NATCHITOCHES – For the fourth consecutive year, six of the 24 slots on the Academic All-Southland Conference Football Team are filled by Northwestern State student-athletes, led by Academic All-Americans Justin Aldredge and Yaser Elqutub.

Aldredge, a senior tight end, graduated with a 3.89 grade point average in accounting.  Elqutub, a senior linebacker, finished with a 3.85 GPA in scientific inquiry. They were joined on the Academic All-Southland roster by Demon teammates Phil LeBlanc, a senior cornerback with a 3.37 GPA in business administration who graduated last spring; sophomore center John McLendon, with a 3.73 in nursing;  junior kicker John Shaughnessy, carrying a 3.64 in biology; and junior end Wade Williams, who has a 3.08 in psychology.

Making the team for a third straight year was Aldredge, while Elqutub, Shaughnessy and Williams were repeat selections from 2010.

Aldredge led the Demons in catches (39) and receiving yards (514), ranking in the top 10 in the conference in both categories while earning first-team All-Southland and second-team All-America honors from Beyond College Sports Network. The Natchitoches native, who attended high school in Ruston at Cedar Creek, was elected to both the Capital One Academic All-America Team for Division I football and to the FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team, along with Elqutub.

Elqutub, from Houston-Cinco Ranch High School, started all 11 games despite a broken toe as a senior, and made 50 tackles along with 3 pass breakups. Honorable mention All-Southland as a junior, Elqutub won two of the more prestigious awards in college football in 2011, being named one of 16 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes and one of 22 members of the Allstate American Football Coaches Association's Good Works Team for outstanding community service and campus leadership.

LeBlanc, who graduated last May with a  3.37 GPA in business administration, started twice at safety and played in all 11 games, starting as the placement holder for Shaughnessy, handling the role flawlessly on 35 kicks. The Metairie native and Holy Cross product made 19 tackles, including 12 solo stops, and returned a fumble 95 yards for a touchdown at SMU.

McLendon, from Pearl, Miss., started six games in relief of injured senior Zach Case at center, He graded 84 percent on 82 plays in a 51-17 win over Southeastern Louisiana, graded 81 percent on 62 plays in a 37-17 win at Lamar, and had four knockdown blocks at LSU after replacing Case 11 snaps into the game. He was elected to the Capital One Academic All-District 6 team and was named NSU's 2010-11 Freshman Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Shaughnessy, a Shreveport-Byrd product, was an honorable mention All-American who was a first-team All-Southland selection after making 14 of 16 field goals, including a school-record 12 consecutive to end the season. He was also elected to the Capital One Academic All-District 6 Team.

Williams made 34 tackles as a junior while starting all 11 games. The Groveton, Texas, product was honorable mention All-Southland in 2010.

There were 13 automatic selections on the Southland all-academic team. To be an automatic selection, a student-athlete must be selected first-team All-Southland Conference, CoSIDA Academic All-District or named to the FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team.
 
Sam Houston State placed a conference-best seven members of the Academic All-Southland team, topping NSU for the conference lead for the first time in four years. McNeese State had four selections, Central Arkansas had three and Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls State each had two.  Voting for the team was done by head football coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each football-playing member institution.
 
All-America offensive lineman Travis Watson of Sam Houston State was voted student-athlete of the year by a panel of faculty athletic representatives considering nominees, including NSU's Aldredge.