Kansas City, Mo.
OL	Joe Brummer	6-2	275	Sr.	Morningside (Iowa)	Harlan, Iowa
QB	Jacob Russell	6-4	240	Sr.	Campbellsville (Ky.)	Lawrenceburg, Ky.
RB	Nate Meier	5-11	203	Jr.	Doane (Neb.)	Pierce, Neb.
RB	Niagel Curtis	5-9	205	Sr.	Reinhardt (Ga.)	Adairsville, Ga.
Defense
Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	School	Hometown
DL	Trey Barnes	6-1	245	Jr.	Concordia (Neb.)	Seward, Neb.
DL	Tim Smith	6-3	245	Jr.	St. Francis (Ill.)	Oregon, Ill.
DL	Zach Lanning	6-3	262	Jr.	Ottawa (Kan.)	McPherson, Kan.
DL	Derrick Lawrence	6-2	255	Sr.	Tabor (Kan.)	Houston, Texas
LB	Tucker Pauley	5-10	200	Sr.	Baker (Kan.)	Grain Valley, Mo.
LB	Eric Walker	5-11	225	Sr.	Southwestern (Kan.)	Ashburn, Ga.
LB	Brady Bonte	6-2	220	Sr.	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	Garretson, S.D.
LB	Ryan Hartnett	5-10	225	Sr.	Marian (Ind.)	Miami, Fla.
DB	Carl Morgan	6-0	180	So.	SAGU (Texas)	Shreveport, La.
DB	Robert Lewis	6-0	180	Sr.	Grand View (Iowa)	Hewitt, Texas
DB	Justin Wohlert	5-9	180	Sr.	Northwestern (Iowa)	Hartley, Iowa
Specialists
Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	School	Hometown
P	Eddie Juarez	5-8	165	Jr.	Sterling (Kan.)	Pleasant Hill, Calif.
K	Evan Connolly	6-3	190	Sr.	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	Waterford, Ireland
AP	Wendall Williams	5-10	175	Sr.	Cumberlands (Ky.)	Syracuse, N.Y.

 

*-2014 AFCA NAIA All-American
%-2014 NAIA Second Team All-American