PITTSBURG, Kan. – Fort Hays State had five players named to the Don Hansen All-America Team for the 2015 season on Tuesday (Feb. 16). The five selections mark a new school record in the program’s NCAA Division II era for number of All-America selections in one season. Brock Long earned third-team honors at linebacker, while Treveon Albert (quarterback), Shaquille Cooper (running back), Matt Erbert (offensive line), and Daniel Lindsey (safety) earned honorable mention status.
Fort Hays State went 8-4 in 2015, tying the school record for wins in a season, and earned a bid to the Mineral Water Bowl, the program’s first postseason game since 1996.
Long is the only one of the group with multiple All-America selections in 2015, including first-team honors from two organizations. Long had one of the greatest all-around seasons at linebacker for FHSU. He set a new school record for tackles in a season with 171. It passed the former mark of 164 set by Alex Whitehill in 2011. Aside from the tackles, he finished with 21.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and four forced fumbles.
Albert was one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the nation with both his arm and legs. He finished the season with 1,752 passing yards and 1,228 rushing yards. He finished with the most rushing yards by a quarterback for a single season in FHSU history and fifth most rushing yards in a season overall. He finished his career with 8,111 yards of total offense, setting a new school record. He also set the FHSU career passing touchdowns mark at 55. With 2,399 career rushing yards, he finished seventh on the all-time chart at FHSU. He finished third on the career passing chart with 5,712 yards.
Joining Albert in one of the best rushing combinations nationally was sophomore, Shaquille Cooper. He finished the year with 1,441 rushing yards, the third-most in a single season at FHSU. Cooper averaged 120.1 rushing yards per game and he also hauled in a team-high 37 passes for 309 receiving yards. He finished the year with 1,753 all-purpose yards, averaging 146.1 per game.
Erbert adds the All-America honor to a pair of all-region selections this year. Erbert anchored the offensive line at left tackle, helping the Tigers average 251.1 rushing yards per game.
Lindsey finished the 2015 season with 85 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and four blocked kicks. He also was a huge asset on kick returns, setting a new single-season record for kick return touchdowns at FHSU with two. He averaged 27.9 yards per kick return with a total of 390 yards.