NORMAL, Ill. - A pair of Illinois State football standouts were included among the best 100 student-athletes of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Monday, when seniors Evan Frierson and Tyrone Walker were named to the 2012 FCS Preseason All-America Team by College Sporting News.
Frierson and Walker were each named third-team selections by the organization, which is the largest and oldest news service solely devoted to publishing original content and other information of the FCS. In total, 57 FCS schools are represented by this year's preseason squads, while all 13 FCS conferences are on the list. The Colonial Athletic Association topped all of the conferences with 15 selections, followed by the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 14.
The preseason All-America honor is the first for Frierson and the second this summer for Walker, who was also named a third-team selection by The Sports Network, along with junior fullback Jordan Neukirch.
After transferring to Illinois State from Illinois, Frierson made an immediate impact on the Redbird defense and started 10 games at outside linebacker for ISU, which led the conference in total defense (294.8 ypg). The Washington, D.C., native led the team and was second in the Valley with 15 tackles-for-loss and ranked second on the team with 66 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He was named MVFC Newcomer of the Week, after recording eight tackles, three sacks and four tackles-for-loss in a win over nationally-ranked South Dakota
A 2011 All-MVFC Second-Team selection, Walker led the team with 64 catches for 787 yards and eight touchdowns on the season and averaged 12.3 yards per catch. In 2010, the Indianapolis, Ind., native was an All-Missouri Valley Football Conference Second-Team selection and led the Redbirds with 974 yards receiving on 59 catches and hauled in 12 touchdown passes, the second-highest single-season mark in school history. That followed up a freshman campaign that saw Walker named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team, after he led all league freshmen with 37 receptions for 485 yards, which set an ISU freshman record with those 37 receptions.
The Redbirds will open fall training camp Saturday, Aug. 4, in preparation for the season-opener Saturday, Sept.1, against Dayton at Hancock Stadium.
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