WACO, Texas -- The postseason honors continued to roll in for Midwestern State offensive guard
Islam Sbeih Wednesday as the 6-1, 298-pound senior became the fifth player in program history named as an American Football Coaches Association All American.
Sbeih, who earned second-team honors, joins offensive lineman Amini Silatolu (2010, 2011), running back Keidrick Jackson (2013), safety Marqui Christian (2015) and offensive lineman
Akoakoa Paleka-Kennedy (2016) as players to earn AFCA top honors.
Sbeih also extends MSU's run of O-Line Pride making four consecutive years that a member of the unit earned All-America honors. Shadow Stokes began the streak earning D2Football.com honors in 2014. Alfredo Moreno was a D2CCA, Hansen Football Gazette and D2Football.com pick in 2015 before Paleka-Kennedy earned AFCA, Hansen Football Gazette and D2Football.com accolades in 2016.
Sbeih is one of six Lone Star Conference players to earn AFCA All-America mention. Eastern New Mexico senior running back Kamal Cass and Texas A&M-Commerce senior offensive lineman Jared Machorro gained first-team mention. Joining Sbeih on the second team were Texas A&M-Commerce senior quarterback Luis Perez and senior defensive back Yusef Sterling-Lowe along with Angelo State junior defensive lineman Markus Jones.
Sbeih keyed an offensive line unit for the nation's 11th-best offensive attack as the Mustangs piled up 483.3 yards per game ranking eighth in NCAA Division II in scoring with 42.5 points per game leading the Mustangs to an outright Lone Star Conference championship and to the program's second unbeaten regular season.
The o-line permitted a national best 2.91 tackles for loss per game while allowing eight sacks in 11 games to rate eighth in Division II.
Also a first-team D2CCA All-Super Region Four pick and an All-LSC first-team selection his fall, Sbeih started all 11 games at left guard.
Midwestern State achieved its 18th consecutive winning season finishing at 10-1 while advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the eighth time.
AFCA Division II Coaches All America Team
First Team Offense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| QB |
Travis Tarnowski |
Ashland (Ohio) |
Sr. |
5-11 |
218 |
Broadview Heights, Ohio |
| RB |
Marc Jones |
Gannon (Pa.) |
Sr. |
5-11 |
225 |
Painesville, Ohio |
| RB |
Kamal Cass |
Eastern New Mexico |
Sr. |
5-11 |
185 |
Clovis, N.M. |
| WR |
Donta Armstrong |
West Alabama |
Sr. |
5-10 |
151 |
Bruce, Miss. |
| WR |
Weston Carr |
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) |
So. |
6-2 |
200 |
Benicia, Calif. |
| TE |
Seth Hebert |
Central Missouri |
Jr. |
6-4 |
225 |
St. Louis, Mo. |
| OL |
Jared Mochorro |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
Sr. |
6-7 |
280 |
Coldspring, Texas |
| OL |
Joseph Lacey |
LIU-Post (N.Y.) |
Sr. |
6-6 |
328 |
Medford, N.Y. |
| OL |
Desmond Harrison |
West Georgia |
Sr. |
6-7 |
288 |
Houston, Texas |
| OL |
Andrew Alten |
Findlay (Ohio) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
308 |
Loveland, Ohio |
| OL |
Ruben Holcomb |
Indianapolis (Ind.) |
Sr. |
6-4 |
317 |
Fort Wayne, Ind. |
| AP |
Deonte Harris |
Assumption (Mass.) |
Jr. |
5-6 |
170 |
Baltimore, Md. |
| K |
Casey Bednarski |
Minnesota State-Mankato |
Jr. |
6-1 |
230 |
Oconomowoc, Wis. |
First Team Defense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| DL |
Blake Nelson |
Colorado Mesa |
Sr. |
5-11 |
230 |
Centennial, Colo. |
| DL |
Marcus Martin |
Slippery Rock (Pa.) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
255 |
West Mifflin, Pa. |
| DL |
Zach Sieler |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
Jr. |
6-6 |
290 |
Pinckney, Mich. |
| DL |
Nathan Shepherd |
Fort Hays State (Kan.) |
Sr. |
6-5 |
300 |
Ajax, Ontario |
| LB |
Kyle Kitchens |
Catawba (N.C.) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
205 |
Decatur, Ga. |
| LB |
Brandon Payer |
Colorado State-Pueblo |
Jr. |
6-4 |
248 |
Pine, Colo. |
| LB |
Osband Thompson |
Tuskegee (Ala.) |
Sr. |
6-0 |
205 |
Miami, Fla. |
| DB |
Max Redfield |
Indiana (Pa.) |
Sr. |
6-1 |
205 |
Mission Viejo, Calif. |
| DB |
Chris Johnson |
North Alabama |
Jr. |
6-3 |
200 |
Birmingham, Ala. |
| DB |
Marcus Jones |
Northwest Missouri State |
Sr. |
6-0 |
178 |
Gladstone, Mo. |
| DB |
Andrew Spencer |
Winona State (Minn.) |
Sr. |
6-1 |
210 |
Lake Villa, Ill. |
| P |
Cody Mikell |
Henderson State (Ark.) |
Sr. |
6-0 |
215 |
Poplarville, Miss. |
Second Team Offense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| QB |
Luis Perez |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
Sr. |
6-3 |
220 |
Chula Vista, Calif. |
| RB |
Chris Robinson |
Delta State (Miss.) |
Sr. |
5-9 |
196 |
Bude, Miss. |
| RB |
Ja'Quan Gardner |
Humboldt State (Calif.) |
Sr. |
5-7 |
205 |
Ceres, Calif. |
| WR |
Keshaun Taylor |
Mars Hill (N.C.) |
Sr. |
6-1 |
180 |
Homestead, Fla. |
| WR |
J.T. Luper |
Central Oklahoma |
Sr. |
5-9 |
175 |
Sherman, Texas |
| TE |
Tanner Hudson |
Southern Arkansas |
Sr. |
6-5 |
239 |
Camden, Tenn. |
| OL |
Donatavius Blair |
West Alabama |
Sr. |
6-7 |
294 |
Anniston, Ala. |
| OL |
Taylor Nikithser |
California (Pa.) |
Sr. |
6-4 |
300 |
Wexford, Pa. |
| OL |
Austin Fleer |
Colorado Mesa |
Sr. |
6-8 |
300 |
Aurora, Colo. |
| OL |
Sam Lee |
Augustana (S.D.) |
Sr. |
6-5 |
300 |
Blue Earth, Minn. |
| OL |
Islam Sbeih |
Midwestern State |
Sr. |
6-1 |
298 |
East Oakland, Calif. |
| AP |
B.J. Mukelvene |
Wingate (N.C.) |
So. |
5-10 |
170 |
Waxhaw, N.C. |
| K |
Cole Tracy |
Assumption (Mass.) |
Sr. |
5-11 |
190 |
Camarillo, Calif. |
Second Team Defense
| Pos. |
Player |
School |
Class |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
| DL |
Davondrick Lison |
Southern Arkansas |
Jr. |
6-2 |
213 |
Arkansas City, Ark. |
| DL |
Myles Humphrey |
Shepherd (W. Va.) |
Sr. |
6-2 |
245 |
Upper Marlboro, Md. |
| DL |
Adonis Davis |
Florida Tech |
Jr. |
6-3 |
257 |
Columbus, Ohio |
| DL |
Markus Jones |
Angelo State |
Jr. |
6-3 |
255 |
Crowley, Texas |
| LB |
Austin Weltha |
McKendree (Ill.) |
Sr. |
5-10 |
220 |
Bloomington, Ill. |
| LB |
Dennis Gardeck |
Sioux Falls (S.D.) |
Sr. |
6-0 |
205 |
Lake in the Hills, Ill. |
| LB |
Kevin Haynes |
Central Washington |
Sr. |
6-2 |
228 |
Battle Ground, Wash. |
| DB |
Yusef Sterling-Lowe |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
Sr. |
6-2 |
170 |
Oakland, Calif. |
| DB |
Tevin Madison |
West Alabama |
Sr. |
5-10 |
168 |
Fayette, Ala. |
| DB |
Tavierre Thomas |
Ferris State (Mich.) |
Sr. |
6-0 |
205 |
Detroit, MIch. |
| DB |
Darius Williams |
Colorado State-Pueblo |
Jr. |
6-0 |
195 |
Gilbert, Ariz. |
| P |
Justin Marcha |
Emporia State (Kan.) |
Sr. |
6-1 |
200 |
Edmond, Okla. |
-- MSUMustangs.com --
