2024: Earned FCS All-America honors from Phil Steele, the AFCA, The Associated Press and Stats Perform ... All-MVFC First Team selection at linebacker ... saw action in all 14 games, with 11 starts at middle linebacker … led the Redbirds and tied for first in the MVFC in tackles with 112 (50 solo) … also ranked sixth in the league in TFLs with 11.0 and added 3.0 sacks … also had the league-lead in interceptions with four on the year … credited with eight pass breakups, one forced fumble and two quarterback hurries … had six double-digit tackling efforts, including a career-high 12 in a win at Indiana State … posted 2.5 TFLs in back-to-back games against Southern Illinois and Missouri State … tallied an interception each in wins over Western Illinois, Southern Illinois, Youngstown State and Southeast Missouri State ... tallied seven stops, a half sack and an interception in the FCS playoff win at Southeast Missouri State … two-time MVFC Defensive Player of the Week.
2023: 2023-24 ISU Athletics Male Freshman of the Year ... Stats Perform and Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-America Team selection ... named Phil Steele FCS National Defensive Freshman of the Year ... Missouri Valley Football Conference Freshman of the Year ... All-MVFC Second Team selection ... MVFC All-Newcomer Team pick ... finished fourth in the voting for the 2023 Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award, which honors the national freshman of the year in Division I FCS college football ... started all 11 games at middle linebacker as a redshirt freshman, tying for second on the team with 74 tackles (42 solo) … only league player to be named to the Jerry Rice Award watch list … was fourth on the team with 9.0 TFLs on the season and was also credited with 1.5 sacks, seven pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries … had nine tackles, a half sack and 2.0 TFLs in first career start vs. Dayton … posted a career-high 11 tackles with two pass breakups at Eastern Illinois … tallied a sack and six tackles in a win over Lindenwood … recorded 10 tackles and 1.5 TFLs against UNI.
2022: Redshirted.
Normal Community HS: Two-year letterwinner for head coach Jason Drengwitz ... earned all-Big 12 conference honors as well as Pantagraph All-Area first team honors ... also earned all-state plaudits ... invited to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Shrine All-Star Football Game ... as a team captain, helped lead team to a conference championship and the state playoffs ... as a junior, earned all-Big 12 conference honors and all-state academic honors ... also a standout on the basketball court for the Ironmen.
Personal: Born April 12, 2004, in Spokane, Washington ... son of Travis and Tracy Niekamp ... oldest of three children ... his father, Travis was a former Redbird football player and currently serves as the ISU Defensive Coordinator ... his grandfather, Robert, played baseball at Ohio University and later played in the minor leagues with the New York Yankees organization.
