TU's Sauder Named AFCA First-Team All-American

AFCA All-America Team I TU Honors Page

WACO, Texas – Taylor University's Adam Sauder was named as an AFCA NAIA First-Team All-American on Tuesday, as announced by the American Football Coaches Association.

Sauder is the 10th Trojan to earn NAIA First-Team All-American honors in the history of the TU football program and is Taylor's first All-American since Pagel Williams was also named as a First-Team All-American performer following the 2009 campaign.

The exclusive 25-man 2014 AFCA NAIA First-Team All-America Team consists of 19 seniors, five juniors and one freshman, with Sauder being one of only two non-seniors in the nation to earn First-Team All-American status on the defensive side of the ball.

Sauder's First-Team All-American honor follows the junior strong safety also claiming First-Team All-Mid-States Football Association honors and being named as a Cliff Harris Award Finalist.

The Grabill, Indiana native ended the 2014 season with 70 of his 116 tackles coming via a solo stop and added seven hits for lost yardage, six interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery over 11 starts.

Sauder ranked No. 7 in the NAIA in interceptions and No. 15 in interceptions per game and total tackles, while also ranking No. 2 in the MSFA Mideast League in all three categories.

Along with the lofty statistical rankings, Sauder also highlighted his season with a MSFA Mideast League Defensive Player-of-the-Week honor following Taylor's 23-13 win over No. 17 Saint Ambrose and ended the year with a stretch of seven-straight MSFA outings with 10-or-more tackles dating back to the 2013 season.