BRISTOL, Conn. --- Three Tusculum College student-athletes have been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Football Team announced officials Thursday. Tight end Jarrell NeSmith and placekicker Gareth Rowlands were named to the Academic All-District First Team, while punter John Gregory garnered Second Team honors for a third straight year. The team is selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

NeSmith and Rowlands now advance to the Academic All-America® ballot, which will be announced later this month.

NeSmith, a 6-2, 215-pound senior from Russellville, Ala., returns to the Academic All-District First Team for a third straight year. The Russellville High School graduate has a 3.86 cumulative grade point average majoring in Pre-Medicine. Last year, he was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Second Team.

NeSmith enters this Saturday's season-finale at 14th-ranked Carson-Newman College listed fourth in school history in career receptions (149) and fifth in receiving yards (1,573). He has accounted for 11 touchdowns in his career, including an 88-yard TD reception earlier this season at Urbana University for the longest pass play in TC history. This season, he leads the South Atlantic Conference in receiving yards per game (64.6 ypg) and is third in receptions (5.22 rpg). He has accounted for 47 catches for 581 yards and two touchdowns, including last week's 47-yard TD reception in the Pioneers' 38-28 homecoming win over Mars Hill College.

Last week, NeSmith was named to the prestigious National Football Foundation National Scholar Athlete Team. He is one of only 16 collegiate football players (all divisions) in the country to be honored and the only NCAA Division II representative on the list, which includes Heisman Trophy candidates Tim Tebow (Florida) and Colt McCoy (Texas).

NeSmith has been named the SAC Scholar Athlete for Football the past two years (2007, 2008) and was selected as the 2008-09 recipient SAC Presidents Award, becoming only the second football player in the history of the award to earn the conference's most prestigious honor.

Rowlands, a 6-1, 195-pound junior from Wales, Great Britain, has a 3.33 GPA, majoring in Middle School Education, as he returns to the Academic All-District squad. He earned All-District Second Team honors in 2008.

Rowlands is Tusculum's leading scorer this year with 61 points and is the top scoring kicker in the conference averaging 6.8 points per game. He has made 25 of his 26 extra point attempts and has connected on 12 of his 14 field goal attempts. Rowlands is averaging 1.33 field goals per game, which are currently 16th in NCAA II. He has also gone 8-for-8 on field goals of 40 or more yards, including a school record 52-yarder earlier this season at Elizabeth City State University.

This past month, Rowlands accounted for 34 points (13-14 PAT; 7-8 FG), including 10 points in Tusculum's 34-31 road win at Newberry College. In that game, Rowlands made a 44-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to provide the winning margin. For his efforts, he was named to SAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Rowlands is already the College's all-time leader in career extra points made (82) and points by a kicker (154) and is mentioned on the Fred Mitchell Award "Watch List", which recognizes the top placekicker in Division II and Division III.

Gregory, a 6-2, 210-pound senior from Ooltewah, Tenn., joins NeSmith as the first Tusculum football players to earn Academic All-District honors three times. The Ooltewah High School graduate has a 3.80 GPA majoring in Sport Management.

Gregory leads the conference in punting, averaging 41.8 yards per punt (3rd in NCAA II), which is the fourth-best average in school history. He is Tusculum's all-time leader in punts (215), punting yards (8,966) and average (41.70 avg.). He is a three-time All-South Atlantic Conference selection and garnered Football Gazette All-America Third Team recognition in 2008.

Earlier this week, he was named the D2football.com National Special Teams Player of the Week, marking the second time in his career he has earned this honor. Gregory averaged 49 yards on his four punts against Mars Hill. He pinned the Lions inside their 20-yard line on all four of his punts, including two inside the 10-yard line. He was also named the South Atlantic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for a ninth time in his career.

The Pioneers (3-6, 2-4 SAC) have won their last two games and will travel to Carson-Newman College (8-2, 6-0 SAC) this Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Burke-Tarr Stadium in Jefferson City, Tenn.

Members of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, which include all colleges and universities from Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio and Michigan, which comprise District IV.

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