Evans Named to AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America Team

BLOOMSBURG - Bloomsburg University senior offensive lineman Jahri Evans (Philadelphia/ Frankford) has been named to the 2005 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches' All-America Team. This is the second consecutive year that Evans has been named to the AFCA All-America Team.

Evans, a 6-4 340 pound tackle, is regarded as one of the best offensive lineman in the country. He anchored a line that was ranked eight nationally in rushing offense at 284.3 yards per game and was 10th in total offense with 473.4 yards per game. Evans graded out at 95% each game and was involved in many second and third level blocks and numerous pancake blocks. He was also part of an offensive line that allowed just 13 sacks in 12 games. In addition, Evans' blocking allowed 46 of the team's 66 touchdowns (69 percent) to come on the ground.

The Huskies led the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in rushing offense by nearly 60 yards per game over the second place team. Evans blocked for Division II's leading rusher and scorer, Jamar Brittingham (Levittown/ Neshaminy), a finalist for the Harlon Hill award, which is given to the nation's best player in Division II. Evans also led the Huskies to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the 2005 NCAA playoffs.

In addition to being named to the AFCA All-America team this season, Evans was named to the All-PSAC East first team, Daktronics First Team All-Northeast Region, and he has been selected to play in the Las Vegas All-American Classic on January 14th. He is also a finalist for the Gene Upshaw award, which honors the nation's top offensive lineman in Division II each season.

"Jahri is well respected by everyone on the team", said Bloomsburg's head coach Danny Hale. "He is one of the best down field blockers I have ever seen. He is a hard worker on and off the field and is a legit NFL prospect."

The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. The AFCA Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA's nine 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 team is chosen.