WACO, Texas-- Senior Owen Grover was named First-team All-American, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced today.

This is his first career AFCA All-American honor, third overall All-American career honor, and is the second-straight year Wartburg has received an AFCA honoree. Grover is the 10th First-team AFCA All-American in program history.

Wartburg's First-team AFCA All-Americans: 
2001    Joel Demro, OL 
2003    Cody Kelley, DB;  Vince King Jr., DT; Cody Kelley, DB/WR (First Team)
2004    Brian McIntire, DB
2007    Nick Weber, DB 
2014    Chris Brinkmeier, OL 
2017    Derek Schipper, OL
2019    Nic Vetter, OL
2023    Owen Grover, LB

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. 

Complete list of honorees:
2023 AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America Team - First Team
Offense
Pos.  Name                          Ht.     Wt.     Cl.   School                              Coach Hometown (High School)
QB    Luke Lehnen               6-0     197     Jr.   North Central (Ill.)             Brad Spencer             Chatham, Ill. (Glenwood)
RB    Brandon Cade            5-11   190     Jr.   Berry (Ga.)                        Tony Kunczewski         Duluth, Ga. (Peachtree Ridge)
RB    Giovanni Weeks         6-0     205     Sr.   Wheaton (Ill.)                    Jesse Scott  Kent City, Mich. (Kent City)
WR   Collin Brunstein           6-2     185     Sr.   Illinois College                  Ray DeFrisco         Jacksonville, Ill. (Jacksonville)
WR   *Wayne Ruby             6-1     190     Sr.   Mount Union (Ohio)          Geoff Dartt   Pembroke Pines, Fla. (Flanagan)
TE     *Alex Larson                6-7     240     Sr.   St. John's (Minn.)             Gary Fasching    Woodbury, Minn. (East Ridge)
OL    Miguel Valdez             6-4     300     Sr.   Hardin-Simmons (Tex.)   Jesse Burleson            Clyde, Tex. (Clyde)
OL    *Vinny Lepre               5-11   285     Sr.   Grove City (Pa.)               Andrew DiDonato Pine Grove, Pa. (Pine Grove)
OL    Kendrioun Boatman   6-3     310     Gr.  Belhaven (Miss.)              Blaine McCorkle   McAdams, Miss. (McAdams)
OL    Mike Bertoia                6-3     305     Sr.   Wisconsin-La Crosse       Matt Janus   Lake Zurich, Ill. (Lake Zurich)
OL    Matt Hale                     6-2     280     Sr.   Randolph-Macon (Va.)     Pedro Arruza   Vinton, Va. (William Byrd)
 
Defense
Pos.  Name                          Ht.     Wt.     Cl.   School                              Coach Hometown (High School)
DL     Luke Schuermann      6-4     255     Sr.   John Hopkins (Md.)          Greg Chimera    St. Louis, Mo. (St. Louis University)
DL     *Justin Blazek             6-5     245     Sr.   Wisconsin-Platteville         Ryan Munz Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley)
DL     Ryan Bodolus              6-1     215     Sr.   Ursinus (Pa.)                    Peter Gallagher       Pottstown, Pa. (Pottsgrove)
DL     Anthony Cikauskas     6-3     240     So.  Monmouth (Ill.)                 Chad Braun Oswego, Ill. (Oswego)
LB     *Robert Coury             5-11   205     Sr.   Carnegie Mellon (Pa.)      Ryan Larsen        Phillipsburg, N.J. (Phillipsburg)
LB     Owen Grover              6-3     235     Sr.   Wartburg (Iowa)               Chris Winter          Dyersville, Iowa (Beckman Catholic)
LB     Blake Rybar                6-2     225     Sr.   Linfield (Ore.)                   Joseph Smith         Monroe, Wash. (Monroe)
DB    Korey Kelley                5-11   185     Gr.  Howard Payne (Tex.)       Kevin Bachtel            Abilene, Tex. (Cooper)
DB    Keith Green III            6-1     180     Sr.   Susquehanna (Pa.)          Tom Perkovich      Edgewood, Md. (Harford Technical)
DB    Raylens Boutin            5-9     184     Sr.   Brockport (N.Y.)               Jason Mangone           Nyack, N.Y. (Nyack)
DB    Egon Hein                   6-0     191     Sr.   Wisconsin-Whitewater      Jace Rindahl         St. Charles, Ill. (North)         
 
Specialists
Pos.  Name                          Ht.     Wt.     Cl.   School                              Coach Hometown (High School)
PK    Matthew Jumes          5-8     178     Jr.   Trinity (Conn.)                   Jeff Devanney        Franklin, Mass. (Moses Brown (R.I.))
P       Cameron Shirangi      6-2     190     Sr.   Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.)     John Walsh   San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (St. Margaret's Episcopal)
AP    Jailen Hobbs               5-8     160     Sr.   Rose-Hulman (Ind.)          Jeff Sokol           Spring Lake, N.C. (Overhills)
LS     Blake Ashley               6-0     220     Sr.   Bridgewater (Va.)             Scott Lemn      Seaford, Va. (York)
 
*-2022 AFCA All-American
 
2023 AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America Team - Second Team
Offense
Pos.  Name                         Ht.     Wt.    Cl.   School                                  Coach              Hometown (High School)
QB    Destin Chance          6-3     205    Jr.    Illinois College                      Ray DeFrisco         Auburn, Ill. (Auburn)
RB    Garrett Cora              5-11   175    Jr.    Franklin (Ind.)                        Alan Hensell        Lizton, Ind. (Tri-West)
RB    Paul Garrett               5-9     193    Sr.   Greenville (Ill.)                       Robbie Schomaker    Goodwater, Ala. (Clay Central)
WR   Jake Breitbach          6-2     197    Sr.   Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.)  Peter Haugen         Golden Valley, Minn. (Armstrong)      
WR   DeAngelo Hardy       6-2     197    Sr.   North Central (Ill.)                 Brad Spencer          Lake Villa, Ill. (Lakes)
TE     James Nye                6-2     213    Sr.   Muhlenberg (Pa.)                  Nate Milne     Clinton, Conn. (The Morgan School)
OL    Travis Cepalia           6-2     265    Gr.   Tufts (Mass.)                         Jay Civetti  Park Ridge, N.J. (Don Bosco Prep)
OL    Jeske Maples            6-2     261    Jr.    North Central (Ill.)                 Brad Spencer        Moweaqua, Ill. (Central A&M)
OL    Matt McCorkle          6-4     330    Jr.    Union (N.Y.)                          Jon Poppe Odenton, Md. (Phillips Exeter)
OL    Alex Klecker              6-7     270    Sr.   Wisconsin-River Falls           Matt Walker        River Falls, Wis. (River Falls)
OL    Josh Hartley              6-2     290    Gr.   Christopher Newport (Va.)   Paul Crowley Newport News, Va. (Woodside)
 
Defense
Pos.  Name                         Ht.     Wt.    Cl.   School                                  Coach              Hometown (High School)
DL     Rossy Moore             6-2     205    Jr.    Mount Union (Ohio)              Geoff Dartt     Lima, Ohio (Central Catholic)
DL     Martin Egbo               5-11   224    Sr.   North Central (Ill.)                 Brad Spencer       Coraopolis, Pa. (Lafayette)
DL     John Stroughn           6-0     260    Gr.   Utica (N.Y.)                           Blaise Faggiano      Baldwin, N.Y. (Holy Trinity)
DL     Nick Fannon              6-2     240    Sr.   Albion (Mich.)                        Travis Rundle        Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. (South)
LB     Marcellus Romious   6-3     220    Sr.   Aurora (Ill.)                            Don Beebe    Belleville, Ill. (West)
LB     Charlie Patterson      6-3     215    Sr.   Illinois College                       Ray DeFrisco               Auburn, Ill. (Auburn)
LB     Mason McMillen        5-11   200    Sr.   Mount Union (Ohio)              Geoff Dartt        Wadsworth, Ohio (Wadsworth)
DB    Nick Flegler               5-11   190    So.   Hope (Mich.)                         Peter Stuursma       DeWitt, Mich. (DeWitt)
DB    Derek Slywka            6-3     215    Gr.   Ithaca (N.Y.)                          Michael Toerper    Waterloo, N.Y. (Waterloo)
DB    Jack Shaw                 6-0     205    Sr.   Coe (Iowa)                            Tyler Staker Atkins, Iowa (Benton Community)
DB    Titus Dunk                 6-1     190    Sr.   Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.)    Larry Harmon  Round Rock, Tex. (Round Rock)
 
Specialists
Pos.  Name                         Ht.     Wt.    Cl.   School                                  Coach              Hometown (High School)
PK    Cameron Shirangi    6-2     190    Sr.   Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.)          John Walsh    San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (St. Margaret's Episcopal)
P       Ethan Klapatch         6-2     195    Jr.    Millsaps (Miss.)                     Cory York                  Metairie, La. (Archbishop Rummel)
AP    Dameon Gomes       5-5     151    So.   Hardin-Simmons (Tex.)        Jesse Burleson    Mansfield, Tex. (Mansfield)
LS     Grady Clay                6-2     180    Sr.   East Texas Baptist                Calvin Ruzicka      San Augustine, Tex. (Shelbyville)


*-2022 AFCA All-American
 
Team Background: The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. 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. The AFCA began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. Also in 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.
 
Selection Process: The AFCA's Division III All-America Selection Committee is made up of head coaches representing each conference from each of the AFCA's seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.
 
The Award: Members of the AFCA Coaches' All-America First Team will receive a plaque commemorating their selection to the team, while members of the Second Team will receive a certificate.