USD Football 2009

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • neer HONOR ROLL football league Pioneer Football League athletic directors and coaches established the PFL honor roll as a way to recognize the league's outstanding student-athletes. The academic honor roll consists of student-athletes who participated in football at member institutions during the fall semester and posted a 3.0 grade-point average or higher while enrolled full-time in accordance with CAA rules.

35 TOREROS NAMED TO 2008 PFL HONOR ROLL

The USD football team placed 35 student-athletes on the 2008 Pioneer Football League Academic Honor Roll for the Fall 2008 semester. Repeat honorees are denoted with an asterisk (*). Joseph Abushawish

Joshua Sutchar Sebastian Trujillo Kyle Warren

John G 'Sell** Dustin Geyer*

D erek Pilkington Alex Rice*** James Rogan* Chad Rusinkovich* Mitchell Ryan Albert Samaha* Paul Slack Conrad Smith* Kyle Sullivan* Averill Sutchar**

Joseph Bailey* Kellen Barker Sam Bergen Brock Christensen* John Cooper Spencer D anielson Kevin Dunn* Michael Fetterman* Christian Fetters E dward Fulham*

Christopher Gianelli**** Benjamin Hannula**** Ian Harper Christian Inzunza Matt Jelmini John Matthews*** Kyle egrete

Patrick O'Neill*** Ricardo Oberwager

2008 TORERO ACADEMIC SUCCESS The USD football team had five play– ers named to the 2008 Pioneer Foot– ball League All-Academic Teams. Led by senior defensive lineman Christo– pher Gianelli ( Palos Verdes, CA), who was also named District VIII ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American, the Toreros placed three on the PFL First Team. Gianelli, the team's 2008 Most Valuable D efen– sive Player, carried a 3.57 grade-point average in his major of Electrical Engineering. Additionally, he was the school's scholar-athlete pick for the ational Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Joining Gianelli on the PFL All-Aca– demic First Team was senior wide receiver Ben Hannula (Tacoma, WA), who tallied a 3.51 GPA in Business

Administration; and senior safety Patrick O'Neill (Mission Viejo, CA), who garnered a 3.82 GPA in Business and Marketing. USD had two players named to the PFL All-Academic 2nd Team - senior receiver John Matthews (Littleton, CO) who carried a 3.07 GPA as a Business Administration major; and junior offensive lineman Conrad Smith (Long Beach, CA), who carried a 3.11 GPA as a Business Administration major. O'Neill, a three-time USD Scholar-Athlete of the Year winner, was one of 43 winners of the 11th annual Football Championship Sub– division Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team. There were 79 total nominees and the winners were announced at the FCS football championship game in Chattanooga, Tennessee. O'Neill was also one of 164 semifinalists for the 2008 D raddy Trophy, and was a candidate for the 2008 National Football Foundation ational Scholar-Athlete Awards.

A total of thirty-five Toreros earned grade-point averages of 3.0 or better and were named to the Pioneer Football League Honor Roll.