NEW YORK – Eastern Illinois had four players earn Associated Press All-American honors as the national service released its FCS All-American team on Wednesday.  Jimmy Garoppolo and Erik Lora both earned first team honors while linemen Dominic Pagliara and Collin Seibert were third team selections.

Garoppolo was the 2013 Walter Payton Award winner as he earned first team All-American honors this season.  Garoppolo led all quarterbacks with 5,050 yards passing and 53 touchdowns.  The passing total was second all-time on the FCS single season list while the 53 touchdowns were the third most in FCS single season history.  Garoppolo finished his career holding every EIU and Ohio Valley Conference passing record and ranked sixth on the FCS career touchdown passes list and seventh on the career passing yards list.

Lora earned first team All-American honors for the second straight year becoming the first EIU player to accomplish that feat since Pete Catan did so in 1979 and 1980.  Lora hauled in 123 passes for 1,544 yards and 19 touchdowns.  His 123 receptions rank third on the FCS single season list and 13 shy of his FCS single season record set last season.  Lora ended his career as the EIU and OVC leader in pass receptions and receiving yards.  He owns the EIU and OVC single season records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions.  He finished his career second on the FCS receptions chart.

Pagliara and Seibert combined to anchor an offensive line that helped the high powered Panther offense rank in the top three in the nation in scoring offense, passing offense and total offense the entire season.  They both graded out at over 92 percent for the season and the team ranked in the top ten in fewest number of tackles for loss allowed this season.  EIU's offense finished the year averaging 589.5 yards per game which ranks as the third best single season total in FCS history.  The Panthers 48.2 points per game average ranked fifth all-time in FCS history.

Eastern Illinois now has had 15 first team Associated Press All-Americans with only Lora and Catan earning first team honors in multiple years.

The Panthers finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation losing in the FCS Quarterfinal playoff round to end with a 12-2 record.  

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Jimmy Garoppolo, senior, 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, Eastern Illinois.

Running backs — Terrance West, junior, 5-11, 223, Towson; Zach Zenner, junior, 6-0, 220, South Dakota State.

Linemen — Billy Turner, senior, 6-6, 314, North Dakota State; Eric Pike, senior, 6-5, 298, Towson; Dakota Dozier, senior, 6-5, 303, Furman; Ashton Miller, senior, 6-2, 300, Eastern Washington; Danny Kistler, senior, 6-8, 315, Montana.

Receivers — Erik Lora, senior, 5-11, 190, Eastern Illinois; Cooper Kupp, redshirt freshman, 6-2, 195, Eastern Washington.

Tight End — MyCole Pruitt, junior, 6-3, 250, Southern Illinois.

All-purpose player — Fabian Truss, senior, 5-9, 185, Samford.

Kicker — Seth Sebastien, senior, 5-10, 180, Southeastern Louisiana.

DEFENSE

Linemen — Brad Daly, senior, 6-1, 240, Montana State; Shaquille Riddick, junior, 6-7, 240, Gardner-Webb; Davis Tull, junior, 6-3, 240, Chattanooga; Sullivan Grosz, senior, 6-4, 295, Cal Poly.

Linebackers — Stephon Robertson, senior, 5-11, 230, James Madison; Justin Shade, senior, 5-11, 229, Samford; Jordan Tripp, senior, 6-3, 235, Montana.

Backs — Daniel Fitzpatrick, junior, 6-2, 210, Tennessee State; Marcus Williams, senior, 5-11, 192, North Dakota State; Caleb Schaffitzel, junior, 6-0, 214, Missouri State; Jerome Couplin, senior, 6-2, 215, William & Mary.

Punter — Kyle Loomis, junior, 6-2, 210, Portland State.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Vernon Adams, sophomore, Eastern Washington.

Running backs — Timothy Flanders, senior, Sam Houston State; Lorenzo Taliaferro, senior, Coastal Carolina.

Linemen — Kadeem Edwards, senior, Tennessee State; Chris Elkins, senior, Youngstown State; Bryan Witzmann, senior, South Dakota State; Arinze Agada, senior, McNeese State; Garrett Frye, junior, Georgia Southern.

Tight End — AC Leonard, junior, Tennessee State.

Receivers — Sam Ajala, junior, Fordham; Lee Kurfis, senior, Lehigh.

All-purpose player — Xavier Roberson, sophomore, Southeastern Louisiana.

Kicker — Ray Early, senior, Furman.

DEFENSE

Linemen — Zach Hodges, senior, Harvard; Terrence Fede, senior, Marist; Anthony Bass, junior, Tennessee State; Ryan Drevlow, senior, North Dakota State.

Linebackers — Quinn Backus, junior, Coastal Carolina; Joe Thomas, senior, South Carolina State; Tyler Starr, senior, South Dakota.

Backs — Kendall James, senior, Maines; Jaquiski Tartt, junior, Samford; T.J. Lee, senior, Eastern Washington; Nick Addison, junior, Bethune Cookman.

Punter —Chad Zinchini, senior, Tennessee Tech.

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Brock Jensen, senior, North Dakota State.

Running backs — Kyle Harbridge, senior, St. Francis, Pa.; D.J. Adams, senior, Portland State.

Linemen — Dominic Pagliara, senior, Eastern Illinois; Jamey Cheatwood, senior, Coastal Carolina; Collin Seibert, junior, Eastern Illinois; Jared Singleton, senior, Wofford; Robert Booker, sophomore, Missouri State.

Tight end — Justin Perillo, senior, Maine.

Receivers — Jeremy Butler, senior, Tennessee-Martin; Lee Doss, senior, Southern University.

All-purpose player — Greg Hardin, senior, North Dakota.

Kicker — Colton Cook, senior, Southern Utah.

DEFENSE

Linemen — Caraun Reid, senior, Princeton; Colton Underwood, senior, Illinois State; Robert Simpson, senior, Mississippi Valley State; Mike Reilly, junior, William & Mary.

Linebackers — Lynden Trail, junior, Norfolk State; Tony Bell, junior, Tennessee-Martin; Grant Olson, senior, North Dakota State.