University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI football: Day, Cook selected to HERO Sports FCS Preseason All-America Team
7/19/2023 10:05:00 AM | Football
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI quarterback Theo Day and place kicker Matthew Cook have been named HERO Sports FCS Preseason All-Americans, as announced by HERO Sports on Wednesday morning.
The selection is both the second preseason honor for both student-athletes. Day was named to the East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 list on Monday, while Cook earned The Bluebloods FCS Preseason Second Team All-America honors.
A First Team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) quarterback a year ago, Day accounted for 3,121 passing yards and 26 touchdowns through the air, leading the MVFC in multiple categories, including passing efficiency, passing yard, total offense and yards per attempt. He threw a career-high six touchdowns last November in UNI's season finale at South Dakota, as well as five touchdown passes in the Panthers' one-point win at No. 20 Southern Illinois.
Cook, a Cedar Falls, Iowa product entering his final season at UNI, was named to three All-America teams in 2022 (AP Second Team, STATS Perform Third Team, HERO Sports First Team) after a record-setting season. Converting on 82% of his field goal attempts (14-of-17), Cook set both the UNI and MVFC records for career field goals made (67), and also broke the Panther record with 124 consecutive made PAT kicks in his career.
UNI kicks off the 2023 season on Sept. 2 at Iowa State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST.
ABOUT THE HERO SPORTS
HERO Sports launched in 2014 as BennettRank, a computer ranking of all major men's and women's D1, D2, and D3 college sports. In 2015, BennettRank rebranded to HERO Sports and expanded beyond rankings to content. HERO Sports began to cover all levels of NCAA sports. Its mission was to advance interest and appreciation for small-school athletics. HERO Sports also produces NBA, NFL, WNBA, and MLB content with our team of experienced writers.
In its coverage of all levels of college athletics, HERO Sports became a go-to site for FCS football news and analysis beginning in 2015 and into the 2016 season and beyond. HERO Sports talks to dozens of players and coaches for stories every year, and releases both preseason and postseason All-American teams along with preseason Top 25 rankings.
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