CSC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Eight Saint John's University student-athletes were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District football team on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Those honored (listed alphabetically) include:

-Junior safety Noah Arneson (Independence, Minn./Orono), a global business leadership major with a 4.0 GPA;
-Senior defensive lineman Zach Frank (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial), an accounting major with a 3.92 GPA;
-Senior offensive tackle Tommy Hessburg (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Grosse Pointe South), a biochemistry major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.96 GPA;
-Senior kicker Conor Murphy (Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman), an accounting major with a 3.97 GPA;
-Senior linebacker Hayden Sanders (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park), an accounting major with a 3.98 GPA;
-Senior quarterback Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.), an accounting major with a 3.70 GPA;
-Junior wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View), an accounting major with a 3.54 GPA;
-Senior linebacker Cooper Yaggie (Breckenridge, Minn.), a global business leadership major with a 3.57 GPA.

The academic distinction is the third-consecutive for Murphy and Syverson, and the second for Arneson, Frank and Hessburg.

Each institution may nominate up to eight student-athletes for Academic All-District recognition in football. Nominees must be a sophomore or better with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. Athletically, the student-athlete must appear in 90 percent of his team's games or start in 66 percent of them. The Academic All-Americans are scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Frank (D3football.com Fourth Team), Syverson (AFCA Second Team, AP Second Team, D3football.com Second Team) and Wheeler (AFCA Second Team, AP Second Team, D3football.com Third Team) earned All-America honors following the 2024 season. Frank (first team), Sanders (second team), Syverson (first team) and Wheeler (second team) were named to D3football.com's All-Region 6 teams.

Syverson
Syverson was named a Gagliardi Trophy finalist and the D3football.com Region 6 Offensive Player of the Year last month. He ended the 2024 season as the Division III leader in completion percentage (.763), passing touchdowns (51), passing yards (4,382) and passing yards per game (365.2); second in completions per game (27.58), points responsible per game (26.0) and total offense per game (361.2); third in points responsible for (312); fourth in passing efficiency (198.0); and sixth in yards per pass attempt (10.10).

He finished 331 of 434 passing (.763) for 4,382 yards and 51 touchdowns (to four interceptions) in 12 games this season. Syverson passed for over 300 yards in 10 of the Johnnies' 12 games this fall, including four over 400, and for five or more touchdowns six times with eight games of four or more.

Syverson completed 77.1 percent (158-for-205) of his passes for 1,928 yards and 19 touchdowns (to two interceptions) in five games against nationally ranked teams this fall (then-No. 4/now No. 10 Wartburg; then-No. 24/now No. 21 Bethel, twice; No. 18 UW-La Crosse; and No. 6 Susquehanna).

He owns the program and MIAC records for pass attempts (1,418); pass completions (983), passing yards (12,888) and touchdown passes (147), as well as the SJU marks for completion percentage (.693), passing yards per game (314.3), total offense (12,961 yards) and 300-yard passing games (20). Syverson is third in SJU history in both passing efficiency (175.8) and quarterback wins as a starter (36-5 record)

Syverson was named the 2024 MIAC Offensive Player of the Year and collected his third All-MIAC honor after he played all eight conference games and led the MIAC in every passing statistic for the second-consecutive season: completions (213), attempts (286), completion percentage (.745), passing yards (2,953/369.1 ypg.), passing touchdowns (36) and pass-efficiency rating (199.95). He set MIAC records (conference games only) for passing yards per game (369.1), 300-yard passing games (7), consecutive 300-yard passing games (6) and 400-yard passing games (3).

Murphy
A two-time All-MIAC honoree, Murphy led the MIAC in scoring - among kickers - with 64 points and made PAT's (49) for the fourth-consecutive season, and tied for third with five field goals (5-for-6) in conference play. He finished 69-for-71 on PAT's and 7-for-9 in field-goal attempts in all games. The program's all-time leader in made PATs with 244, Murphy ended his career third in school history in field goals (25) and fourth in points scored (319).

Frank
A two-time (2023, 2024) All-MIAC selection, Frank led the team in sacks (9.0) and quarterback hurries (6), and was second in tackles for loss (11.5) this fall for a defense that ended the regular season as the Division III leader on fourth down (20 percent/5-for-25), third in sacks (4.10 spg.), sixth in the red zone (.565/13-for-23); eighth against the run (53.8 ypg.) and 19th in points allowed (13.0 ppg.). He has 23.0 tackles for loss, including 15.5 sacks, with 14 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles in 31 career games.

Arneson
Arneson is a two-time All-MIAC honoree who started the Johnnies' last 31 games at safety (first 19 at strong safety and all 12 this fall at free safety). He finished third on the team in solo tackles (32) and fifth in total tackles (52) this season.

Hessburg
Started the Johnnies' last eight games at left tackle in 2023 and eight this fall for an SJU offense that ended the season as the Division III leader in passing offense (380.3 ypg.), third in completion percentage (.738), fifth in total offense (503.5 ypg.), sixth in passing efficiency (188.37), eighth in first downs (304) and 12th in scoring offense (43.5 ppg.). SJU led the MIAC in total offense (523.1 ypg.) for the sixth-consecutive season, and passing offense (384.8 ypg.) for the second-straight year in conference play. The 384.8 passing yards per game were a new program record, surpassing last year's 375.6 yards per MIAC game.

Wheeler
Wheeler ended the 2024 season second in Division III in receiving touchdowns (21); eighth in total points scored (126) and total touchdowns (21); 14th in receptions per game (7.3); and 15th in scoring (10.5 ppg.). He recorded over 100 receiving yards in seven of his team's 12 games and led SJU in receptions (88) and receiving touchdowns (21). Wheeler finished second to senior wide receiver Marselio Mendez (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) with 1,164 receiving yards.

The 21 receiving touchdowns were second-most in program history, one behind the record of 22 set by Blake Elliott '03 in 2002, while the catches rank third and the yards rank 10th. Wheeler enters his senior season next fall fourth in program history in 100-yard receiving games (10), sixth in receiving touchdowns (31), eighth in receptions (149) and 12th in receiving yards (2,007).

He was a two-time MIAC Offensive Player of the Week and led the MIAC in scoring, both in touchdowns (16) and total points (96), while finishing fifth in receptions (54) and sixth in receiving yards (821) in eight conference games.

Sanders
A two-time (2023, 2024) All-MIAC selection, Sanders started SJU's last 28 games at linebacker. He led the team in total tackles (77) and tackles for loss (12.5), was second in solo tackles (39) and third in sacks (5.5). Sanders ended his career with 212 career tackles (99 solo), including 25.0 for a loss, 8.0 sacks, 10 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 43 games.

Yaggie
A three-time All-MIAC selection, Yaggie started SJU's last 34 games at linebacker. He led SJU in solo tackles (45) and was second in interceptions (2), quarterback hurries (4), pass breakups (6) and passes defended (8). He finished eighth in program history with 126 solo tackles and totaled six career interceptions, two that he returned for touchdowns.

SJU (11-1, 8-0 MIAC) won its MIAC-record 37th conference championship and made its 33rd postseason appearance (29th in Division III) this fall. The 10-win season was the program's 26th.