Dec. 15, 2014 AFCA 2014 FCS All-American Team
CONWAY - Coastal Carolina offensive lineman Chad Hamilton (Charleston, S.C./James Island HS) was named to the 25-man American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-American team.
Hamilton becomes the 19th Chanticleer football student-athlete to earn All-American honors since the program began in 2003 and joins Tyler Thigpen and Josh Norman as the only Chants named to the AFCA 25-man squad.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best -- the coaches themselves.
Hamilton is a three-time All-Big South selection, earning first team honors in 2013 and '14, and was named Capital One Academic All-District this season. Hamilton led the team with 66 knockdown blocks and was CCU's top-graded offensive lineman (solo or tied) in 10 of CCU's 14 games. He was only whistled for three penalties and, over CCU's 433 pass attempts, only allowed two sacks this season.
Hamilton led an offensive line that helped Alex Ross become the 2014 Big South Offensive Player of the Year and finish seventh in the Walter Payton Award voting. Also, he helped De'Angleo Henderson rush for 1,534 yards (10th-best in the FCS), 20 rushing touchdowns (sixth-best in the FCS) and 6.56 yards per carry (seventh-best in the FCS).
As a unit, Coastal Carolina led the Big South in both fewest tackles for losses (4.07 avg.) and fewest sacks (1.14 avg.), while ranking 10th and 16th, respectively. Also, Coastal ranked first nationally in fourth down conversions (80 percent), second in first downs (339), ninth in third down conversions (47.9 percent), 18th in total offense (463.4 ypg) and 20th in rushing offense (215.5 ypg).
Hamilton, a spring 2014 Coastal Carolina graduate, is a three-year starter and played in 52 of Coastal's 53 games over the past four years, missing one contest due to injury.
2014 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches' All-America Team
Offense
| Pos. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| WR | *Cooper Kupp | 6-2 | 195 | So. | Eastern Washington | Beau Baldwin | Yakima, Wash. (Davis) |
| WR | R.J. Harris | 6-0 | 201 | Sr. | New Hampshire | Sean McDonnell | Odenton, Md. (Arundel) |
| TE | *MyCole Pruitt | 6-3 | 255 | Sr. | Southern Illinois | Dale Lennon | St. Louis, Mo. (Kirkwood) |
| OL | Chad Hamilton | 6-3 | 305 | Sr. | Coastal Carolina | Joe Moglia | Charleston, S.C. (James Island) |
| OL | Collin Seibert | 6-4 | 290 | Sr. | Eastern Illinois | Kim Dameron | Oswego, Ill. (Oswego) |
| C | Ronald Canty | 6-0 | 277 | Sr. | North Carolina A&T | Rod Broadway | Chester, S.C. (Chester) |
| OL | Joe Haeg | 6-6 | 299 | Jr. | North Dakota State | Chris Klieman | Lake Shore, Minn. (Brainerd) |
| OL | Jake Rodgers | 6-6 | 315 | Sr. | Eastern Washington | Beau Baldwin | Spokane, Wash. (Shadle Park) |
| QB | John Robertson | 6-1 | 221 | Jr. | Villanova | Andy Talley | Paramus, N.J. (Paramus) |
| RB | Gus Johnson | 5-10 | 224 | Sr. | Stephen F. Austin | Clint Conque | Gilmer, Texas (Gilmer) |
| RB | **Zach Zenner | 6-0 | 220 | Sr. | South Dakota State | John Stiegelmeier | Eagan, Minn. (Eagan) |
Defense
| Pos. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| DL | Mike Reilly | 6-4 | 265 | Sr. | William & Mary | Jimmye Laycock | Old Tappan, N.J. (Northern Valley) |
| DL | **Davis Tull | 6-3 | 240 | Sr. | Tennessee-Chattanooga | Russ Huesman | Knoxville, Tenn. (Bearden) |
| DL | Kyle Emanuel | 6-3 | 251 | Sr. | North Dakota State | Chris Klieman | Schuyler, Neb. (Schuyler Central) |
| DL | Zack Wagenmann | 6-3 | 250 | Sr. | Montana | Mick Delaney | Missoula, Mont. (Sentinel) |
| LB | Evan Byers | 6-0 | 235 | Sr. | Bucknell | Joe Susan | Raleigh, N.C. (Trinity-Pawling) |
| LB | Nick Thrasher | 6-2 | 240 | Sr. | Tennessee State | Rod Reed | Morrow, Ga. (Mt. Zion) |
| LB | Nick Dzubnar | 6-2 | 250 | Sr. | Cal Poly | Tim Walsh | Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Mission Viejo) |
| DB | Jaquiski Tartt | 6-1 | 218 | Sr. | Samford | Pat Sullivan | Mobile, Ala. (Davidson) |
| DB | De'Ante Saunders | 5-11 | 200 | Jr. | Tennessee State | Rod Reed | DeLand, Fla. (DeLand) |
| DB | Colten Heagle | 5-11 | 206 | Sr. | North Dakota State | Chris Klieman | Appleton, Wis. (Kimberly) |
| DB | Caleb Schaffitzel | 6-0 | 217 | Sr. | Missouri State | Terry Allen | Fair Grove, Mo. (Fair Grove) |
Specialists
| Pos. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| P | *Kyle Loomis | 6-2 | 230 | Sr. | Portland St. | Nigel Burton | Roseburg, Ore. (Roseburg) |
| PK | Michael Schmadeke | 5-10 | 181 | Jr. | Northern Iowa | Mark Farley | Waterloo, Iowa (Columbus) |
| AP | Johnta Hebert | 5-10 | 195 | Jr. | Prairie View A&M | Heishma Northern | Baton Rouge, La. (Landry-Walker) |
*-2013 All-American; **-2012-2013 All-American
