NATCHITOCHES –  Northwestern State senior cornerback Imoan Claiborne, who graduated last Friday after earlier getting an invitation to play in next month's Senior Bowl, added to his holiday haul Tuesday when he was voted to the Sports Network's 2014 FCS All-America Team.
 
A first-team All-Southland Conference selection this season, Claiborne is one of 10 FCS players who has accepted an invitation to be one of the 110 NFL Draft prospects in the 66^th Annual Reese's Senior Bowl all-star football game Jan. 24 in Mobile, Ala.
 
Claiborne was a third-team All-America selection in voting by media who cover FCS football around the country and voted all season long on the Sports Network's Top 25 polls.
 
The Alexandria native, an Alexandria Senior High product, is the second Demon to win 2014 All-America recognition. Receiver and return specialist Ed Eagan, a junior, was chosen for the Associated Press All-America second team announced earlier this month.
 
Three years ago, NSU had two All-Americans with linebacker Derek Rose and tight end Justin Aldredge. It is the 15^th time the Demons have had two players from the same team win All-America honors, with an all-time high of four in 1998, when cornerback Jermaine Jones, safety Mike Green, defensive end Robert Daniel and center William Broussard all made at least one All-America team.
  
Claiborne came up with seven of the 30 turnovers NSU forced this season as the Demons ranked third nationally in that statistic. Claiborne was sixth in FCS with three fumble recoveries, and 28^th by making four interceptions. He made 48 tackles and led the Demons with seven pass breakups in 10 ½ games.

Claiborne was a four-year letterman with 103 career tackles, six interceptions -- returning one for a touchdown – and 11 pass breakups in 37 career games. He started 28 games, 22 in the past two seasons, missing one each year due to injury.
 
He twice had a career-best eight tackles in a game – against two strong FBS opponents, 10^th-ranked Baylor as a senior and a 10-win Cincinnati team in his junior season. Claiborne had seven tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection setting up an interception that led to the game-winning field goal in NSU's 30-27 win Sept. 20 at Louisiana Tech.
 
Claiborne was voted one of the Demons' five season captains in August and is a contender for the Joe Delaney Memorial Leadership Award as the defensive team captain, to be awarded at the team's annual awards dinner in January.
 
Last Friday, he graduated with a general studies degree two years after winning the athletic department's Academic Trailblazer Award for a dynamic commitment to his scholastic endeavors at NSU.
 
The Demons (6-6 overall, 4-4 in the Southland) broke 30 school records in 2014 while going against a schedule ranked 10^th-toughest in FCS by USA Today's Sagarin Ratings.  Three down-to-the-wire one-score losses in conference play kept them from postseason despite impressive victories over bowl-bound Louisiana Tech, the Conference USA West Division champion, and FCS playoff semifinalist Sam Houston State, the Southland co-champion.
 
Claiborne is one of 10 players from the Southland Conference to earn election to one of the three teams. Stephen F. Austin running back Gus Johnson earned first team honors. McNeese offensive lineman Antoine Everett is on the second team along with Central Arkansas offensive lineman Cole Caruthers and Southeastern Louisiana linebacker Isiah Corbett. Third team honorees from the SLC include Lamar wide receiver Mark Roberts, SLU kick returner Xavier Roberson, Sam Houston State defensive lineman P.J. Hall and punter Lachlan Edwards, and UCA defensive lineman Jonathan Woodard.
 
 
2014 THE SPORTS NETWORK FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM
 
First Team - Offense
QB - John Robertson, Villanova,; RB - Marshaun Coprich, Illinois State; Gus Johnson, Stephen F. Austin; Zach Zenner, South Dakota State FB - Seth Fisher, Richmond WR - DeAndre Carter, Sacramento State; R.J. Harris, New Hampshire; Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington TE - MyCole Pruitt, Southern Illinois OL - Joe Haeg, North Dakota State; Mason Halter, Fordham; Chad Hamilton, Coastal Carolina; Max Holcombe, Jacksonville State; Collin Seibert, Eastern Illinois AP - David Johnson, Northern Iowa PK - John Lunsford, Liberty KR - Pokey Harris, Murray State
 
First Team - Defense
DL - Kyle Emanuel, North Dakota State; Javon Hargrave, South Carolina State; Davis Tull, Chattanooga; Zack Wagenmann, Montana LB - Quinn Backus, Coastal Carolina; Don Cherry, Villanova; Nick Dzubnar, Cal Poly; Connor Underwood, Indiana State DB - Jacob Hagen, Liberty; Donald Payne, Stetson; Christian Ricard, Stony Brook; Jaquiski Tartt, Samford P - Kyle Loomis, Portland State LS - Chris Highland, Illinois State PR - Antonio Hamilton, South Carolina State
 
Second Team - Offense
QB - Vernon Adams Jr., Eastern Washington RB - John Crockett, North Dakota State; Chase Edmonds, Fordham; Tyler Varga, Yale FB - Brandon Howe, Cal Poly WR - Adam Drake, Eastern Illinois; Darrin Peterson, Liberty; Brian Wetzel, Fordham TE - Harold Spears, New Hampshire OL - Cole Caruthers, Central Arkansas; Nick Easton, Harvard; Antoine Everett, McNeese State; Darren Pinnock, Morgan State; Jake Rodgers, Eastern Washington; Jack Rummells, Northern Iowa AP - Johnta Hebert, Prairie View A&M PK - Michael Schmadeke, Northern Iowa KR - Devin Rahming, Duquesne
 
Second Team - Defense
DL - Jeff Covitz, Bryant; James Cowser, Southern Utah; Zack Hodges; Alec May, Georgetown; Xavier Williams, Northern Iowa LB - Tony Bell, UT Martin; Evan Byers, Bucknell; Isiah Corbett, Southeastern Louisiana; Lynden Trail, Norfolk State DB - Colten Heagle, North Dakota State; Gordon Hill, Sacred Heart; De'Ante Saunders, Tennessee State; Caleb Schaffitzel, Missouri State P - Ben LeCompte, North Dakota State LS - Phil Faccone, Wagner PR - Ladarius Vanlier, Tennessee Tech
 
Third Team - Offense
QB - Justin Arias, Idaho State RB - Malcolm Cyrus, Alabama State; Khairi Dickson, Saint Francis; Connor Kacsor, Dayton; Dy'Shawn Mobley, Eastern Kentucky FB - Andrew Bonnet, North Dakota State WR - Chris King, Duquesne; Mark Roberts, Lamar; Jake Wieneke, South Dakota State TE - Nick Boyle, Delaware OL - Jermaine Barton, Illinois State; Mike Coccia, New Hampshire; Cornelius Edison, Portland State; Vince Kowalski, Villanova; Corey Levin, Chattanooga; Jaime Martinez, Sacred Heart AP - Tarik Cohen, North Carolina A&T; Chandler Curtis, Mercer PK - Ryan McCrum, Southeast Missouri KR - Xavier Roberson, Southeastern Louisiana
 
Third Team - Defense
DL - P.J. Hall, Sam Houston State; Sage Harold, James Madison; Mike Reilly, William & Mary; Devaunte Sigler, Jacksonville State; Gary Wilkins, Furman; Jonathan Woodard, Central Arkansas LB - Kourtney Berry, Alabama State; Christon Gill, Western Carolina; Jerome Howard, Prairie View A&M; Mike Zeuli, Princeton DB - Imoan Claiborne, Northwestern State; Jarrett Dieudonne, Wagner; Matt Hermanson, Montana; Jermaine Hough, Jacksonville State; Tye Smith, Towson P - Lachlan Edwards, Sam Houston State LS - Shane Ballard, Coastal Carolina PR - Michael Jones, North Carolina Central