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WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Bemidji State University linebacker Jake Anderson (Sr., Karlstad, Minn.) left his mark on the opposition over the course of the last four years and as a 2009 captain, he certainly left an impression on his teammates, but today he left yet another mark on the BSU football record book. Anderson became the first student-athlete to earn All-America laurels at BSU since 2006 and just the 18th in the program’s 84 years of existence as he was named to the 2009 Daktronics, Inc. Division II All-America Second Team. The announcement came today from the organization’s Football National Coordinator.

Anderson was again a force for the Beavers’ “Gang Green” defense in 2009. A First-Team All-NSIC pick and Preseason NSIC Player to Watch this season, he finished second on the team with 69 tackles (22 solo), posted a team-best 15.0 tackles for loss and was tops in the league with 10.5 quarterback sacks on a defensive unit that capped the regular season ranked 14th in the country allowing just 276 yards per game and a meager 81 rushing yards per contest to rank seventh.

Anderson finished his career sitting fourth on BSU’s tackles for loss list (39.5) and eighth in quarterback sacks (16.5), while his 10.5 sacks this fall stood third on the team’s single-season sacks chart. Anderson is the ninth Beaver to be honored by Daktronics, Inc., the third to receive first-team all-region honors and the first to be named to its All-America team since the organization began its postseason awards program 17 years ago.

The Beavers’ 17 previous All-America selections took place between 1956 and 2003 and came from the NAIA, d2football.com and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. Anderson joins the likes of BSU greats such as Guy Vena (1958), Al Wolden (1986) and BSU’s all-time leading rusher Eddie Acosta (2000 and 2001) Anderson was one of just three players hailing from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference to garner Daktronics, Inc. All-America laurels joining University of Minnesota Duluth running back Isaac Odim and linebacker Robbie Aurich, who each held down spots on the first team.

The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) from four regions that encompass all Division II institutions that sponsor football programs across the country.

Bemidji State finished the 2009 campaign with an 8-3 overall record and a 7-3 mark in league play. With eight wins, BSU has now posted eight or more wins five times since head coach Jeff Tesch took the reigns of the program 14 years ago. In the 70 seasons prior to his arrival, Bemidji State recorded just one eight-win campaign.

Tesch returns 11 starters on the offensive side of the ball, which includes First-Team All-NSIC quarterback Derek Edholm (Jr., Anoka, Minn.) and eight starters on a defense led by Jordan Lardinois (Jr., DE, New Franken, Wis.) a First-Team All-NSIC defensive lineman.

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