A Big South record-tying six football student-athletes have earned Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, it was announced recently. Gardner-Webb (Lucas Beatty, Keon Williams), Coastal Carolina (Niccolo Mastromatteo, Jeffery Salley) and Liberty (Mitch Hanson, Scott Hyland) each had two honorees. All six individuals advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, with first, second and third-team All-America honorees to be selected later this month.
Beatty is the first Gardner-Webb quarterback to earn Academic All-District honors since the program’s move to NCAA Division I FCS in 2000. Beatty and Williams are the first players to earn the honor since linebacker Mario Brown did so in 2009. Beatty carries a 3.67 cumulative grade point average in economics / finance, and has performed at a high level on the field for the second-straight season. He has completed 177-of-281 passes for 2,018 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2013, and helped Gardner-Webb to a pair of wins over nationally-ranked teams in September. Beatty has thrown for at least 200 yards in seven of Gardner-Webb’s nine games, and passed for a career-high 389 yards and four touchdowns on October 5 in his hometown against Charlotte’s 49ers. He topped the 5,000-yard mark for his career in his ninth start of the season, and ranks eighth in Gardner-Webb history with 5,132 yards passing. Beatty is the program’s career leader in completion percentage (62.2 percent) and has passed for 24 touchdowns in 24 career starts.
Williams is the first Gardner-Webb defensive back to earn Academic All-District honors – and has enjoyed a breakout year at cornerback. Williams paces the Big South Conference with four interceptions – one which he returned for a touchdown. Williams’ late interception on September 21 at No. 8 Wofford sealed a 3-0 win for the Runnin’ Bulldogs on the road. He carries a solid 3.60 cumulative grade point average in economics / finance and has been recognized for strong work during academic internships. He has totaled 26 tackles in nine starts this season (14 solo), has a tackle for loss and has broken up three passes in addition to his four interceptions.
Mastromatteo, a wide receiver and punt returner, owns a 3.94 career GPA in philosophy. Last month, he was one of 16 student-athletes - from a pool of 171 semifinalists across all NCAA divisions and the NAIA - to receive the National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Fidelity Investments, and earned an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. Mastromatteo ranks third on the team with 27 receptions this season, has 16 first down receptions and has scored two touchdowns helping Coastal Carolina's offense rank among the NCAA FCS leaders in numerous categories. He is a four-time All-Big South honoree: first team honors in 2012 as a punt returner, second team honors in 2012 as a wide receiver and second team honors in 2010 and '11 as a punt returner.
In addition to his on-field success, Mastromatteo is a three-time Big South Presidential Scholar, 2012 Academic All-Big South, 2012 FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star, College Sports Journal FCS All-Academic Team, a four-time CCU President's List honoree (4.0 for an academic semester) and two-time Dean's List Honoree (GPA between 3.5-3.99 for an academic semester).
Salley, a three-year starter at defensive tackle, carries a 3.58 career GPA in computer science. The Bamberg native has started each of the last 22 games and a total of 28 of his 35 career games played. He was named a captain for the 2013 season opener at South Carolina State and voted the team's Defensive MVP by the CCU staff in Coastal's win over VMI. Last season, Salley was voted the team's Defensive MVP twice. Salley ranks seventh on the team in tackles (25) with a1.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries. For his career, Salley has 80 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Hanson, a junior from Blue Ridge, Va., is currently maintaining a 3.94 GPA as a government major. He has started 20 consecutive games, most at right tackle, and has helped the Flames rush for 1,508 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2013. Liberty currently ranks No. 19 in the country in total rushing touchdowns.
Hyland was named to the Capital One Academic All-District III football in 2012 and the Forest, Va., native ranks fourth on Liberty's roster with 44 tackles this year. The senior pre-med/biology major with a 3.94 GPA ranks second the Flames' roster with 162 career tackles, including 15.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, four pass breakups and two career interceptions.



More...