July 6, 2005
Philadelphia, Pa. -
The preseason accolades continued to mount for Illinois State senior offensive lineman Stafford Davis when he was named to The Sports Network 2005 Preseason All-America First Team Wednesday. Davis was joined by Redbird senior punter Ryan Hoffman, who garnered second team honors.
"This is just a testament to what Illinois State University, the coaching staff and the Redbird football program is all about," Davis said. "I have just taken advantage of the opportunities presented to me and I owe this to my teammates. Playing next to Mike (Stegeman), (Jeremy) Melville and Isaiah (Wiggins) combined with going up against guys like (Justin) Martindale and Jarek (Thomas) every day in practice has made me a better player."
Davis, who previously received preseason all-America accolades from Lindy's and Street & Smith's, has started all 34 games of his college career at left guard and he led the team in 2004 with 140 knockdowns in 2004, including two games with over 20 knockdowns in each. The 2004 All-Gateway First Team selection also only had three missed assignments all season.
Hoffman, who earned second team all-conference honors in 2004, ranked No. 3 in the nation last season with a 43.87 yard punting average, which was tops in the Gateway. In 2003, Hoffman guided the Redbirds to a No. 1 national ranking in net punting at 39.2 yards per kick.
Davis was one of three Gateway players named to the first team joining Missouri State placekicker Jon Scifres and Western Kentucky cornerback Antonio Thomas.
