PITTSBURG, Kan. -  Six members of the Shepherd University football team have been named to the 2015 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Team. Junior wide receiver Billy Brown (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) was a first team selection, while junior quarterback Jeff Ziemba (Newark, Del./St. Mark's), sophomore offensive lineman Lavonte Hights (N. Chesterfield, Va./Meadowbrook), and senior defensive end Shaneil Jenkins (District Heights, Md./Suitland) were named to the third team. Junior return specialist CJ Davis (Hagerstown, Md./South Hagerstown) and sophomore linebacker James Gupton (Waldorf, Md./North Point) were honorable mentions selections

Brown had 89 receptions for 1,492 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Rams this season.  All three marks set Shepherd single season records. He ranked second nationally in receiving yards.

Ziemba led the Rams to the NCAA Division II Championship game before bowing to Northwest Missouri State. Ziemba led the Rams to a 13-1 overall record, the Super Region 1 title and was named the MEC Offensive Player of the Year. Ziemba completed 235 of 373 passes for 3,414 yards and 30 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

Hights keyed the Rams' offensive line as the starter at right tackle all season.

Jenkins recorded 41 tackles (26 solos). He led the Rams with 23 tackles-for-loss (-106 yards) and 13.5 sacks (-80 yards). He added three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a blocked kick.

Davis had 27 kickoff returns for 823 yards, both Shepherd single season marks. He ranked fifth in NCAA II in kickoff returns with a 30.5 average. Davis also added 19 punt returns for 210 yards with an 11.1 average.

Gupton recorded 80 tackles (45 solo). He added 4.5 tackles-for-loss (-10 yards) and a pass breakup. He recorded a game-high 19 tackle s in the national championship game against Northwest Missouri State.

The Don Hansen Division II All-America Team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.

The Don Hansen Football Committee selected All-Super Region teams following the season, with the first-team and second-team All-Super Region players advancing to the national ballot.

A total of 187 players earned some form of Don Hansen All-America honors. Players from 100 of the 170 football-playing schools in Division II earned Don Hansen All-America accolades. National Champion Northwest Missouri led the way by placing nine players on the All-America squad, while national runner-up Shepherd and national semifinalist Grand Valley State landed six honorees apiece.

2015 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Team.
First Team Offense
POS NAME HT WT YR SCHOOL HOMETOWN
QB Jason Vander Laan 6-4 244 SR Ferris State Frankfort, Ill.
FB Kamal Cass 5-11 185 SO Eastern New Mexico Clovis, N.M.
RB Ja'Quan Gardner 5-7 190 SO Humboldt State Ceres, Calif.
RB Cameron McDondle 5-7 202 SR CSU-Pueblo Littleton, Colo.
WR Billy Brown 6-4 236 JR Shepherd Gaithersburg, Md.
WR Keelan Cole 6-2 175 SR Kentucky Wesleyan Louisville, Ky.
WR Jon Schnaars 6-3 210 SR East Stroudsburg Harrisburg, Pa.
TE Cole Spurgeon 6-3 225 SR Colorado Mines Gretna, Neb.
AP Jesse Zalk 5-8 160 JR Central Washington Battle Ground, Wash.
C Jake Daugherty 6-2 294 SO Ferris State Big Rapids, Mich.
OG Alfredo Moreno 6-2 285 SR Midwestern State Phoenix, Ariz.
OG Orion Awa-Dubose 6-1 294 SR West Georgia Oxnard, Calif.
OT Chris Reaper 6-3 281 SR Findlay Toledo, Ohio
OT Shane Smith 6-4 297 SR Northwest Missouri Shelbina, Mo.
PK Simon Mathieson 6-4 205 JR Northwest Missouri Vedbaek, Denmark

First Team Defense
POS NAME HT WT YR SCHOOL HOMETOWN
DE Morgan Fox 6-4 259 SR CSU-Pueblo Fountain, Colo.
DE Josh Gordon 6-2 255 SR Minnesota State Milwaukee, Wis.
DE Matt Judon 6-4 255 SR Grand Valley State West Bloomfield, Mich.
DG/DT Anthony McDaniel 6-1 275 SR Bowie State Ft. Washington, Md.
DG/DT Brandon Yost 6-2 290 SR Northwest Missouri Omaha, Neb.
LB Tyler Condit 5-11 235 SR New Haven Caldwell, N.J.
LB Jewell Ratliff 6-1 238 SR Tuskegee New Orleans, La.
LB D'Gary Wallace 6-0 210 SR Urbana Dayton, Ohio
CB Michael Jordan 6-0 200 SR Missouri Western Hazelwood, Mo.
CB Solomon St. Pierre 5-11 178 SR Sioux Falls Wagner, S.D.
S Antion McBee 6-2 210 SR Southwest Baptist St. Louis, Mo.
S Carlo Thomas 6-2 185 SO Johnson C. Smith East Orange, N.J.
P Matt Klingler 6-1 235 SR Lindenwood St. Louis, Mo.
RS Amyr Smith 5-9 170 FR Morehouse Atlanta, Ga.

Second Team Offense
POS NAME HT WT YR SCHOOL HOMETOWN
QB Brent Wilson 6-0 194 SR Emporia State Ponca City, Okla.
FB B.J. McCoy 5-8 215 JR Shorter Villa Rica, Ga.
RB Anthony Bilal 5-8 185 SR Lake Erie Painesville, Ohio
RB Austin Ekeler 5-9 198 JR Western State Eaton, Colo.
WR Reece Horn 6-3 215 SR Indianapolis Carmel, Ind.
WR Jameson Parsons 6-2 201 JR St. Cloud State Eagan, Minn.
WR Keshaun Taylor 6-1 180 So Mars Hill Homestead, Fla.
TE Conner Doherty 6-3 250 JR Northern State Brookings, S.D.
AP Marques Rodgers 5-10 173 SO Western New Mexico Gardena, Calif.
C Joe LoShiavo 6-3 305 JR Slippery Rock Lakewood, Ohio
OG Stephen Evans 6-4 302 JR North Alabama Boston, Mass.
OG Jim Walsh 6-5 310 SR Grand Valley State Howell, Mich.
OT Herschel Prater 6-6 325 SR Minnesota State Ferguson, Mo.
OT Dominique Robertson 6-5 306 JR West Georgia Redlands, Calif.
PK Brent Wahle 6-2 175 SR Ohio Dominican Pataskala, Ohio

Second Team Defense
POS NAME HT WT YR SCHOOL HOMETOWN
DE Collin Bevins 6-6 286 JR Northwest Missouri Creston, Iowa
DE Marcus Martin 6-3 245 SO Slippery Rock West Mifflin, Pa.
DE Justin Woods-West 6-2 265 SR Central State (Ohio) Detroit, Mich.
DG/DT Alex Tucci 6-2 307 SR West Texas A&M Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
DG/DT Jared Washington 6-2 305 SR West Alabama Lanett, Ala.
LB Jacob Bernhard 6-0 226 SR Western State Fort Lupton, Colo.
LB Connor Harris 6-0 243 JR Lindenwood Lee's Summit, Mo.
LB Jordan Herdman 6-1 233 JR Simon Fraser Winnipeg, Manitoba
LB Austin Jacques 6-3 240 SR Johnson C. Smith Springdale, Md.
CB Dominique Rouse 5-10 180 SR Midwestern State Apopka, Fla.
CB Torie Wagner 5-9 180 SR Charleston (W.Va.) Severn, Md.
S Kevin Berg 5-11 184 JR Northwest Missouri Bolingbrook, Ill.
S Aaron Terry 5-11 195 JR California (Pa.) Pasadena, Md.
P Zach Cimaglia 6-1 215 JR Adams State Charlotte, N.C.
RS Deonte Harris 5-8 175 FR Assumption Baltimore, Md.

Third Team Offense
POS NAME HT WT YR SCHOOL HOMETOWN
QB Brady Bolles 6-3 205 SR Northwest Missouri Lincoln, Neb.
QB Matt Soltes 6-3 220 SR East Stroudsburg Vernon, N.J.
QB Jeff Ziemba 6-3 210 JR Shepherd Newark, Del.
FB Michael Patrick 5-8 205 SR Lenoir-Rhyne Atlanta, Ga.
RB Geremy Alridge-Mitchell 5-8 203 SR West Texas A&M Dallas, Texas
RB Shamar Greene 5-9 185 JR Slippery Rock Duquesne, Pa.
RB Chris McClendon 5-10 220 SR Panhandle State Rixey, Ark.
RB Clay McKenzie 5-11 200 SO Central Oklahoma Callisburg, Texas
WR Matt Lehman 6-3 200 JR Clarion Lower Burrell, Pa.
WR Le'Nard Meyers 6-0 185 SR Tarleton State Gatesville, Texas
WR David Moore 6-2 220 JR East Central (Okla.) Gainsville, Texas
WR Donovan Thompson 6-0 190 SO Angelo State Houston, Texas
WR Matt Williams 6-2 195 JR Grand Valley State Geneva, Ill.
TE Kenny Johnston 6-4 195 JR Florida Tech Jacksonville, Fla.
AP Alquawn Vickers 5-8 168 FR-RS Concordia-St. Paul Ft. Pierce, Fla.
C Derek Evans 6-1 275 SR Carson-Newman Aloca, Tenn.
OG Landon Chappell 6-2 283 SR Central Oklahoma Newcastle, Okla.
OG Ethan Cooper 6-4 320 JR Indiana (Pa.) Steelton, Pa.
OT Elwood Clement 6-5 310 SR Texas A&M-Commerce Deptford, N.J.
OT Lavonte Hights 6-3 288 SO Shepherd North Chesterfield, Va.
PK Nick Christiansen 6-3 238 SO Miles Clayton, N.C.

Third Team Defense
POS NAME HT WT YR SCHOOL HOMETOWN
DE Andrew Cohen 6-3 255 SR West Chester Holland, Pa.
DE Shaneil Jenkins 6-4 275 SR Shepherd District Heights, Md.
DG/DT Lee Campbell 6-2 300 SR Indianapolis Greenwood, Ind.
DG/DT Johnny Maxey 6-5 305 SR Mars Hill Columbia, S.C.
LB Deonate Gary 6-1 220 JR Central State (Ohio) Lakeland, Fla.
LB Brock Long 5-11 210 SR Fort Hays State Assaria, Kan.
LB Jacob Vollstedt 6-2 221 JR Northwest Missouri Iowa City, Iowa
CB Jaleel Canty 5-10 195 JR Ferris State Lansing, Mich.
CB Bryce Enyard 6-1 189 SR Northwest Missouri Huntsville, Mo.
S Marqui Christian 6-1 205 SR Midwestern State Spring, Texas
S Brad McCurdy 6-1 205 SR Ohio Dominican Columbus, Ohio
P Brett Benes 6-0 180 JR Charleston (W.Va.) Boca Raton, Fla.
P Felipe Parra 5-10 190 JR West Texas A&M Center, Texas
RS Kieren Duncan 5-11 170 SR CSU-Pueblo Goodyear, Ariz.
RS Jason Greenway 5-9 203 SR Augustana (S.D.) Mitchell, S.D.

Honorable Mention
ALPHABETICAL, BY SCHOOL — Alderson Broaddus: Michael James, S; American International: Mike Ford, CB; Angelo State: Clayton Callicutt, DE; Kyle Washington, QB; Arkansas Tech: Logan Genz, LB; Ashland: Donzale Ashley, S; Augustana (S.D.): Trey Heid, QB; Charlie Hayes, WR; Brian Long, C; Jamal Samaha, DG/DT; Carson-Newman: Damian Baker, RB; Bentley: Tyler Ford, P; Bowie State: Brian Hall, S; Brevard: Kevin Weber, P; Catawba: Kyle Kitchens, LB; Johnathan Jean, DG/DT; Case Woodard, CB; Central Missouri: Billy Greco, PK; Ian Toalson, TE; Jason Venckus, DE; Charleston (W.Va.): Justin Johnson, OG; Clark Atlanta: Joshua Tate,CB; Colorado Mines: Justin Dvorak, QB; Colorado State-Pueblo: Gary Dixon, OT; Concord: Jeremiah Johnson, CB; Delta State: Cody Mills, P; Emporia State: Kavaski Ervin, WR; Mitchell Foote, WR; Austin Morton, PK; Eastern New Mexico: Cody Jurek, OG; Ferris State: Anthony Darkangelo, LB; Justin Zimmer, DE; Florida Tech: J.J. Sanders, DE; Fort Hays State: Treveon Albert, QB; Shaquille Cooper, RB; Matt Erbert, OT; Daniel Lindsey, S; Gannon: Mike Zanders, S; Glenville State: Rahmann Lee, RB; Grand Valley State: Marquez Gollman, LB; Jamie Potts, WR; Bart Williams; Harding: Trevon Biglow, DE; Henderson State: Josh Davis, LB; Lawrence Willis, OG; Humboldt State: Alex Cappa, OT; Logan Govan, C; Dillon Huffman, DG/DT; Lane: Gabriel Mass, DE; Lenoir-Rhyne: Joe Ray, OG; Chris Shaffer, LB; McKendree: A.J. Wentland, LB; Merrimack: Ben Polci, DG/DT; Michigan Tech: Alex Sherbinow, FB; Miles: Braysean Jones, DE; Minnesota Duluth: Peter Bateman, OT; Minnesota State: Tyler Henderson, LB; Missouri Western: Travis Anderson, OG; Newberry: Kyle Clark, P; New Haven: Zach Voytek, OT; North Alabama: Floyd Jones, LB; Luke Wingo, QB; North Carolina-Pembroke: B.J. Bunn, WR; Northern State: Channing Barber, CB; Northwest Missouri: Jordan Grove, FB; Northwestern Oklahoma: Joby Saint Fleur, DE; Ohio Dominican: Ben Cophr, OT; Da'Twane Harris, CB: Dez Stewart, WR; Ouachita Baptist: Kris Oliver, RB; Ke'Vontae Pope, RS; Panhandle State: Zacari Lavender, RS; Pittsburg State: Dino Teague, CB; Shepherd: C.J. Davis, RS; James Gupton, LB; Shorter: Jordan Shaw, S; Sioux Falls (S.D.): Antonio Green, OG; Slippery Rock: Joe Phillips, DG/DT; Cory Tucker, OT; Treven Williams, LB; Southwestern Oklahoma: Daniel Jones, RS; Texas A&M-Commerce: Lance Evans, WR; Tiffin: Antonio Pipkin, QB; Tusculum: Justin Houston, WR; Cameron Thomas, CB; Upper Iowa: Jevell Rollins, DG/DT; Valdosta State: David May, C; Cedric O'Neal, AP; Virginia-Wise: Zachary Blair, LB; West Georgia: Dallas Dickey, QB; Dylan Donahue, DE; West Liberty: Daree' Goodwin, TE; West Virginia Wesleyan: Michael Anderson, AP; Western State: Dakota Swinehart, P; William Jewell: Anthony Mullins, AP; Winona State: Josh Mikes, WR.