INDIANAPOLIS - The Upper Iowa football team had 17 members earn all-conference accolades on Tuesday, headlined by Nathan Behne earning Co-Special Teams Player of the Year.
He becomes the first player to be named a conference player of the year since Chris Smith earned NSIC Offensive Player of the Year in 2011. Behne is the first Special Teams Player of the Year in Upper Iowa football history.
Upper Iowa had five All-GLVC First Team selections in Klay Seehase, Mante Morrow, Eddie Burgess, Shaquille Roman and Tade Parsons. Burgess and Morrow earned this honor for the second time after being named All-GLVC First Team in 2023.
Seehase earns his second all-conference accolade after being named second team last season. Morrow picks up his third career All-GLVC accolade. Roman and Parsons both earn their first career All-GLVC selections.
Connor Andresen, Jayden Gordon, Eddy Latanauskas, Avery Dixon, Yashua Pettis-Taylor and Behne earned second-team nods. The honorable mentions for the Peacocks were Evan Dorn, Ryan McDonough, Nick Perry, Trevor Thompson, Demontay Mack and Darryl Overstreet Jr.
Latanauskas tallies back-to-back seasons with second-team selections. Thompson and Dixon pick up their second all-conference selections. This marks three straight seasons for Overstreet Jr. as an honorable mention.
Behne earns back-to-back second-team nods after making it last season, just as a kicker. This season, he made it as both a kicker and a punter. He was 8-of-11 on field goals, going 5-of-5 beyond 40 yards with a career-long of 51. The sophomore had a GLVC-leading punt average of 43.3 yards with 11 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
Four out of five Upper Iowa offensive linemen earned All-GLVC honors. The Peacocks allowed the least amount of sacks in the conference this season, averaging 1.18 per game.
Eight UIU defensive players earned accolades after posting the second-best scoring defense and second-best rushing defense in the GLVC. The Peacocks also had the third-best total defense in conference play, giving up 344.1 yards per game.
Morrow totaled 900 yards receiving with 12 touchdowns. Over the full season, he led the conference in receiving touchdowns. Gordon ranked sixth in the GLVC in rushing during conference play, totaling 619 yards and seven touchdowns.
Overstreet Jr. earned the James. R Spalding Sportsmanship Award for Upper Iowa. He ranks second nationally with a 71.9% completion percentage.
The James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees are student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
Indianapolis senior quarterback Gavin Sukup was tabbed as Offensive Player of the Year. UIndy's junior return specialist, Anthony Crowell, earned Co-Special Teams Player of the Year. Quincy's Jaylin Vaughn was recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year, and their quarterback Bradyn Little was the Freshman of the Year. Truman State head coach Kellen Nesbitt was recognized by his peers as the Coach of the Year.
In total, 112 student-athletes claimed All-Conference honors with 36 on the First Team, 38 Second Team and 38 Honorable Mention, while nine were chosen as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honorees for the sport and Missouri S&T was selected as the team sportsmanship award winner.
Indianapolis led the league with 26 All-Conference honorees and 13 on the First Team, followed by Upper Iowa (18), Truman State (15), McKendree (13), Missouri S&T (12), Southwest Baptist (10), Quincy (eight), Lincoln (seven) and William Jewell (three).
The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Co-Special Teams Player of the Year
K/P Nathan Behne
All-GLVC First Team
LT Klay Seehase
WR Mante Morrow
TE Eddie Burgess
DE Shaquille Roman
S Tade Parsons
All-GLVC Second Team
RG Connor Andresen
HB Jayden Gordon
DT Eddy Latanauskas
S Avery Dixon
S Yashua Pettis-Taylor
K Nathan Behne
P Nathan Behne
All-GLVC Honorable Mention
LB Evan Dorn
C Ryan McDonough
RT Nick Perry
LB Trevor Thompson
DE Demontay Mack
QB Darryl Overstreet Jr.
James R. Spalding Award Honoree
QB Darryl Overstreet Jr.
