NORFOLK, Va. – The American Football Coaches Association named Norfolk State linebacker
Deon King to its 2015 FCS All-America team on Monday, making the senior standout NSU's first-ever consensus FCS All-American.
Like the Walter Camp All-America team released last week, the AFCA recognizes just one offensive and one defensive team in addition to one group of specialists. The voting is done strictly by coaches.
King is the first Spartan to ever earn AFCA honors during the school's Division I era (since 1998). Wide receiver James Roe earned AFCA recognition in 1994 and 1995, when the Spartans played in Division II. King is the first Spartan to be named to the FCS All-America first team by STATS (formerly The Sports Network), the Associated Press (AP), Walter Camp and now the AFCA – the four most well-respected organizations that honor FCS players.
King led both the FBS and FCS levels in tackles, with 163. He also notched 11 tackles for loss, three sacks and one interception en route to his third straight All-MEAC honor and second consecutive all-conference first-team award. He was also named a black college All-American last week by BOXTOROW.
Team Background: The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. In 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. A return specialist was added in 1997, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.
