ENMU Places Five Players
on CoSIDA Academic All-District Football Team
Howard, Touchstone, Idemudia Repeat;
Biggar and Rush move up from Second Team

PORTALES, N.M . — Eastern New Mexico University placed five players on the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District VI College Division Football Team, as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). All five players were named to the First Team. Last year, four ENMU players were chosen for the First Team and three received Second Team honors. This year, no Second Team was selected because there were too few nominees to trigger additional awards under new guidelines.

Eastern’s list of Academic All-District players this year included three players who also received First Team recognition in 2003. They were senior linebacker Jeff Howard (6’2”, 220 lbs., Portales, NM/Portales HS), senior linebacker Courage Idemudia (5’11”, 200 lbs., Glenn Heights, TX/ DeSoto HS) and senior free safety Ty Touchstone (5’11”, 190 lbs., Lubbock, TX/Monterey HS).

Idemudia and Touchstone also earned First Team honors in 2002. The remaining two selections, senior defensive end B.J. Biggar (6’3”, 256 lbs., Kemp, TX/Kemp HS) and junior offensive guard Tyson Rush (6’6”, 310 lbs., Williamsburg, NM/Hot Springs HS), were Second Team picks in 2003. All five ENMU players are eligible for the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Football Team, which will be released on Dec. 1. Touchstone was named First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America in 2003, after earning Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2002.

CoSIDA District VI includes colleges and universities in New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Players nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team were starters or key reserves with cumulative GPAs of 3.2 or higher (4.0 scale). Each player was at his current college or university for at least one academic year.

The College Division includes players in NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and the NAIA. The Greyhounds, who were led by Head Coach Harold “Bud” Elliott in his 11th and final season before retiring, achieved a 6-5 record and a 4-2 mark (3rd place) in the Lone Star Conference South Division. Eastern, which competes in NCAA Division II, recorded its seventh consecutive winning season.

Howard was named First Team All-LSC South for the second year in a row. He led Eastern with 115 total tackles, and also ranked first with 67 unassisted tackles and 48 assists. He recorded 9.0 tackles for losses and 4.5 quarterback sacks. He picked off three passes, and returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns (vs. SW Oklahoma and Abilene Christian). He tied for 35th in NCAA Division II with 10.5 tackles per game (4th in the LSC) and tied for 18th in the nation with 6.1 solo tackles per game (1st in LSC).

A Biology (Pre-Medicine) major, Howard was named First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District for the second consecutive year. He owns a 3.69 cumulative GPA. He was selected for the LSC South All-Academic Team in 2003, and qualified for the LSC South Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2002. He has been nominated for the 2004 LSC South All-Academic Team, which has not yet been chosen.

Howard has achieved 248 career tackles, with 133 solo stops and 115 assists. He has registered 29 tackles for losses (98 yards lost) and 7.5 sacks (48 yards lost). He also intercepted four passes, forced four fumbles, recovered four fumbles and broke up three passes during his four-year career. Howard recorded a team-high 85 tackles in 2003, then put together an even more impressive year with his 115 tackles as a senior this fall.

Idemudia was a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Last year, he had 54 total tackles (33 solo), to go with seven tackles for losses of 29 yards and 2.0 sacks for 18 yards lost. This year, he ranked fourth on the team with a career-high 59 tackles, including 36 solo stops. He registered seven tackles for losses (37 yards lost) and provided 3.0 sacks (18 yards lost). He also broke up two passes, forced two fumbles and recovered one fumble for the Greyhounds.

He concluded his four years at ENMU with 179 total tackles in 34 career games played. He earned 111 unassisted tackles and had 22 tackles for losses of 101 yards. He also recorded 7.0 sacks (60 yards lost) to go with six pass break-ups, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions. He was chosen Honorable Mention All-LSC South in 2003.

Idemudia is majoring in Accounting at Eastern New Mexico University. He has earned a cumulative GPA of 3.53. He was named to the LSC South All-Academic Team in 2003 and was on the LSC South Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2002. He has been nominated for the All-Academic Team this year.

Touchstone earned First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the third consecutive season. He ranked third on the ENMU team this year with 78 total tackles and was second on the team with 53 unassisted stops. He led the Hounds with three blocked field goals — all on kicks in the fourth quarter of games ENMU won. One of the field goals he blocked was a 19-yarder with 3:20 left in Eastern’s 21-20 Homecoming victory over arch rival West Texas A&M. Touchstone also broke up three passes and intercepted three passes. He was chosen Second Team All-LSC South this year. He earned First Team All-LSC South honors in 2002.

Touchstone, who owns a perfect 4.0 GPA, is majoring in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems. He was the only NCAA Division II player among 15 players overall chosen as 2004 National Scholar-Athletes by the National Football Foundation. He will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and will join the other Scholar-Athletes at the annual National Football Foundation banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on Dec. 7. He has an excellent chance to be a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. He was a First Team Academic All-America pick in 2003 and was named to the Second Team in 2002.

During his four years at Eastern, Touchstone accumulated 300 total tackles, including 187 solo tackles. He intercepted eight passes and broke up nine pass attempts. He also forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles. He played in all 43 games from 2001 through 2004, including 31 starts.

Biggar was chosen First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District for the first time, after earning Second Team Academic All-District accolades in 2003. He is a Business Administration major at Eastern, and has a 3.32 cumulative GPA. He was named to the LSC South Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2001 and 2003. He has been nominated for the LSC South All-Academic Team in 2004.

On the field, Biggar has earned 126 total tackles during his ENMU career, including 83 unassisted tackles. He has achieved 32 tackles for losses (146 yards lost) and 14.0 quarterback sacks (101 yards lost). He has broken up eight pass attempts, while forcing four fumbles and recovering three fumbles. He was named Second Team All-LSC South this season, and earned Honorable Mention All-LSC South recognition in 2001 and 2003. He played in all 43 games during his career, including 21 starts.

This season, he ranked second on the team with 11.0 tackles for losses totaling 50 yards and 5.0 sacks for 39 yards lost. He recorded 36 total tackles, with 21 unassisted tackles and 15 assists.

He broke up four passes and forced two fumbles. He frequently put enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks to alter their throws or force them to pull the ball down and run. Rush was named to the First Team of the CoSIDA Academic All-District squad for the first time.

He was chosen Second Team Academic All-District in 2003. This season, he contributed important blocking for Eastern’s outstanding rushing attack, which averaged 223.2 yards per game to lead the LSC and rank 20th in NCAA Division II. He also helped the Greyhounds gain 351.9 total yards per game, score 34 touchdowns (24 rushing, 10 passing) and average 31:45 for time of possession. He has been a starter or played regular shifts at offensive guard the past two seasons.

He combined with other ENMU offensive linemen to lead the way to 352.9 yards per game in 2003, including 238.2 rushing yards per game. He provided blocks for the ENMU backfield, which responded with 22 rushing touchdowns and nine passing touchdowns during the 2003 season.

Rush is majoring in Mathematics at Eastern. He has achieved a 3.73 cumulative GPA. He qualified for the LSC South Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2002 and 2003. He has been nominated for the LSC South All-Academic Team this fall.