2024 CSC Academic All-America Teams

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University quarterback Brayden Long took home the top scholar-athlete prize in Division II football as the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year and The Rock led all Division II schools with four players named to the Academic All-America Team that was announced Tuesday by the College Sports Communicators.
 
In additional to earning the top honor on the Division II team, Long was also named as the first team quarterback on the Academic All-America team. He is joined on the first team by defensive back Josh Stokes, while defensive backs Eddie Faulkner IV and Michael Henwood each picked up second team honors to give SRU a national-leading four total selections.
 
Long, Stokes and Faulkner are all repeat selections to the Academic All-America team, while Henwood picks up his first career recognition.
 
A senior from Hanover, Pennsylvania, Long was selected as the top scholar-athlete in Division II this year and becomes the second SRU football player and third SRU student-athlete from any sport to be named an Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. Receiver Henry Litwin took home the honor following the 2021 season and baseball standout Connor Hamilton earned the award in 2022.
 
Thanks to a partnership with the College Sports Communicators and the Maxwell Football Club, each of the four Academic All-America Team Members of the Year will be recognized in person at the 2025 Maxwell Awards Gala March 14 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Long will be joined at the black-tie affair by Division I winner Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, along with Division III winner Aaron Styverson (Saint John's) and NAIA winner Jameson Chesser (Taylor).  
 
The Maxwell Awards Gala will mark the second major awards show Long will attend this year after he was recognized in December at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards and the College Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in Las Vegas. Long was the only Division II finalist for the William Campbell Trophy, which went to Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, and was the only Division II player named to the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class.
 
This marks the second straight year that Slippery Rock has placed four players on the Academic All-America team after The Rock set a program record with four honorees last year as well.
 
In order to be eligible for an Academic All-America nomination, student-athletes must be at least sophomores in athletic and academic standing, must own a cumulative grade point average above 3.50 for all of their undergraduate and graduate studies and they must have significant athletic credentials.
 
The Academic All-America teams feature just 181 total football players out of the more than 90,000 total players from the three NCAA Divisions and the NAIA, meaning roughly 0.2 percent of collegiate football players are named to the Academic All-America team. The 181 honorees were selected from a field of 2,452 Academic All-District honorees.
 
Slippery Rock's honorees helped the team to a 12-2 overall record, a Super Region One title, a trip to the national semifinals and a No. 3 final national ranking this fall. A look at the academic and athletic accomplishments of SRU's four selections can be found below.
 
BRAYDEN LONG – QB
GPA: 4.0
Major: Sport Management (minor in leadership)
 
Long earned his undergraduate degree in May with a perfect 4.0 GPA and continued to carry that perfect mark through this fall while enrolled in post-baccalaureate classes. Altogether, Long completed 139 total credit hours with a perfect 4.0 GPA.  The most decorated Division II football student-athlete in terms of academic and athletic honors in the country this year, Long was the only Division II finalist for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy and was the only Division II member of the National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments. A two-time Academic All-American, Long was also named the PSAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2023-24 and was the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association Atlantic Region Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the only football player in the country to be recognized with that honor.
 
On the field this fall, Long led SRU to the national semifinals and a No. 3 final ranking after throwing for 3,470 yards to rank third among all players in Division II. He also ranked ninth in the nation in passing touchdowns with 28 and was 10th in the nation in points responsible for with 208 after rushing for six TD to account for 34 total touchdowns. He became the only QB in SRU history to top 3,000 yards in two separate seasons and leaves the program ranked No. 1 all-time in completions (631) and completion percentage (67%) and No. 2 all-time in passing yards (7,527) and passing TD (64), despite starting only two seasons. Long was named to All-PSAC, All-Region and All-America honors for the second straight year and was one of the eight national finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II Player of the Year for the second straight year.
 
JOSH STOKES – DB
GPA: 3.76
Major: Political Science (minor in Homeland Security)
 
Stokes earned his undergraduate degree in May with a 3.76 GPA and has maintained above a 3.75 GPA in his graduate business administration program as well. A two-time first team CSC Academic All-American, Stokes is just the fourth player in SRU history to be named to at least two first team Academic All-America squads. On the field this fall, he earned multiple All-America awards for the second year in a row after ranking third in the nation with 15 pass breakups and leading all players in Division II with four fumble recoveries. Stokes also tallied 36 solo tackles to rank third on the SRU defense and finished the year with 53 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 15 pass breakups and four fumble recoveries. He closed his four-year SRU career with 35 passes defended to rank No. 7 in program history in that category.
 
EDDIE FAULKNER IV – DB
GPA: 3.64
Major: Sport Management
 
Faulkner earned his undergraduate degree in sport management with a 3.64 GPA and maintained a 3.50 GPA in his graduate program for business administration this fall. He is a two-time Academic All-America honoree and a three-time Academic All-District selection. On the field, Faulkner was one of the team leaders and packed the stat sheet in nearly every defensive category on his way to earning All-PSAC honors for the second year in a row. He tallied 53 total tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, six pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, one blocked kick and one defensive touchdown. Faulkner forced two fumbles in the national semifinals and will depart SRU tied for third all-time with seven forced fumbles in his career.
 
MICHAEL HENWOOD – DB
GPA: 4.0
Major: Exercise Science
 
Henwood maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA as an exercise science major and becomes an Academic All-American for the first time in his career. He is a two-time Academic All-District honoree. On the field this fall in his first season as a full-time starter, he ranked second on the SRU defense in total tackles with 72 and led the team in both solo tackles (42) and interceptions (3). Henwood also tallied 3.0 tackles for loss, six pass breakups and one forced fumble to go along with his three interceptions from the safety position.




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