Associated Press tabs Spelman as All-American

Posted on December 16, 2016

By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL – Illinois State senior center Mark Spelman earned the first All-America honor of his career, when the Associated Press named him a third-team selection on its 2016 Associated Press FCS All-America Team.

Spelman was among 13 players from the Missouri Valley Football Conference to earn All-America honors from the AP. The Brookfield, Wisconsin, native was also recently named the Rimington Award winner as the best center in the FCS. Jermaine Barton is the last Redbird offensive lineman to earn All-America honors as a third-team selection by The Sports Network (now STATS FCS) in 2014.

Spelman earned All-MVFC First-Team honors for the second-consecutive season in 2016, making him the first Redbird offensive lineman to earn back-to-back first-team plaudits since Isaiah Wiggins repeated in 2006-07. Spelman started in all 12 games for the Redbirds, who ranked No. 6 in the MVFC in total offense (390.1). Spelman was named MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week, following a great performance in a win over South Dakota State and was named as one of three captains in a vote by his teammates for the season.

A semifinalist for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, Spelman was also lauded for his athletic and academic skills as a MVFC All-Academic team selection for the third season in a row and was previously selected as a member of the 2015 Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team.

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