Moon Township, PA -- For the second straight year, a trio of student-athletes from the Robert Morris University football team were honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Thursday, as junior linebacker Brad Banas (Houston, Pa. / Chartiers Houston), senior offensive lineman Logan Miles (Scottdale, Pa. / Scottdale) and junior defensive lineman Nolan Nearhoof (Gibsonia, Pa. / Mars Area) were named to the 2011 Capital One District II University Division Academic All-America Team.
Robert Morris was the only institution to place three of its student-athletes on the Capital One District II University Division Academic All-America Team, as Saint Francis (Pa.) and Kentucky each had a pair.
CoSIDA's District II covers Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
For Banas and Nearhoof, it marks their second straight District II honor, while Miles is honored for the first time. Banas and Nearhoof are the seventh and eight different Colonials in school history to earn District II Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA in back-to-back years.
In all, a total of 14 student-athletes from the football program have earned District II academic honors from CoSIDA, the most by any program at Robert Morris.
By being named to the 2011 Capital One District II University Division Academic All-America Team, Banas, Miles and Nearhoof will be placed on the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.
Banas, 6'1" and 220 pounds, has played in eight of RMU's nine games so far on the 2011 campaign, compiling 34 tackles, including 12 solo stops and four tackles for losses that have totaled 11 yards. He also owns three pass breakups and a fumble recovery. On his career, Banas owns 75 tackles, including a pair of sacks, and five pass breakups in 26 games. He owns a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average as an engineering major.
The 6'3", 295-pound Miles will make his 21st consecutive start at center Saturday when the Colonials host Wagner in their final home game of the 2011 campaign. Overall Miles owns 24 career starting assignments, and in 2010 he helped anchor an offensive line that allowed former running back Myles Russ (2007-10) to become the program's all-time leading rusher. A computer information systems major, Miles owns a 3.65 cumulative GPA.
Nearhoof, 6'2" and 280 pounds, ranks third for Robert Morris through nine games of the 2011 season with 60 tackles. He leads the Northeast Conference in solo sacks (7) and ranks second in the category overall with seven and-a-half. Nearhoof also owns 12.5 tackles for losses that have totaled 59 yards, two pass breakups and a pair of fumble recoveries.
In 29 career games Nearhoof has tallied 137 tackles, tops among active Colonials, and is tied for fourth all-time at Robert Morris in career sacks with 16. Named to the 2010 Capital One Academic All-America Second Team, Nearhoof owns a cumulative GPA of 3.87 as a biology major.
In order to be eligible for Capital One All-District Academic All-America Team consideration from CoSIDA, a student-athlete must by a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale. The student-athlete must also have reached sophomore eligibility at the institution and completed at least one full academic year.
Led by Joe Walton, the only head coach in the 18-year history of the program, Robert Morris will honor its 12 seniors prior to a Noon kickoff against Wagner at Joe Walton Stadium Saturday, Nov. 12.