DALLAS – Conference USA has named 11 football student-athletes to the 2021 C-USA Football All-Academic Team for excelling both on and off the field this season. Nine schools are represented on this year’s team, led by West Division champion UTSA, with three selections. Additionally, four student-athletes are previous honorees.
Charlotte redshirt senior QB Chris Reynolds, a four-year starter and two-time team captain for the 49ers, is a four-time Conference USA Honor Roll member. The program’s all-time record-holder in career passing yards and passing touchdowns has a 3.275 GPA and is earning his Master of Science in Finance & Development. Reynolds has made the Dean’s List on two occasions, and ranks second in C-USA in passing touchdowns and passing yardage.
Florida Atlantic redshirt junior P Matt Hayball picks up his second-consecutive All-Academic Team honor, with a 3.92 GPA in Finance. Hayball is a four-time Florida Atlantic University Dean’s List selection and has served as the team’s special teams’ captain four times in 2021. On the field, Hayball finished the regular season as C-USA’s second-ranked punter (45.7 yards per attempt) and ranks 17th in the FBS.
Louisiana Tech junior OL Abraham Delfin has been named to the league’s All-Academic Team in back-to-back seasons and has a 4.00 GPA, earning his Master of Science in Engineering & Technology. Delfin graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering technology in May 2021 and is a four-time member of the Commissioner’s Honor Roll and is a C-USA Academic Medalist. Delfin started all 12 games in 2021 for the Bulldogs.
Middle Tennessee senior S Reed Blankenship has a 3.28 GPA while earning his Master’s degree in Business Administration. A three-time C-USA Honor Roll selection, Blankenship is also the program’s all-time leading tackler and was voted the team’s permanent team captain for the third-straight season. Blankenship leads C-USA in solo tackles per game (5.9) as the Blue Raiders head to the Bahamas Bowl.
Old Dominion redshirt senior LB Jordan Young earns his first All-Academic Team nod, buoyed by a 3.63 GPA while earning his Master’s degree in Sport Management. Young, a four-year starter, already earned his bachelor’s degree in Sport Management and has been named to the Dean’s List and C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll during his career. Young finished the regular season as the Monarchs’ leading tackler, with 70 total stops.
Rice redshirt junior DL Trey Schuman is a first-time All-Academic Team honoree and is posting a 4.00 GPA while earning his Master’s degree in Business Administration. A 2021 Campbell Award semifinalist, Schuman was named Rice’s 2019 Football Scholar Athlete of the Year and is a three-time Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar Award. Schuman has also earned the C-USA Academic Medal and has been selected to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll on four occasions each. The Burleson, Texas, native finished his season with 40 total tackles, five tackles-for-loss and three sacks.
Southern Miss redshirt sophomore LB Hayes Maples is a first-time All-Academic Team selection and has a 3.706 GPA in Business Administration. Maples has been a member of the Dean’s List on five occasions, and ON the Athletic Directors Honor Roll once. The Hattiesburg, Miss., native has 60 total tackles, 4.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks and forced two fumbles in 12 appearances in 2021.
UTSA graduate student K Hunter Duplessis is one of three Roadrunners to be named to the All-Academic Team in 2021 and has a 4.00 while earning his Master of Business Administration in Technology Management. Duplessis ranks third nationally in scoring (10.2 ppg) to help lead the 11-1 roadrunners The San Antonio native was the 2020-21 C-USA Football Scholar Athlete of the Year and this marks his second appearance on the All-Academic Team (2020). Duplessis is a five-time member of the C-USA Honor Roll and is a C-USA Academic Medal recipient.
UTSA junior P Lucas Dean joins two of his teammates on the All-Academic Team, and this is his first time receiving this honor. Dean boasts a 3.9 GPA in Economics and has been one of the most efficient punters in C-USA, averaging 45.6 yards per attempt. The Dunsborough, Australia, native has landed on the C-USA Honor Roll twice and is a two-time C-USA Academic Medal recipient.
UTSA senior OL Ahofitu Maka has a 3.74 GPA in Cyber Security and like his teammate Dean, is a first-time All-Academic Team honoree. Maka is a C-USA Academic Medal recipient and a two-time C-USA Honor Roll member. The Honolulu native was named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2020-21.
WKU redshirt junior DE Juwuan Jones is a second-time All-Academic Team selection (2020) and boasts a 4.00 GPA in Special Education. Jones was a 2020-21 CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and earned the 2021 Commissioner’s Academic Medal and Honor Roll. Jones has 38 tackles, four for loss and 3.5 sacks through 12 games for the East Division Champion WKU.
2021 All-Academic Team
Chris Reynolds, Charlotte, RS Sr., QB, 3.275, MS in Finance & Development
*Matt Hayball, Florida Atlantic, RS Jr., P, 3.92, Finance
*Abraham Delfin, Louisiana Tech, Jr., OL, 4.00, Master of Science Engineering & Technology
Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee, Sr., S, 3.28, MBA
Jordan Young, Old Dominion, RS Sr., LB, 3.63, Sport Management Master’s
Trey Schuman, Rice, RS Jr., DL, 4.00, MBA
Hayes Maples, Southern Miss, RS So., LB, 3.706, Business Administration
*Hunter Duplessis, UTSA, Gr., K, 4.00, MBA (Technology Management)
Lucas Dean, UTSA, Jr., P, 3.9, Economics
Ahofitu Maka, UTSA, Sr., OL, 3.74, Cyber Security
*Juwuan Jones, WKU, RS Jr., DE, 4.00, Special Education
-ConferenceUSA.com-
