Nagel, Vandenburgh Named To MVFC All-Academic Team

ST. LOUIS – Illinois State wide receiver Austin Nagel and linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh were among 51 student-athletes named Tuesday to the 2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Team voted on by league sports information directors.

Both Nagel and Vandenburgh were honored as MVFC All-Academic First Team selections. Nominees for the MVFC All-Academic Team must be starters or important reserves, must have participated in at least 50 percent of his team's games and carry a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.20 (on a 4.0 scale). Nominees in graduate school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or better both as an undergrad AND in graduate school.

Additionally, nominees must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and must have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. True freshmen, redshirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible. Graduate students who are competing at a different institution than the one from which they earned their undergraduate degree are eligible even if they are in their first semester at the graduate institution.

Nagel saw action in all 11 games for the Redbirds, with nine starting assignments. The senior led the team in receptions (19), yards (407) and receiving touchdowns (3) and averaged a team-best 21.4 yards per catch, with a long of 59 yards.  A 2020-21 MVFC All-Academic Second-Team selection, Nagel recorded two catches for 69 yards and a touchdown in the season opener and later had a season-high four catches for 100 yards at Southern Illinois. The Lemont, Illinois, native had two catches for 43 yards, including the game-winning 27-yard touchdown, in the overtime victory against UNI.

Vandenburgh, who was previously named a 2021 All-MVFC Honorable Mention Team selection, adds MVFC All-Academic Team honors for the second-straight season after earning second-team honors in the spring. He started all 11 games at linebacker for the Redbirds, led the team with four sacks and tied for the team lead with 8.5 tackles-for-loss. The Freeport, Illinois, native also ranked second on the team in tackles with 73 and was credited with a team-high eight quarterback hurries. He was named MVFC Defensive Player of the Week after recording a career-high 14 tackles with two sacks and 3.0 tackles-for-loss in the team's overtime win over UNI.

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