CHICAGO, Ill. (December 19, 2019) – The Northern Arizona football team was well-represented on the STATS FCS All-America Teams released on Thursday. Junior placekicker
Luis Aguilar was named to the First Team while junior punter
DJ Arnson garnered Third Team honors. Senior quarterback
Case Cookus will earn First, Second or Third Team honors depending on the final Walter Payton Award results announced at the STATS FCS Awards Banquet on Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas.
Having started his week by receiving the 2019 Fred Mitchell Award, Aguilar's week has been a decorated one as he has gone four-for-four in All-American announcements made by HERO Sports, The Associated Press, FCS ADA and STATS FCS. Along with Montana senior linebacker Dante Olson, Aguilar is one of two Big Sky players to appear on all four lists.
Aguilar ranks in the top 10 nationally in field goal percentage (88.8) and field goals made per game (1.83) and ninth in scoring (9.8 points per game) in addition to leading the country with 61 kickoffs that resulted in touchbacks.
Aguilar connected on 22-of-25 field goal attempts and all 52 of his extra point attempts. He was successful on two field goals from 50-plus yards and holds the longest field goal in the FCS this season with a 57-yarder versus Northern Colorado on Oct. 5.
Arnson picked up his second All-American award of the week following a selection to the HERO Sports All-America Third Team. He leads the Big sky with an average of 45.8 yards per punt and he helped NAU rank fifth nationally with a net average of 41.22 yards per punt.
Arnson, who was recently named to the inaugural FCS Punter of the Year award Top 10 Finalist list, totaled 2,612 yards on 57 punts this season. His longest punt went for 65 yards and was one of 16 punts that went 50-plus yards. He placed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. The FCS Punter of the Year Award will be announced on Dec. 23.
Cookus is one of three quarterbacks along with North Dakota State's Trey Lance and Sacramento State's Kevin Thomson who are finalists for the Walter Payton Award. The three quarterbacks' spots on the STATS FCS First, Second or Third Team will be determined by their finishes in the voting.
Cookus leads the FCS with 4,114 passing yards and 342.8 yards per game in addition to ranking eighth with 31 passing touchdowns and ninth with 24.17 completions per game. He completed 290-of-481 passes in his final season and became NAU's all-time leader in passing yards (12,082), passing touchdowns (105) and total offense (12,314).
Earlier this week, Cookus was named to the HERO Sports All-America Second Team and The Associated Press All-America First Team.
The three Lumberjacks were part of 16 selections from the Big Sky Conference, which tied the Missouri Valley Football Conference for a league-high.
2019 NAU Football All-American/Postseason Honors
Luis Aguilar, Place-kicker: Fred Mitchell Award recipient, HERO Sports All-America (First Team), The Associated Press All-America (First Team), FCS ADA All-America Team, STATS FCS All-America (First Team)
DJ Arnson, Punter: HERO Sports All-America (Third Team), STATS FCS All-America (Third Team)
Case Cookus, Quarterback: HERO Sports All-America (Second Team), The Associated Press (First Team), STATS FCS All-America (First, Second or Third Team)*
Hendrix Johnson, Wide Receiver: HERO Sports Freshman All-America (Honorable Mention)
Brandon Porter, Wide Receiver: HERO Sports Sophomore All-America (First Team)
*To be determined by the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award on Jan. 10
