Six Illinois State football players have been named to the 2000 All-Gateway Football Conference team.
The six are offensive lineman Dan Hama (Brunswick, Ohio), kicker Jake Strader (Danville, Ill.), defensive tackle Devon Finn (Wheaton, Ill.), linebacker Galen Scott (Orlando, Fla.), defensive back Ryan Szokola (Trenton, Mich.) and defensive back Sam Young (Chicago, Ill.).
In addition, five Redbirds were named to the second team. Strader is the second-team punter, while Szokola is the return specialist on that squad. Others are running back Willie Watts (Dunnellon, Fla.), offensive lineman Andy King (Lincoln, Ill.) and defensive lineman David Bull (Port Byron, Ill.).
Hama helped Illinois State set a school record with 5,040 total yards. He graded out the highest of the Redbirds offensive linemen for the season. Straders field goal accuracy of 66.7% (12-of-18) was tops in the league.
Finn was part of a dominant defensive front that allowed just 122.8 rushing yards per game, the fourth-best total in school history. Scott finished with a team-high 135 tackles and leaves Illinois State as the schools all-time tackler with 528.
Szokola had a career-high 119 tackles and set Illinois State records for punt returns (50) and punt return yardage (436). Young led the Gateway with 20 passes broken up despite the fact that he missed three games due to injury.
Illinois State won its last six games and finished the season 7-4. The Redbirds were 4-2 in the Gateway, good enough for second place.
