Colorado State University Athletics
Rams' Smith, Horinek earn academic all-district honors
11/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 2008
By Jeff Jacobson
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - CSU senior co-captains Jeff Horinek and Jason Smith have been named ESPN The Magazine first-team academic all-district, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced Thursday.
Both Smith and Horinek now are in contention for academic All-America honors. Criteria for that award include a minimum 3.3 cumulative grade-point average and participation in at least 50 percent of the team's games at the position listed.
Smith, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound kicker from Centennial, Colo., holds a 3.65 cumulative GPA as a senior construction management major. After multiple selections to the academic all-conference squads in both football and track, this marks Smith's first-ever selection to the ESPN The Magazine all-district team.
A product of Arapahoe High School, Smith this season has become the most accurate kicker in Colorado State's proud football history, which dates to 1893. Including his current streak of 12 successful field-goal attempts, Smith owns a .765 career field-goal percentage (39-for-51), the best in Rams annals. He also has converted 73 straight PATs.
Horinek, a 6-foot-3, 234-pound linebacker from Atwood, Kan., has compiled a 3.91 GPA majoring in health and exercise science. Horinek has garnered the all-district award twice before, as a first-team selection last year and a second-team choice in 2006. Just last week, Horinek became only the third player in CSU history to earn the National Scholar-Athlete Award, becoming a finalist for the Draddy Trophy.
On the field, Horinek earned honorable-mention all-Mountain West honors in 2007 after leading the Rams with 94 tackles, most by a CSU player in four years. He has started 37 consecutive games, one of the nation's longest streaks.
Of the eight districts recognized by CoSIDA, Colorado State falls into District VII along with several Big Ten and Big 12 universities in the geographic region.
2008 District VII ESPN The Magazine First-Team Academic All-District, University Division
| Punter | Dan Titchener | NEBRASKA | Sr. | Cheyenne, Wyo. | 3.46 | Accounting |
| Quarterback | Ryan Berry | SOUTH DAKOTA ST | Sr. | Watertown, S.D. | 3.89 | Biology/Pre-Medicine |
| Receiver | Kole Heckendorf | NORTH DAKOTA ST | Sr. | Mosinee, Wis. | 3.81 | Physical Education |
| Receiver | Todd Peterson | NEBRASKA | Sr. | Grand Island, Neb. | 3.76 | Nutrional Science & Dietetics |
| Tight End | Jeron Mastrud | KANSAS STATE | Jr. | Beaverton, Ore. | 3.88 | Business Administration |
| Running Back | Tyler Roehl | NORTH DAKOTA ST | Sr. | West Fargo, N.D. | 3.38 | Physical Education |
| Running Back | Kyle Minett | SOUTH DAKOTA ST | So. | Ruthton, Minn. | 3.50 | Economics |
| Offensive Line | Kevin Robling | SOUTH DAKOTA ST | Sr. | Jordan, Minn. | 3.82 | Wildlife & Fisheries |
| Offensive Line | Jim Verlanic | MONTANA STATE | Sr. | Anaconda, Mont. | 3.71 | Biomedical Science, Ecology & Evolution |
| Offensive Line | Timothy McGraw | NORTHERN COLORADO | So. | Castle Rock, Colo. | 4.00 | Business Administration |
| Offensive Line | Rob Bruggeman | IOWA | Sr. | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | 3.37 | Finance |
| Offensive Line | Julian Vandervelde | IOWA | Jr. | Davenport, Iowa | 3.44 | English and Secondary Education |
| Kicker | Jason Smith | COLORADO STATE | Sr. | Centennial, Colo. | 3.64 | Construction Management |
| Defensive Back | Conrad Kierstad | SOUTH DAKOTA ST | So. | Wall, S.D. | 3.90 | Pre-Economics |
| Defensive Back | Erik Stoll | MONTANA | So. | Sandpoint, Idaho | 3.98 | Biology |
| Defensive Back | Maxwell Hewitt | NORTHERN COLORADO | So. | Aurora, Colo. | 3.36 | Accounting |
| Defensive Back | Tysyn Hartman | KANSAS STATE | So. | Wichita, Kan. | 3.49 | Open Option |
| Linebacker | Josh Mahoney | NORTHERN IOWA | Jr. | Sioux Falls, S.D. | 4.00 | Economics |
| Linebacker | Jeff Horinek | COLORADO STATE | Sr. | Atwood, Kan. | 3.91 | Health & Exercise Science |
| Linebacker | Tyler Wortman | NEBRASKA | Sr. | Grand Island, Neb. | 3.96 | Mechanical Engineering |
| Defensive Line | Anton Narinskiy | IOWA | Sr. | Chagrin Falls, Ohio | 4.00 | Accounting |
| Defensive Line | Nick Compton | NORTH DAKOTA | Sr. | Rosemount, Minn. | 3.64 | Finance |
| Defensive Line | Chris Brehmer | MISSOURI STATE | Sr. | Rock Hill, Mo. | 3.48 | Psychology |
| Defensive Line | George Hypolite | COLORADO | Sr. | Los Angeles, Calif. | 3.40 | Ethnic Studies & Women's Studies |
