WACO — The Texas A&M University-Commerce football team has become the first team to ever have three players named All-American by the American Football Coaches Association in the same season, as the teams were announced Wednesday morning. Offensive lineman Jared Machorro was named First Team All-American, and quarterback Luis Perez and cornerback Yusef Sterling-Lowe earned Second Team All-American honors.
 
With these selections, national semifinalist A&M-Commerce now has the second-most All-Americans in the history of the AFCA program, with 19 players earning a total of 22 All-American honors. The Lions' streak of five straight seasons with a selection going back to the 2013 season is the longest active streak in Division II.
 
Machorro – a senior tackle from Coldspring – is one of six repeat honorees as an AFCA All-American in 2017 after earning second team honors in 2016. This is his fifth career All-America honor.  He was previously named first team All-Region by the Division II Conference Commissioners' Association, the Lone Star Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year, and was named first team all-LSC after leading the offensive line to a dominant season that saw the Lions lead the nation in passing. He has twice earned first team all-LSC honors. Machorro is the sixth Lion to win Offensive Lineman of the Year honors since the award was instituted in 1985, and the first A&M-Commerce player to do in a single-division LSC.
 
Perez – a senior quarterback from Chula Vista, Calif. – earns his second career postseason All-America honor after leading the nation in passing. Perez was also named the Super Region Four Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Region by the D2CCA. The Harlon Hill Trophy finalist is Division II's leading passer, averaging 337.5 yards per game, completing 374-of-532 passes for 4,388 yards with 42 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, throwing for over 300 yards in 10 consecutive games. Perez won the Lone Star Conference's J.W. Rollins Award as the offensive player of the year and has been named the First Team All-Lone Star Conference quarterback in both of his seasons as a Lion.
 
He is Division II's active career leader in passing yards per game (296.7 yards per game in his career), ranking ninth in all NCAA divisions. He is one of only three players in all NCAA divisions with over 4,000 passing yards this season. He has a career record of 23-3 as the Lions' starting quarterback. Over his two-year Lion career, Perez has completed 618-of-921 passes for 7,714 yards with 74 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He has thrown for over 300 yards in 15 of his 26 career games.
 
Sterling-Lowe – a senior cornerback from Oakland, Calif. – was previously named First Team All-Lone Star Conference and earns his first career All-America award. He has been one of the top cornerbacks in the nation in both pass and run defense. He has made 34 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and eight total passes defended.
 
The Lions (12-1) host the NCAA Division II Football Championship National Semifinal on Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff against Harding University is set for 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting www.WeAreLionsTix.com, calling (903) 468-8756, or visiting the Box Office in the Field House.
 
 

2017 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America - First Team
Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
QB	Travis Tarnowski	5-11	218	Sr.	Ashland
RB	Marc Jones	5-11	225	Sr.	Gannon
RB	*Kamal Cass	5-11	185	Sr.	Eastern New Mexico
WR	Donta Armstrong	5-10	151	Sr.	West Alabama
WR	Weston Carr	6-2	200	So.	Azusa Pacific
TE	Seth Hebert	6-4	225	R-Jr.	Central Missouri
OL	*Jared Machorro	6-7	280	Sr.	A&M-Commerce
OL	Joseph Lacey	6-6	328	Sr.	LIU-Post
OL	Desmond Harrison	6-7	288	Sr.	West Georgia
OL	Andrew Alten	6-2	308	Sr.	Findlay
OL	Ruben Holcomb	6-4	317	R-Sr.	Indianapolis
Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
DL	Blake Nelson	5-11	230	Sr.	Colorado Mesa
DL	*Marcus Martin	6-2	255	R-Sr.	Slippery Rock
DL	*Zach Sieler	6-6	290	Jr.	Ferris St.
DL	Nathan Shepherd	6-5	300	Sr.	Fort Hays St.
LB	**Kyle Kitchens	6-2	205	Sr.	Catawba
LB	Brandon Payer	6-4	248	Jr.	Colorado St.-Pueblo
LB	*Osband Thompson	6-0	205	Sr.	Tuskegee
DB	Max Redfield	6-1	205	Sr.	Indiana (Pa.)
DB	Chris Johnson	6-3	200	Jr.	North Alabama
DB	Marcus Jones	6-0	178	Sr.	Northwest Missouri St.
DB	Andrew Spencer	6-1	210	Sr.	Winona St.
Specialists
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
PK	Casey Bednarski	6-1	230	Jr.	Minnesota St.
P	Cody Mikell	6-0	215	Sr.	Henderson St.
AP	Deonte Harris	5-6	170	Jr.	Assumption

 
*-2016 AFCA All-American
**-2015 & 2016 AFCA All-American
 

2017 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America - Second Team
Offense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
QB	Luis Perez	6-3	220	Sr.	A&M-Commerce
RB	*Chris Robinson	5-9	196	Sr.	Delta St.
RB	Ja'Quan Gardner	5-7	205	Sr.	Humboldt St.
WR	Keshaun Taylor	6-1	180	Sr.	Mars Hill
WR	J.T. Luper	5-9	175	Sr.	Central Oklahoma
TE	Tanner Hudson	6-5	239	R-Sr.	Southern Arkansas
OL	Dontavius Blair	6-7	294	Sr.	West Alabama
OL	Taylor Nikithser	6-4	300	Sr.	California (Pa.)
OL	Austin Fleer	6-8	300	Sr.	Colorado Mesa
OL	Sam Lee	6-5	300	Sr.	Augustana (S.D.)
OL	Islam Sbeih	6-1	298	Sr.	Midwestern St.
Defense
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
DL	Davondrick Lison	6-2	213	R-Jr.	Southern Arkansas
DL	Myles Humphrey	6-2	245	Sr.	Shepherd
DL	Adonis Davis	6-3	257	R-Jr.	Florida Tech
DL	Markus Jones	6-3	255	Jr.	Angelo St.
LB	Austin Weltha	5-10	220	Sr.	McKendree
LB	Dennis Gardeck	6-0	205	Gr.	Sioux Falls
LB	Kevin Haynes	6-1	228	Sr.	Central Washington
DB	Yusef Sterling-Lowe	6-2	170	Sr.	A&M-Commerce
DB	Tevin Madison	5-10	168	Sr.	West Alabama
DB	Tavierre Thomas	6-0	205	Sr.	Ferris St.
DB	Darius Williams	6-0	195	Jr.	Colorado St.-Pueblo
Specialists
Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School
PK	Cole Tracy	5-11	190	Sr.	Assumption
P	Justin Marcha	6-1	200	Sr.	Emporia St.
AP	BJ Muckelvene	5-10	170	R-So.	Wingate

 
*-2016 AFCA All-American
 
Team Background: The five teams now chosen for each AFCA?division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams – University Division and College Division – were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — FBS and FCS. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II?and Division III,?respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team. From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.
 
Selection Process: The AFCA's Division II?All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA's seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the teams are chosen.