University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Trio of Panthers Named Sports Network All-Americans
12/19/2011 1:00:00 AM | Football
Three University of Northern Iowa football players have claimed another set of All-America honors, this time from The Sports Network/Fathead.com. Senior linebacker L.J. Fort was a first-team selection, while senior defensive tackle Ben Boothby and sophomore kicker Tyler Sievertsen earned second-team honors.
Fort is the first Panther selected to The Sports Network first team since offensive tackle Chad Rinehart in 2007.
Fort had previously been named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press. He was the nation's leading tackler with an average of 14.15 tackles per game, and his 184 total stops in 2011 set a UNI single-season record. Fort posted 10.0 tackles-for-loss, six forced fumbles, three pass breakups and one fumble recovery in 2011.
The MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, Fort has also been named the FCS National Player of the Year by College Sports Madness.
Boothby racked up 86 total stops from his defensive tackle position, including a team-leading 7.5 sacks and an MVFC-leading 18.5 tackles-for-loss. He was a first-team All-MVFC selection in each of the last two seasons and a first-team All-America pick by the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press in 2011. Boothby was also named to the Capital One Academic All-America first team this season.
This is Sievertsen's second All-America honor of the season, as he was named an Associated Press third-team All-American last week. Sievertsen led UNI in scoring in his first season as the Panthers' starting kicker, going a perfect 39-of-39 on PAT attempts and 18-of-20 on field goal tries.
His 93 points were the most scored in a season by a UNI player since 2008. Sievertsen converted eight field goals of 40 yards or further, including a season-long 48 yards on three different occasions. He was named first team All-MVFC and a finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award as one of the nation's top placekickers.
