  Delaware's
Ben Cross, Chris Mooney Selected to ESPN
The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American
Team
DATE:
December 2, 2004
WALTHAM,
MA -- University of Delaware senior
defensive linemen Ben Cross (above left)
and Chris Mooney (above right) have been
selected to the 2004 ESPN The Magazine
Academic All-American Football team as
selected by the College Sports Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA).
A native
of Hamilton, VA (Loudoun Valley HS), Cross
was named to the first team while Mooney,
a native of Huntington, NY (Huntington
HS), was selected to the second team.
Cross earned Academic All-American honors
for the second straight year after being
named to the second team in 2003.
Delaware
joined Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Nebraska,
Penn State, Northern Colorado, Western
Illinois, and North Dakota State as the
only schools to have two or more players
selected to the two teams. The team
includes all players at the NCAA I-A and
I-AA levels. To be eligible,
student-athletes must carry a 3.2 or
better grade point index, have at least
sophomore class standing, and be a starter
or key reserve.
Cross, a
three-time member of the CoSIDA District 2
All-Academic team, becomes just the third
UD football player to earn first team
Academic All-American honors, joining
offensive tackle Yancy Phillips in 1970
and defensive end Bob Depew in 1971 and
1972. Mooney, a three-time member of the
CoSIDA District 2 team, becomes the
seventh Delaware player to earn Academic
All-American second team honors.
Cross has
appeared in all 12 games this season with
two starts and has registered 20 tackles
this season, including 15 solo stops. He
has posted 5.5 tackles for losses of 22
yards and has one sack and one fumble
recovery. He has played in 46 career games
and posted eight tackles for loss. A
three-time member of the Atlantic 10
Academic Honor Roll and the 2004 Atlantic
10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Cross is a
civil engineering major with a 3.947 grade
point index.
Mooney,
who earned first team All-Atlantic 10
honors this season after being named to
the second team in both 2002 and 2003,
ranks among the top defensive linemen in
the country. He has started all 12 games
this season and ranks ninth on the team
with 41 tackles, including 25 solo stops.
He is second on the team with 6.5 sacks
and 11 tackles for loss this season and
also has two fumble recoveries and three
pass breakups. He is the team's active
career leader in both categories with 16
sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss in 50
career games played. A three-time member
of the Atlantic 10 Academic Honor Roll, he
carries a 3.509 gpa as an accounting
major.
Cross and
Mooney have led the Blue Hens to a 9-3
record, a share of the Atlantic 10
Conference title, and a berth in the NCAA
I-AA playoffs for the second straight
year. After capturing the I-AA title in
2003, the Blue Hens face William &
Mary in the quarterfinals this Saturday in
Williamsburg, VA.
Utah
junior quarterback Alex Smith was named
the Academic All-America of the Year.
Mooney and Cross were the only students
from the Atlantic 10 Conference named to
either team.
AGATE:
CoSIDA/ESPN
The Magazine Academic All-American 1st
team: Offense - QB - Alex Smith
(Utah); WR - Kevin Knutson (Valparaiso),
Lance Moore (Toledo); TE - Billy Bajema
(Oklahoma State); RB - Evan Harney (San
Diego), Nick Hartigan (Brown); OL -
Stephen Bono (Lafayette), Trenton Franz
(Wyoming), Brandon Mason (Elon), Rudy
Niswanger (LSU), Matt Tarullo (Syracuse);
K - Justin Langan (Western
Illinois)
Defense
- DL - Luis Castillo (Northwestern), Vince
Crochunis (Pittsburgh), Ben Cross
(Delaware), Dan Stephens (Pittsburgh); LB
- Jonathan LeDonne (Robert Morris), Rob
Robertson (Mississippi), Chad Sievers
(Nebraska); DB - Jeff Backes
(Northwestern), Andrew Guman (Penn State),
Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin), Morgan Scalley
(Utah); P - Cody Ridgeway
(Mississippi).
CoSIDA/ESPN
The Magazine Academic All-American 2nd
team: Offense - QB - Tony Stauss
(North Dakota State); WR - Vincent Jackson
(Northern Colorado), Jason Wood (Arkansas
State); TE - Jay Cline (Liberty); RB -
Nick Chournos (Weber State), Steve Verhoff
(Dayton); OL - John Bechdol (Harvard),
Jeff Berk (West Virginia), Perry Cox
(Western Illinois), Greg Eslinger
(Minnesota), Justin Gibson (Bucknell); K -
Justin Zaitz (Northern Colorado);
Defense
- DL - Ryan Carter (Air Force), Chris
Jones (UC Davis), Chris Mooney (Delaware),
Ben Whitney (Wofford); LB - Joey King
(Portland State), Jayd Kittelson (North
Dakota State), Craig Unger (Morehead
State); DB - Reed Doughty (Northern
Colorado), Jared Essler (North Dakota
State), Kellen Huston (Dayton); P - Adam
Finley (Michigan).
- DDD
-
Copyright,
© 2004, University of Delaware. All
rights reserved.
Please direct Athletics questions to the
Athletics
Media
Relations
office.
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