Former Mt. Vernon standout Tanner Koziol was one of two Ball State University tight ends to be named Freshman All-American by the College Football News.
The publication made the announcement Tuesday.
Koziol along with Brady Hunt, who played football at Delta, were selected. Hunt made the first team. Koziol earned third-team honors.
Koziol had a team-high seven touchdown receptions, which tied for the fifth-most in all of the FBS by a tight end and tied for the second-most among all freshmen regardless of position. In addition, he had 35 catches for 373 yards.
The Bloomingdale, Ill., native, who played his senior season at Mt. Vernon, caught a touchdown in four of his first five collegiate games, racking up five scores in that span. In MAC play alone, Koziol had 23 catches for 244 yards and four touchdowns.
Cole named HERO All-American
Indiana State safety Rylan Cole, a former standout at Mt. Vernon, was honored on the 2022 HERO Sports Sophomore All-American team as announced by the organization on Thursday afternoon.
Cole adds to his postseason accolades after previously being selected on the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Conference Second Team, MVFC All-Academic Honorable Mention team, and the CSC Academic All-District squad. The recognition was his first postseason All-American nod.
The McCordsville native became known as one of the premier tacklers in the MVFC finishing sixth in the conference in total tackles (84), while adding 6.0 tackles-for-loss. Additionally, Cole had a knack for making timely plays with the ball in the air finishing with a team-high three interceptions and 11 total passes defended.
Cole made a statement on opening night with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, and two interceptions in the season-opening win against North Alabama. He added a career-high 18 tackles against North Dakota State and a 12-tackle effort against Illinois State.
He further stepped up in conference play with three tackles-for-loss and six pass breakups over the final five weeks of the year while adding 37 tackles.
Men’s Soccer
Murphy is Academic All-American
Junior Tyler Murphy of the Trine University men’s soccer team has been honored as a member of the 2022 Academic All-America men’s soccer teams, as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC). The forward was recognized as a member of the First Team and becomes the first Trine men’s soccer player to earn Academic All-American accolades.
Along with his many accomplishments on the field, Murphy, who was a star at Greenfield-Central High School, is a standout in the classroom as well with a 3.97 cumulative grade point average (GPA) in Trine’s design, engineering and technology program. The complete Division III team had a 3.89 average GPA with the first team boasting a 3.93.
During the 2022 campaign, Murphy broke Trine’s NCAA Division III scoring record with a two-goal performance at Olivet. The previous record was held by Nooh Aljabaly with 27 goals scored and 65 points. The Greenfield native wrapped up his third season at Trine with 35 goals and 79 points, which places him second in both categories in the history of Trine men’s soccer.
In 19 games, Murphy scored a team-high 12 goals and had two assists for 26 points. Four times Murphy hit the back of the net for game-winning goals and converted all four penalty kick attempts he made in 2022. In the team’s MIAA (Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association) First Round match against Olivet College, Murphy became the third student-athlete in men’s soccer program history to record a four-goal match.
Within the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), Murphy led the conference in goals per game at 0.63 and shots on goal at 1.42 per game. He was also second in points per game (1.37), shots per game (2.79), total goals (12) and total points (26).
Murphy helped lead the Thunder to a 9-7-3 overall record and a third-place finish in the MIAA. The team made their third straight MIAA Tournament semifinal appearance in 2022.
