Seven Titans Selected To National Football Foundation's Honor Society
Seven members of the UW-Oshkosh football team were named to the 2022 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society.
The Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of competition who achieved a cumulative 3.2 grade-point-average or better throughout their collegiate careers. In addition to the GPA requirement, each player must have been a starter or significant contributor as a senior during the 2021 football season.
UW-Oshkosh players selected to this year's Hampshire Honor Society were defensive backs Anthony D'Orazio and Nick Duhm, wide receiver Mitchell Gerend, defensive lineman Alex Jagla, tight end Justin Kasuboski, offensive lineman Jason Myrick and center Mike Olsen.
An elite group of 1,559 players from 313 schools qualified for membership in 2022, the Society's 16th year. The 1,559 honorees are the second most in a single year during the program's history. The initiative has now honored 14,640 student-athletes since its inception.
"As the National Football Foundation celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2022, we are pleased to honor another impressive group of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Over the last 16 years, the Hampshire Honor Society has served as a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives."
D'Orazio owns a 3.22 GPA as a finance major. He played in all nine games for the Titans last fall and totaled six solo tackles. The 2019 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Scholastic Honor Roll member concluded his 31-game UW-Oshkosh career with 10 tackles, including eight solos.
Duhm, who possesses a 3.79 GPA as a major in pre-medicine, played in one game for UW-Oshkosh last season. The four-time WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll member appeared in four games during his UW-Oshkosh career.
Gerend played in eight games for UW-Oshkosh last season and caught nine passes for 76 yards. The three-time WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll member finished his 35-game UW-Oshkosh career with 77 pass receptions for 987 yards and nine touchdowns. His best season was in 2019 when he caught 33 passes for 467 yards and three scores. Gerend holds a 3.59 GPA as an economics major.
A four-time WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll member, Jagla owns a 3.23 GPA as a kinesiology major. He played in eight games for the Titans last fall and counted six tackles, including a pair for a loss. Jagla wrapped up his 19-game UW-Oshkosh career with 11 tackles and 2.5 quarterback sacks.
Kasuboski earned D3football.com All-Region 6 Third Team and All-WIAC Second Team honors in 2021 after collecting All-WIAC First Team accolades in 2019. He played in all nine games for the Titans in 2021 and recorded career highs of 25 receptions, 259 receiving yards and four touchdowns to cap his 42-game UW-Oshkosh career with 47 catches for 510 yards and six scores. Kasuboski, who possesses a 3.56 GPA as a physical education major, received 2021 NCAA Division III Academic All-District 6 First Team honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America. He was a four-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll.
Myrick, who holds a 3.83 GPA as a kinesiology major, played in all nine for the Titans last fall. He was a key component to an offensive line that concluded the 2021 campaign ranked second in Division III by allowing just 2.5 tackles for loss per game while paving the way for 5.6 yards per carry and 19 rushing touchdowns. The three-time WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll member was one of 39 Division III semifinalists (176 overall) for the NFF's 2021 William V. Campbell Trophy, college football's premier scholar-athlete award. Myrick, who played in 17 career games as a Titan, received 2021 NCAA Division III Academic All-District 6 First Team honors from CoSIDA.
Olsen, the most decorated offensive lineman in UW-Oshkosh history, is a two-time Division III Rimington Award winner. He was named a 2021 Division III First Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, a 2019 D3football.com Second Team All-American, a D3football.com All-Region selection in both 2019 and 2021, and an All-WIAC First Team honoree in both 2019 and 2021. Olsen, who was chosen as the 2020 recipient of the WIAC Max Sparger Football Scholar-Athlete Award, graduated in December 2020 with a 3.66 GPA as a major in both supply chain management and finance. The four-time WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll member was one of 40 semifinalists (199 overall) for the NFF's 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy. Olsen was a graduate student at UW-Oshkosh last fall. when he played in all nine games and anchored an offensive line that helped the Titans gain at least 183 rushing yards six times on the year while allowing just 21 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Olsen played in 31 games during his UW-Oshkosh career.
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 771 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.
Division III's Massachusetts Institute of Technology led all football programs with 22 Hampshire Society members in 2022. Coastal Carolina (S.C.), Northwestern (Ill.) and Stanford (Calif.) universities led all FBS programs with 10 members each while Harvard University (Mass.) led all FCS schools with 18 honorees. Hillsdale College (Mich.) was the Division II leader with 14 members.
UW-Oshkosh concluded the 2021 season with a 6-3 record, including a 4-3 WIAC mark that placed the Titans fourth in the league standings. The Titans have now placed fourth or higher in the WIAC 11 straight seasons, clinching league titles in 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019. UW-Oshkosh went on to reach the national championship game in 2016, the semifinals in both 2012 and 2017, and the quarterfinals in 2015.
UW-Oshkosh All-Time Hampshire Society Members
2009: Dieter Juedes
2012: Justin Budiac
2013: Ben Strehlow
2014: Cory Wipperfurth
2015: Kyle Newhouse & Beau Steffens
2016: Craig Schommer & Sam Versnik
2017: Steve Forner, Branden Lloyd, Sam Olszewski & Jake Thein
2018: Beau Ash, Dylan Hecker, Brett Kasper, Stephen Kintz & Ty Summers
2019: Nick Boyd, Turner Geisthardt, Cody Moon, Taylor Ripplinger, Scott Skornicka, Austin Summers, Devin Wilson & Cole Yoder
2020: Alex Wipperfurth
2022: Anthony D'Orazio, Nick Duhm, Mitchell Gerend, Alex Jagla, Justin Kasuboski, Jason Myrick & Mike Olsen