ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has released the 2008 All-NSIC North and South Division Teams along with individual award winners. Sophomore punter T.G. Schoenberg (Woodbury, Minn.) was named to the South Division First Team while three others earned Second Team honors and four more were named Honorable Mention. NSIC Release
Joining Schoenberg as All-NSIC South Division performers were second team selections Tyrone Ruffin (WR, Sr., Plymouth, Minn.), Tim Oachs (DE, Sr., Mankato, Minn.) and Rojeer Wright (LB, So., Minneapolis, Minn.).
The four honorable mention selections were John Borchert (DT, So., Champlin, Minn.), Mike Kudick (LB, Sr., Denmark, Wis.), Dalton Outlaw (CB, Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) and Blake Ogletree (OG, Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.).
Schoenberg was possibly the most dominant punter in the Northern Sun in 2008, finishing second in the league in average yards per punt with 38.7 on 49 punts. More impressive are his superlatives, with 15 punts inside the 20, forcing 12 fair catches, six punts of 50 or more yards and four touchbacks. Opponents simply did not have the opportunity to break long returns against the CU punt coverage team, thanks in large part to the hang time and distance combination of Schoenberg's kicks. Opposing teams averaged only 5.6 yards per return and only had the opportunity to return 11 of his 49 punts. His average net yardage was 35.8 yards. He was also a threat to execute a fake punt, catching a 28 yard pass at Minnesota State. He booted a career-long 76 yard punt at U-Mary and also had a 67 yarder in the same game. Schoenberg was picked the CU Male Athlete of the Week once this year, the CU Special Teams Player of the Week three times.
Ruffin put the exclamation point on his career, going out with a 10 touchdown season as a senior, giving him 33 for his career. He finishes as Concordia's career receiving record holder in touchdowns (33) and yards (2,930) while finishing second in career receptions (188). As a senior, Ruffin put up a career-high in yards per catch, averaging 17.5 on his 46 receptions. He finished with 804 yards, second most in his career. The 10 touchdowns were one shy of equaling his single season record of 11 set as a junior (three-way tie). He produced four 100 yard receiving games including a career high 154 yards on seven catches with a career long of 64 and two touchdowns against Augustana. Later in the season at Wayne State, he snared a 65 yard touchdown to one-up his career-long catch and finished the day with 147 receiving yards on just four catches. He recorded a receiving touchdown in four consecutive games twice in 2008, finishing his career on the four game TD streak. Ruffin earned CU Male Athlete of the Week honors once and CU Offensive Player of the Week honors three times.
Oachs was a dominant force as a pass rushing defensive end, piling up 15.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. His TFL numbers were second overall in the Northern Sun and he finished fourth in sacks. His 63 tackles from the DE position were also impressive, leading all CU defensive linemen and finishing third on the team. Oachs produced a career best performance at Wayne State with career-highs in sacks with three and tackles for loss with four and a season high 10 tackles. He is a five-time CU Defensive Lineman of the Week and two-time CU Defensive Player of the Week. He was named the CU Male Athlete of the Week following the dominant performance against Wayne State.
Wright returned to the gridiron for Concordia after a one year absence from the program and quickly made up for lost time, finishing third in the NSIC in tackles with 96. He earned team Defensive Player of the Week honors twice and showed versatility by earning team Special Teams Player of the Week honors once. One of the hardest-hitting players in the league, Wright piled up 10 or more tackles in four games, with a career-high 15 at Minnesota State. He also had 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks with one forced fumble, one interception and three pass breakups. He closed out the season with his best performance, producing three sacks and three tackles for loss against Bemidji State.
Borchert continued his development on the interior defensive line, earning team Defensive Lineman of the Week honors three times as he totaled 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He came on strong late in the year, with four, three, four and five tackles in a four game span before finishing the year with one stop at Bemidji State.
Kudick's senior season was unheralded as he entered his final year having played in 17 games with 10 total tackles, no tackles for loss and no sacks. As a senior he was inserted to the starting lineup and never looked back, making 58 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He also forced a fumble, had three quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. He registered a career-high 11 tackles at Minnesota State, had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack at U-Mary and made his first career sack against MSU Moorhead in week three.
Outlaw continued to be a game-breaking type cornerback for the Golden Bears, recording each of his two interceptions in back-to-back weeks on the road. His INT at U-Mary was returned 25 yards for a touchdown and helped CU hold on for a 17-7 road win. He recorded a season-high seven tackles with his second INT, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup at Minnesota State the next week. He returned two INT's for touchdown in his career - both on the road, and both leading to victories. He started his CU career with a pick-six at Augustana in what amounted to a 20-19 win for the visiting Golden Bears in 2007.
Ogletree earns All-NSIC Honorable Mention honors for the second consecutive year. The most imposing of CU offensive lineman helped impose his will on opposing defenses for two seasons. He was named the team's Offensive Lineman of the Week twice as a senior.
