By ISU Sports Information
For the fifth time in the last week, Illinois State senior running back Marshaun Coprich was named as one of the best players in the country when the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced its 2015 Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team on Monday.
Coprich has accumulated several honors this offseason and was previously honored as an All-American by The Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA), STATS and The Associated Press.
A finalist for the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year Award, Coprich followed up a historic junior campaign in 2014 with another stellar effort during his senior season in 2015. The two-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year led the league in every rushing category and ranks No. 2 in the FCS in rushing yards (1,967) and rushing yards per game (151.3), and No. 3 in points per game (11.2). He helped Illinois State to a share of the MVFC title for a second-consecutive season and led the Redbirds to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons.
The Victorville, California, native rushed for over 100 yards in 10 games in 2015 and had four games with over 200 yards rushing, including a stretch of three-straight 200-plus yard efforts from Nov. 14 to Dec. 5. He finished his illustrious career with 5,201 rushing yards, second most in MVFC history behind Zach Zenner of South Dakota State, and scored 60 career touchdowns.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. In 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. A return specialist was added in 1997, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.
