COMPLETE ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
RICHMOND, Va. – Villanova senior offensive lineman Jake Prus has been voted as the 2015 CAA Football Student-Athlete of the Year, headlining a list of 339 honorees named to the league’s Academic All-Conference Team on Wednesday.
Prus excelled both on the field and in the classroom this past season at Villanova. The Woodstown, N.J. native was a mainstay on the Wildcats’ offensive line, helping the unit finish fourth in CAA Football in total offense and fifth in rushing.
A bio-chemistry major, Prus carries a 3.83 cumulative GPA, and was named to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. He was also selected as the 2015 CAA Football Chuck Boone Leadership Award recipient.
Additionally, Prus is heavily involved with the Get in the Game, Save a Life program at Villanova. During the 2015 season, Prus volunteered to donate bone marrow to a patient in need, which forced him to sacrifice competing in the Wildcats’ game against Fordham and half of their rivalry matchup with Delaware.
Prus becomes the second-straight Villanova player to earn the league’s Student-Athlete of the Year honor, following Don Cherry in 2014.
Overall, Stony Brook leads all CAA Football schools with 50 Academic All-Conference selections. The Seawolves are followed by Villanova with 42 – including both Prus and Cherry – Elon with 41, and UAlbany, Delaware and James Madison with 30 apiece.
Included in the list of honorees are six members of the 2015 All-CAA Football First Team: Cherry, William & Mary offensive lineman Andrew Jones, New Hampshire cornerback/punt returner Casey DeAndrade, Villanova defensive lineman Tanoh Kpassagnon, JMU cornerback Taylor Reynolds, and William & Mary punter Hunter Windmuller.
Joining Prus as finalists for the Student-Athlete of the Year distinction were DeAndrade, Jones, UAlbany kicker Patrick Toole, Delaware safety Ryan Torzsa, Elon safety Miles Williams, JMU offensive lineman Dominick Richards, Maine linebacker Austin Brown, Rhode Island safety Tim Wienclaw, Richmond offensive lineman Thomas Evans, Stony Brook quarterback Conor Bednarski, and Towson punter Jacob Ryder.
To be eligible for Academic All-Conference honors, players must hold a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher. Voting for the Student-Athlete of the Year award was conduced by the league’s media relations directors.