NAIA ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

ASHLAND – Three weeks after collecting the Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year award, Southern Oregon's Noah Turnbull was named a first-team NAIA All-American by the American Football Coaches Association on Wednesday.

Turnbull, a senior defensive end, was one of 11 players selected for the first team on defense. No Raider on that side of the ball had made the first team since Julius Rucker in 2015, and the last SOU defensive lineman to land the honor was Garret Gelker 20 years ago.

Turnbull led all Frontier players with nine sacks and 13 tackles for losses. His sack total was the seventh highest in the NAIA during the regular season. He made 36 total tackles, 22 of which were of the solo variety.

The Bend product joined the Raiders as a redshirt in 2018 and recorded all 15 of his career sacks over the last three seasons. His DPOY award was the first for SOU since joining the Frontier in 2012.

With Turnbull as the main attraction, the Raiders ranked fifth in the NAIA in sacks per game (3.4).

They played their best football down the stretch, winning five of their last six games while allowing an average of 14.3 points. The run culminated in a 31-16 upset of No. 5-ranked College of Idaho, which went on to advance to the national semifinals.