NORMAL, Ill. – As the 2026 college football season quickly approaches, a quartet of Illinois State standouts have been tabbed as preseason FCS All-Americans by Stats Perform on Monday on the annual list.
Senior linebacker Tye Niekamp was named a First-Team selection, senior running back Victor Dawson and senior running earned Second-Team honors, and senior offensive lineman Landon Woodard and senior safety La'Shavion Brown garnered Third-Team plaudits.
Niekamp was a consensus First-Team All-American selection in 2025, earning honors from FCS Football Central on SI, The Associated Press, Stats Perform, the AFCA, the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Phil Steele. The Normal, Illinois, native was one of 11 players named to the 13th annual 2025 Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association's (FCS ADA) All-America Team, as the top linebacker in the country, and finished in the Top-10 of the Buck Buchanan Award voting, which is presented to top defensive player in the FCS. The 2025 MVFC Defensive Player of the Year and All-MVFC First-Team selection, Niekamp led the FCS in total tackles with 160 on the season, and was credited with 3.5 sacks, 16.0 TFLs, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, four quarterback hurries and a safety on the year.
Dawson was a 2025 MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection and ranked third in the MVFC in rushing yards with 1,377. The Akron, Ohio, native ranked No. 9 in the FCS in rushing yards and tied for second on the team with five rushing touchdowns. He averaged 81.0 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry in 17 games played, while recording six games with over 100 yards rushing, including four-straight 100-yard efforts to end the year in the FCS playoffs.
Woodard earned FCS Football Central on SI Third Team All-America honors in 2025 and was also named a second-team All-MVFC pick on the offensive line for the Redbirds. The Waukesha, Wisconsin, native started in all 17 games played for the Redbirds and graded out at 90 percent for the season. He was key member of the offensive line unit that helped the Redbirds rush for 169.8 yards per game on the ground and score 30.8 points per game, which ranked in the top 30 in the FCS during the regular season. The Redbirds also ranked fifth in the MVFC in total offense at 374.8 yards per game amd ranked in the top 15 in the country in fewest sacks allowed.
Brown was an All-MVFC Second-Team selection and MVFC All-Newcomer Team member in 2025, after playing in all 17 games at safety for the Redbirds following a transfer from Hutchinson Community College. The Fairhope, Alabama, native ranked second on the team with 93 tackles, including 49 solo stops, and was also credited with four pass breakups, one tackle-for-loss and one interception on the year. He posted eight games with six or more tackles to help the Redbirds advance to the FCS National Championship game.
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