Thirteen Conference USA football student-athletes were named to the 2017 InTouch Credit Union C-USA All-Academic Team on Friday. Eleven programs are represented with Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee each placing two honorees. The squad is comprised of student-athletes who earned a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher, and serves as a starter or key reserve for their school. The roster is selected by a vote of the league’s football media relations directors.  

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Florida Atlantic QB Jason Driskel is one of two Owls voted to the all-academic roster. The redshirt junior dons a 3.336 in civil engineering and has garnered two Commissioner’s Honor Roll selections. Driskel made his first start of the season against Buffalo on Sept. 23 and has since led the Owls to an undefeated C-USA slate to claim the East Division title. The Oviedo, Florida, native captained Florida Atlantic’s record performance against North Texas on Oct. 21, as its 804 yards of total offense established new C-USA and school records. His 24-35-0 performance with a pair of TDs earned him C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 23. Driskel ranks eighth in the league with 205.5 yards a game.
 
The Owls are also represented by graduate PK Greg Joseph, who graduated in the spring with a degree in exercise science and health promotion and is currently working toward a MBA in health administration. Joseph crafted a 3.595 GPA while also serving as the president of Florida Atlantic’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He is a two-time recipient of C-USA’s Spirit of Service Award. Joseph’s accolades on the field include a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place Kicker Award, given to the best placekicker in FBS. On the year, the Owl is 13-of-16 on field goals and set the all-time school record for the longest make, a 54-yarder versus Navy on Sept. 1. Joseph has also compiled 85 kicks as the kickoff specialist, 65 being touchbacks, and is 54-of-58 on PATs.
 
Middle Tennessee has a pair of honorees in QB Brent Stockstill and PK Canon Rooker. Stockstill is a repeat all-academic selection, three-time C-USA Honor Roll recipient and tenured member of the Middle Tennessee Dean’s List. He was named the 2017 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports-Scholar Award winner and picked to the 2017 AFCA All Good Works Team, while acting as a semifinalist for this season’s Wuerffel Trophy. The redshirt junior has a 3.810 while working toward a graduate degree in leisure and sport management. The redshirt junior is the Blue Raiders’ career leader in TD passes, 300 and 400-yard passing games, and passing yards per game. In 2017, Stockstill played in six games, combining for 13 TDs and an average of 240 yards a game.
 
Rooker, a redshirt senior, posted a 3.741 in his biochemistry studies. The Richmond Hill, Georgia, product earned a C-USA Academic Medal in 2014 and is a four-time member of the league’s Honor Roll. He was also named a 2017 Lou Groza Award finalist. Rooker became the first Blue Raider kicker to make a pair of field goals from 50+ yards, totaling 14 field goals on the season.
 
 
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Charlotte LB Tyriq Harris posted a 3.62 as a biology major, while starting 11 games for the Niners this season. The redshirt sophomore was named to the 2016 and 2017 C-USA Honor Roll, 2016 Athletic Director’s List, and the Chancellor’s List in 2015-2016. On the field, Harris immediately made an impact as a starter in his first two years, leading to a selection on last year’s C-USA All-Freshman Team. In 2017, the 49er ranked eighth on the squad with 45 tackles (23 solo), 7.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 2 QB hurries and a fumble. Harris holds a share of the program’s single-game record 4 QB hurries (Rice, 2016), and tallied a career-high seven tackles against FIU earlier this season.
 
FIU sophomore Dallas Connell was selected to the all-academic squad with a 3.69 GPA in health service administration. Connell is a two-time FIU Dean’s List honoree and a 2016 C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll addition. Connell started eight of nine games this season at right guard, playing a team-high 633 snaps and allowing just one sack while on the offensive line.
 
Marshall is represented by repeat all-academic selection Ryan Yurachek, who earned a 3.52 as a marketing major with placements on the 2016 and 2017 Wuerffel Trophy Watch, Mackey Award and AFCA Good Works Team Watch Lists. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, product went the extra mile to extend a helping hand this season toward Hurricane Harvey relief. Yurachek raised more than $10,000 via GoFundMe.com. The senior TE owns 48 catches for 430 yards and nine TDs this season. He was also named National Tight End of the Week after a three-TD showing against Cincinnati.
 
Riley Mayfield has started all 12 of North Texas’ games this season at RT, allowing just 1.8 sacks per game and helping lift the Mean Green to the C-USA West Division title. The redshirt senior is the all-academic team’s only student-athlete to don a 4.0 as he works to obtain a masters of business administration. Old Dominion’s Oshane Ximines garnered a 3.5 as a finance major. The redshirt junior is a two-time member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and has been named to the Dean’s List. Ximines is second in the league with 0.33 forced fumbles per game, third with 0.71 average sacks and fifth with 14 tackles for loss.
 
Rice makes an appearance on the all-academic squad by way of D.J. Green. The graduate student made nine starts in 12 games played, and ranks fourth on the team with 48 tackles. His best efforts this season include eight-tackle performances against both Houston and UTSA. Green earned a 3.94 with an undergrad degree in sports management, and has an unblemished 4.0 while studying to earn his masters of accounting. The Owl is a three-time President’s Honor Roll student, and four-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and C-USA Academic Medal recipient. Not to mention he has earned Rice Scholar Athlete twice and is a three-time Football Peer Academic Advisor.
 
Southern Miss’ Parker Shaunfield continued his storied all-around excellence with an all-academic nod, posting a 3.449 in construction engineering. The junior has been named to the Dean’s List four times, with two selections to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. C-USA also named him to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times. The PK led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 92 points, stringing together 87 extra points to open his career and mark a program record. He made 17-of-20 field goal attempts, notching a career-best four against Louisiana Tech.
 
Senior WR Brady Jones of UTSA captured his first all-academic team selection with a 3.80 in his endeavors to earn his MBA. Jones became a William V. Campbell semifinalist, two-time C-USA Academic Medal recipient, and three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll pick. Jones made four starts in 11 appearances, catching a team fourth-best 26 passes for 325 yards and a pair of TDs. WKU’s Tyler Witt rounds out the C-USA All-Academic roster, manufacturing a 3.90 in mechanical engineering to become the only freshman represented on the team. Witt played in 12 games, claiming the starting right guard spot at the end of the season.

2017 InTOUCH CREDIT UNION C-USA FOOTBALL ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

NAME	SCHOOL	YEAR	GPA	MAJOR
Tyriq Harris	Charlotte	Sophomore	3.62	Biology
Jason Driskel	Florida Atlantic	Junior	3.336	Civil Engineering
Greg Joseph	Florida Atlantic	Graduate	3.595	Health Administration
Dallas Connell	FIU	Sophomore	3.69	Health Service Administration
*Ryan Yurachek	Marshall	Senior	3.52	Marketing
*Brent Stockstill	Middle Tennessee	Junior	3.81	Leisure & Sport Management
Canon Rooker	Middle Tennessee	Senior	3.741	Biochemistry
Riley Mayfield	North Texas	Senior	4	Business Administration
Oshane Ximines	Old Dominion	Junior	3.5	Finance
D.J. Green	Rice	Graduate	4	Accounting
Parker Shaunfield	Southern Miss	Junior	3.449	Construction Engineering
Brady Jones	UTSA	Senior	3.8	Business Administration
Tyler Witt	WKU	Freshman	3.9	Mechanical Engineering

*repeat selection