Running Back Marshaun Coprich is a FCS All-American in 2014. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)
By ISU Sports Information
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Many accolades have been bestowed upon Illinois State junior running back Marshaun Coprich in 2014, however none have been as prestigious as his selection to the 2014 Walter Camp Football Foundation Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-America team on Tuesday.
Coprich is the first Redbird to be honored as a Walter Camp All-American since 2012, when his former teammate and current San Diego Charger Colton Underwood earned the honor. The team was selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the Football Championship Subdivision schools and certified by the accounting and auditing firm, Marcum LLP.
With his 258 yards rushing in ISU’s quarterfinal playoff win at Eastern Washington last weekend, the 2014 Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year became the first Redbird in school history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season, upping his season total to 2,089 yards. The Victorville, California, native also extended his school record of consecutive 100-plus yard rushing games to 13 overall.
Coprich also holds the ISU single-season rushing touchdowns mark with 26, has posted the highest rushing yards per game average in school history at 160.7 rushing yards per game, and has the most all-purpose yards in a season with 2,135. In addition to his re-writing of the school record books, Coprich has put his name in the national spotlight and currently ranks No. 1 in the FCS in rushing yards, rushing yards per game and rushing touchdowns.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
Coprich and the fifth-seeded Redbirds have advanced to the FCS semifinals for the second time in school history and will travel to Durham, New Hampshire, for a Saturday contest against the top-seeded New Hampshire Wildcats. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and streamed live on the WatchESPN app.
