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 Draft Scout College Football Player News: Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM: LB Amir Abdullah, Illinois State, Jr.,...Rounding out the first-team selections for the Redbirds was another newcomer in Abdullah, who transferred to ISU from Nebraska-Kearney prior to the season. The Chicago product finished in a tie for second in the 2023 MVFC Defensive Player of the Year voting, tied for the league lead with 9.5 sacks and led the MVFC with 14.0 tackles-for-loss. A finalist for the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award, he ranked fourth on the team with 64 total tackles (34 solo) and was also credited with two forced fumbles, a pass breakup and one interception on the year. - Illinois State Football

Sr/2025 OLB Amir Abdullah, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL HONORABLE MENTION: DB Keondre Jackson,...Rounding out the honorable mention selections was Jackson, who led the team with 76 tackles (36 solo) and recorded 3.0 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and one interception on the year. The ISU defensive captain posted a career day at Western Illinois, with 10 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss in a win over the Leathernecks. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2025 SS Keondre Jackson, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM: DL Josh Dinga, Illinois State, R-Sr.,...Senior Josh Dinga capped off his six-year career at ISU with All-MVFC Second-Team plaudits as well, as he ranked second on the team with a career-best 7.0 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss to go along with 34 total tackles. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2024 DE Josh Dinga, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM: OL Hunter Zambrano, Illinois State, Jr.,...Zambrano graded out at the team's top offensive lineman at over 90 percent. He was a key anchor of the offensive line unit that allowed the fewest sacks in the MVFC with just seven on the year, ranking the group in the top 5 nationally. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2025 OT Hunter Zambrano, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM: WR Daniel Sobkowicz, Illinois State, So.,...Sobkowicz solidified himself as a No. 1 receiver and one of the best in the league as he picked up All-MVFC Second-Team honors. He recorded a team-high 68 catches for 933 yards and led the league with 10 touchdown receptions while ranking third in yards and yards per game (84.8). - Illinois State Football

rJr/2026 WR Daniel Sobkowicz, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL HONORABLE MENTION: LB Tye Niekamp,...A finalist for the 2023 Jerry Rice Award, Niekamp earned All-MVFC Honorable Mention honors for the first time in his career after starting all 11 games at middle linebacker for the Redbirds. The redshirt freshman tied for second on the team with 74 tackles (42 solo) and was fourth on the team with 9.0 tackles for loss on the season. He was also credited with 1.5 sacks, seven pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries in his breakout campaign. - Illinois State Football

rSo/2027 ILB Tye Niekamp, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL HONORABLE MENTION: QB Zack Annexstad,...In his final season for the Redbirds, Annexstad picked up All-MVFC honors as he completed 69.7 percent of passes for 2,114 yards and 17 touchdowns with just five interceptions before missing the final two games of the season due to injury. The two-time team captain finished his year ranked in the top 10 nationally in completion percentage and completions per game and threw for a career-high five touchdowns at Youngstown State. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2024 QB Zack Annexstad, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM: RB Mason Blakemore, Illinois State, Jr.,...In his first season with the Redbirds following a transfer from Northern Illinois, Blakemore led the team with 983 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. His 14 rushing touchdowns and 98.3 yards per game were both MVFC highs, while his 6.6 yards per carry average ranked him in the top 10 in the FCS. The Centralia, Illinois, native tallied five games with over 100 yards rushing, including a season-high 170 yards with three touchdowns in a win over Western. He twice earned MVFC weekly honors, once as offensive player of the week and once as newcomer of the week. - Illinois State Football

Sr/2025 RB Mason Blakemore, Illinois State
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  2023 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM: TE Cam Grandy, Illinois State, Sr.,...Grandy also made an immediate impact for the Redbird offense after transferring from Missouri Western, as he led all tight ends and ranked 10th in the MVFC in receiving yards. The Benson, Illinois, native ranked second on the team with 63 receptions for 612 yards with three touchdowns and averaged 9.7 yards per catch and 55.6 yards per game. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2024 TE Cam Grandy, Illinois State
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  2023 MISSOURI VALLEY FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: LB Tye Niekamp, Illinois State, 6-3, 230, R-Fr., Normal, Ill. (Normal Community High)...Started all 11 games at middle linebacker as a redshirt freshman, tying for second on the team with 74 tackles (42 solo)...only league player to be named to the Jerry Rice Award watch list...was fourth on the team with 9.0 TFLs on the season and was also credited with 1.5 sacks, seven pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries...had nine tackles, a half sack and 2.0 TFLs in first career start vs. Dayton...posted a career-high 11 tackles with two pass breakups at Eastern Illinois...tallied a sack and six tackles in a win over Lindenwood...recorded 10 tackles and 1.5 TFLs against UNI. - Missouri Valley Football

rSo/2027 ILB Tye Niekamp, Illinois State
News Source: Missouri Valley Football
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  2023 MISSOURI VALLEY NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: RB Mason Blakemore, Illinois State, 6-1, 215, Jr., Centralia, Ill. (Centralia HS/Northern Illinois)...Played in 10 games for the Redbirds, leading the team with 983 and 14 rushing touchdowns on 150 carries...led the MVFC with 14 touchdown and 98.3 yards per game...averaged 6.6 yards per carry which ranked him in the top 10 in the FCS...tallied 5 games with over 100 yards rushing, including a season-high 170 with three touchdowns in a win over Western Illinois...also ran for 169 yards and three scores in a win over Murray State...led the team in scoring with 84 points...earned MVFC weekly honors twice, once as offensive player of the week and once as newcomer of the week. - Missouri Valley Football

Sr/2025 RB Mason Blakemore, Illinois State
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  2022 BUCK BUCHANAN AWARD WINNER: The team awards handed out after Illinois State's spring practice were a direct reflection on outside linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh and foreshadowed his 2022 season. Amid the list of award winners who were mostly a newcomer to the program and younger players seeking to earn more playing time was Vandenburgh, a redshirt senior who by that point was a two-and-a-half-year starter. He was named Defensive MVP...for practice. Vandenburgh saved his best for last in so many ways, and his dominating play led to him receiving the 2022 Stats Perform Buck Buchanan Award, which honors the national defensive player of the year in FCS college football.

William & Mary redshirt sophomore outside linebacker John Pius finished second in the voting and Central Arkansas sophomore defensive end David Walker third after a 54-member panel selected the 28th annual award – named for legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career. The announcement was made Saturday night at the FCS National Awards banquet in Frisco, Texas. Vandenburgh, 23, from Freeport, Illinois, was the Missouri Valley Football Conference's defensive player of the year. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound All-American missed one game with a leg injury yet still racked up 100 tackles (51 solos), 21 tackles for loss (120 yards) and an FCS-leading 14 sacks with one interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four QB hurries. He helped coach Brock Spack's team finish with a winning record by posting a career-high 17 tackles against Western Illinois in his final college game. - STATS FCS Football

rSr/2023 OLB Zeke Vandenburgh, Illinois State
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  2022 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM: LB Zeke Vandenburgh, Illinois State, Sr.,...In a season where he was named the league's defensive player of the week four times, Vandenburgh stood out in a league full of great defensive players. He started all 10 games he played in at outside linebacker and ranked No. 1 in the FCS in sacks per game and tackles-for-loss per game. The defensive captain led the MVFC in sacks (14.0), tackles-for-loss (21.0) and was third in the league in tackles (100) during the regular season and recorded three or more sacks in three different games, including in the final two games of the season. Vandenburgh also finished the final two games of the year with 4.0 tackles-for-loss and had three-plus tackles-for-loss in five contests. He posted six double-digit tackle efforts, including a career-high 17 in the finale against Western Illinois, when he also recorded a career-best 3.5 sacks. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2023 OLB Zeke Vandenburgh, Illinois State
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  2022 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM: OL Drew Bones, Illinois State, Sr.,...Bones capped off his stellar career as a member of the Redbird offensive line with All-MVFC honors for the first time in his career. The Ottawa, Kansas, native started all 11 games at center for the Redbirds and led the offensive line with grades over 80 percent in eight of 11 contests. He graded out the highest of all Redbird lineman throughout the regular season and was named the MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week, after not allowing a sack at Northern Iowa and helping the Redbirds outgain the Panthers by a total of 409-366 overall. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2023 OG Drew Bones, Illinois State
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  2022 ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL HONORABLE MENTION: TE Tanner Taula,...Taula also saved his best season for his last, earning honorable mention honors in his sixth and final season in a Redbird uniform. The Independence, Missouri, native started nine games at tight end for ISU before missing the final two games of the season due to injury. He ranked third on the team with 26 receptions and 284 yards and averaged 10.9 yards per catch on the season. Taula recorded a career-high seven catches for 63 yards in a win over UNI and tallied a touchdown catch in a victory over South Dakota. - Illinois State Football

rSr/2023 TE Tanner Taula, Illinois State
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