BJ Blunt named Walter Camp All-American

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese linebacker B.J. Blunt has added a second All-America first team award to his portfolio, this time being named to the 2018 Walter Camp Football Championship Subdivision All-America team.

Blunt is joined by Sam Houston State defensive lineman Derick Roberson as the only two Southland Conference representatives on the team.

Earlier this week, the New Orleans native was named to the AP All-American first team, becoming the first McNeese player to garner first team AP honors since Bryan Smith in 2007.

Blunt is the first Cowboy football player to receive Walter Camp All-America honors since Smith in 2007 and just the 16th player in school history to receive the recognition.

He placed seventh in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award that goes to the top defensive player in the FCS, and accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Classic which will take place on January 19 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Blunt had a remarkable senior year that saw him record 102 total tackles, 11 sacks, and 20 tackles for a loss, all in 10 games played.

His tackles for a loss total ranked him third in the FCS while his sack total ranked him sixth in the nation.

He recorded 10 or more tackles in a game four times on the season and had a high of 20 tackles in a win over Abilene Christian, making him the first Cowboy player to record 20 stops in a game since the 1997 season.

He earned Southland Conference player of the week honors twice on the year, first when he recorded nine tackles with three sacks, four tackles for a loss and recovered a fumble in a win over league champion Nicholls. He also garnered STATS and College Sports Madness National Player of the Week honors for that game.

Two weeks later he was voted as the league player of the week in a win over Stephen F. Austin when he finished with 12 tackles, two sacks, 5 ½ tackles for a loss and recovered a fumble.

Blunted ended his two-year career at McNeese with 145 tackles, 13 sacks and 29.5 tackles for a loss.

The Walter Camp All-America team was selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the Football Championship Subdivision schools and certified by the accounting and auditing firm, Marcum LLP.

In all, players from 10 different conferences and 23 institutions are represented on the 2018 Walter Camp FCS All-America team. The Colonial Athletic Association and Big Sky Conference each have the most honorees with four, while the Missouri Valley Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Southern Conference and Pioneer League all had three honorees.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.

2018 Walter Camp FCS All-America Team
Offense
Position Name School
WR Michael Brandy San Diego
WR Kelvin McKnight Samford
TE Donald Parham Stetson
OL Iosua Opeta Weber State
OL B.J. Autry Jacksonville State
OL Matt Kauffman Towson
OL Zack Johnson North Dakota State
OL Drew Forbes SE Missouri State
OL Mario Farinella Delaware
C Zach Larsen Southern Utah
QB Delvin Hodges Samford
RB Joe Protheroe Cal Poly
RB Ryan Fulse Wagner
PK Aidan O’Neill Towson

Defense
Position Name School
DL Darryl Johnson North Carolina A&T
DL Isaiah Mack Chattanooga
DL Derick Roberson Sam Houston State
DL Darin Greenfield South Dakota
LB BJ Blunt McNeese
LB Zach Hall SE Missouri State
LB Dante Olson Montana
DB Isiah Swann Dartmouth
DB Jimmy Moreland James Madison
DB Robbie Grimsley North Dakota State
DB Will Warner Drake
P Chris Faddoul Florida A&M
KR Jean Constant Bryant