MICHAEL PODOBNIK NAMED AN AFCA NCAA DIVISION II
COACHES' ALL-AMERICA SELECTION

        WACO, Texas – Arkansas Tech Wonder Boy junior punter Michael Podobnik joined some elite company on Wednesday as he became the fourth Wonder Boy to ever be selected as an AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Division II Coaches’ All-American.

Podobnik was one of five Gulf South Conference players chosen to the 25-player team that is selected by the Division II coaches.

The AFCA Division II All-America selection Committee was made up of three head coaches from each of the nine AFCA’s districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts. Tech Head Football Coach Steve Mullins was a member of the Southeast District selection committee this season.

Podobnik joins former Wonder Boy kicker Piotr Styczen (1995), defensive lineman Tommy Edwards (2003) and cornerback Quincy Skinner (2006) as AFCA Division II All-Americans.

“What a tremendous and truly deserving honor for Michael Podobnik,” Tech Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Steve Mullins said Wednesday. “Michael had a tremendous season for us kicking the ball and was a weapon on special teams.”

Podobnik, a native of Frankfort, Ill., earns the All-America honor after a record-setting season for the Wonder Boys. This past season, Podobnik, who was a First-Team All-GSC selection as a punter and second-team selection as a kicker and was also named a First-Team Daktronics All-Southeast Region selection, led the GSC and NCAA Division II in punting with a 45.2 yard average per punt. In 10 games, he punted 43 times for 1,945 yards and had seven touchbacks and downed eight punts inside the 20-yard line. In addition, he had 13 punts over 50 yards, including a season-best 75-yard punt in the fourth quarter of Tech’s season opener at Northeastern State. Podobnik’s 45.2 yard average set a new single-season Tech and GSC mark. The previous Tech mark of 42.0 yards was set in 2003 by Tommy Edwards, while the old GSC mark of 43.5 yards was set in 1982 by Jacksonville State’s Greg Lowery. On the season, Podobnik was named the GSC Special Teams Player of the Week three times and was named the D2Football.com National Special Teams Player of the Week following the Harding game on Nov. 3. Against Harding, Podobnik averaged 52.5 yards on his four punts, which set a new Tech single-game record for punting average (51.0 was the previous record) and placed two punts inside the 20-yard line and boomed a 63-yard punt in the fourth quarter.

In addition to Podobnik, the other GSC players named to the AFCA D-II Coaches’ All-America team were Valdosta State receiver Cedric Jones, Delta State linebacker Michael Eubanks, North Alabama defensive back Craig Fox and West Georgia placekicker Jared Guberman.

Listed below is the complete 25-player AFCA Division II All-American team. North Dakota receiver Weston Dressler and California [PA] offensive lineman Tim McCutcheon are repeat AFCA All-American selections from last season.

OFFENSE                       Pos.   Yr.     School (Hometown)

Cedric Jones                   WR     So.     Valdosta State (Waycross, Ga.)

Weston Dressler              WR     Sr.     North Dakota (Bismarck, N.D.)

Mackenzy Bernadeau      OL      Sr.     Bentley (Waltham, Mass.)

Ben Hochstein                 OL      Sr.     Nebraska-Omaha (Hartington, Neb.)

Tim McCutcheon              OL      Sr.     California [PA] (Sewickley, Pa.)

Christian Morton              OL      Sr.     South Dakota (Norfolk, Neb.)

Vince Cashdollar              OL      Sr.     Ashland [OH] (Newark, Ohio)

Brad Roach                     QB     Sr.     Catawba (Williamston, N.C.)

Jamar Brittingham           RB      Sr.     Bloomsburg (Levittown, Pa.)

Xavier Omon                   RB      Sr.     NW Missouri State (Beatrice, Neb.)

Dervon Wallace               RB      Sr.     Shepherd (Lusby, Md.)

DEFENSE

Brandon Swain                DL      Jr.      West Texas A&M (Tulsa, Okla.)

Jake Visser                      DL      Jr.      Ferris State (Coopersville, Mich.)

Kurt Kissner                     DL      Sr.     Mesa State (Cedaredge, Colo.)

Michael Eubanks              LB      Sr.     Delta State (Cleveland, Miss.)

Anthony Adams               LB      Sr.     Grand Valley State (Troy, Mich.)

Will Clewis                       LB      Sr.     Central Oklahoma (Fort Worth, Texas)

Ken Rice                          LB      Sr.     Carson-Newman (Thomasville, Ga.)

Cary Williams                  DB     Sr.     Washburn (Miami, Fla.)

Kendall Ricketts               DB     Sr.     Central Missouri (Raytown, Mo.)

Craig Fox                        DB     Sr.     North Alabama (Kentwood, La.)

Ranardrick Phillips            DB     Sr.     Tarleton State (Madison, Fla.)

SPECIALISTS

Michael Podobnik          P       Jr.      Arkansas Tech (Frankfort, Ill.)

Jared Guberman             K        Jr.      West Georgia (Boca Raton, Fla.)

De’Audra Dix                   AP      Sr.     Johnson C. Smith (Merritt Island, Fla.)

         2007 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America Team

 -- Tech Athletics --