KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Carroll College offensive lineman Alex Hoffman was named to the NAIA football All-America first team by the American Football Coaches Association on Tuesday.
Hoffman, a 6-foot-6, 295-pound senior from Draper, Utah, recently signed an undrafted free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints. He helped Carroll go 3-1 during the regular season this spring to clinch the Frontier Conference championship and a berth in the NAIA national playoffs. The Saints lost to Morningside (Iowa) 55-0 in the first round.
Hoffman helped pave the way for a Carroll offense that averaged 194 rushing yards per game. Matt Burgess was the Saints' biggest contributor carrying the ball, finishing the spring season with 671 yards and four touchdowns on 124 carries.
Burgess, a sophomore from Junction City, Ore., was one of four Frontier Conference players to receive All-American honorable mention recognition. Alex Bush, a junior defensive lineman from Rocky Mountain College; Dylan Wampler, a sophomore linebacker from MSU-Northern; and Kai Quinn, a senior quarterback from Eastern Oregon were the Frontier's other honorable mentions.
Chase Van Wyck, a redshirt senior defensive lineman at Eastern Oregon, and Taeson Hardin, a junior defensive back at College of Idaho, joined Hoffman on the All-America first team out of the Frontier. Offensive lineman PJ Schubert, a redshirt junior at Eastern Oregon, was a second-team choice.
Two Montanans playing at Dickinson State were also recognized by the AFCA. Matt Dey, a 6-0, 275-pound senior center for the Blue Hawks, was a second-team selection, and Tyger Frye, a senior receiver, was an honorable mention choice. Receiver Jaret Lee was also named to the second team for DSU.
The complete NAIA All-America football teams can be found here.
The NAIA national football playoffs started on April 17 with eight first-round games. The national championship game between Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Northwestern (Iowa) is May 10 at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium in Grambling, La.
