Daktronics All-Region team

EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University linebacker Matt Freed received a pair of awards on Tuesday that solidified his standing among the top football student-athletes in the country, earning first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors and the Daktronics Division II Super Region One Defensive Player of the Year.

Freed (Souderton/Souderton) finished his redshirt junior season with 132 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks while leading the Warriors to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. He will be one of four players eligible to receive the Daktronics Division II National Defensive Player of the Year award and was a first team Daktronics All-America selection last season.

In the classroom, Freed became the fifth ESU football player to be named to the Academic All-America team, and the third to earn a spot on the first team. A History major, Freed has a 3.70 cumulative grade-point average and maintained a 4.0 GPA during the 2008-09 academic year. He joins defensive back Matt Crispell (2004) and tight end Ernie Siegrist (1984) as Warriors who were named to the first team. Punter Ed Detwiler (1992) and linebacker Warren Brown (1979) were second team selections.

Senior free safety Nicholas Artinger (first team) and redshirt senior offensive lineman Morgan Thomas (second team) were also recognized on the Daktronics Super Region One squad. Artinger and Freed will advance to the national ballot for All-America consideration.

Artinger (Allentown/Freedom) led the PSAC with seven interceptions and added 41 tackles (2.0 TFL) and three pass breakups during his final year with the Warriors. He made 30 career starts in the secondary for ESU, 22 at safety and eight at cornerback, and started at least four games in each of his four seasons. He had two picks each against Clarion, Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock, including a 45-yard return for a touchdown, and had 10 career interceptions.

Thomas (Allentown/Parkland) started 42 career games on the offensive line for the Warriors to earn his All-Region nod. He was a first team All-PSAC East selection as a senior and started all 12 games at left tackle as one of just two returning starters on the offensive line. ESU was second in the PSAC in passing offense and total offense during the regular season, averaged 29.3 points per game during the year and also established a strong running game, with at least 40 rushing attempts in six of their 12 games.

Freed and Artinger led a defense that ranked in the top 10 in Division II in three categories during the 2009 season. The Warriors entered the playoffs ranked fourth in the country in red zone defense (60 percent, 21-35), tied for fourth on fourth downs (20 percent, 3-15) and tied for sixth with 33 takeaways. ESU led the conference with 18 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries during the regular season.

Freed has 258 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss and 14 sacks over the last two seasons, following up his All-America campaign from Daktronics and the Associated Press in 2008 (126 tackles, 11.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks) with even better numbers this year. He has at least 10 tackles in 16 of his 23 career starts, including 20 tackles (tied for fourth in Division II) vs. Slippery Rock and 14 solo tackles (tied for the most in Division II) at Kutztown this season. He recorded at least one tackle behind the line of scrimmage in all but one game and had three games with two sacks, against Bloomsburg, Slippery Rock and Edinboro in the NCAA Playoffs.

The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team is selected by a national panel of members of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), which names a team at the University (Division I) and College (Division II and III) levels. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Morningside College wide receiver Beau Kildow were named the Academic All-Americans of the Year.

Freed is ESU's second Academic All-America selection this academic year, along with Toric Robinson of the men's soccer team, and the fourth ESU student-athlete this calendar year. Chris Bach (men's basketball) and Paul Wagner (track and field) were selected last spring. ESU has produced 21 student-athletes that have received a total of 27 Academic All-America honors since Warren Brown (football) and Mike Petruny (baseball) were first recognized in 1979.

The Daktronics All-Region team is also selected by members of CoSIDA in Super Region One, which is comprised of the Pennsylvania State Athletic, West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic, Northeast 10 and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conferences. Quarterback Zach Amedro of West Liberty University was the regional Offensive Player of the Year and led nine All-Region recipients from the Hilltoppers.