Sommers Earns All-America Honors
UW-Oshkosh senior tight end Joe Sommers was named to the 25-member NCAA Division III All-America Team by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
Sommers is the third Titan to receive AFCA All-America honors, joining quarterback Nate Wara in 2012 and center Garrett Porter in 2013.
The AFCA All-America Team recognized one player at each of the 11 offensive and defensive positions as well as one punter, placekicker and all-purpose player.
Sommers caught 25 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns while starting all 10 games that he played for the Titans this season. Sommers matched a career high with eight catches for 66 yards during UW-Oshkosh's 10-7 win on Oct. 10 over UW-Whitewater, then the top-ranked team in the country.
The AFCA All-America award highlights a long list of accolades Sommers collected during his four seasons at UW-Oshkosh. This year he became the fifth Titan to earn three straight All-WIAC first team awards.
Sommers also claimed 2014 All-America second team and 2013 All-West Region second team laurels from D3football.com as well as preseason All-America recognition in both 2014 and 2015 from D3football.com and in 2015 from Lindy's Sports and The Sporting News.
Sommers, a Hortonville High School graduate, finished his 40-game UW-Oshkosh career (28 starts) with 87 catches for 1,384 yards and seven touchdowns.
In 2014, Sommers caught a career-high 41 passes for 669 yards and three scores. He concluded the 2013 season with 19 receptions for 362 yards and one touchdown and the 2012 campaign with two catches for 15 yards.
Sommers established a pair of game highs during the 2014 season with eight receptions against UW-Platteville and 105 receiving yards against UW-Eau Claire.
Sommers and UW-Whitewater linebacker Justin Dischler were the only two WIAC players named to the AFCA All-America Team.
Linfield College (Ore.) defensive end Alex Hoff was the only repeat member among year's AFCA All-America honorees.
Sommers helped UW-Oshkosh this season to an 11-2 record, its second WIAC title in four years, and a spot in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Championship.