Norris & McDonald Chosen for CoSIDA Academic All-District Football Team
WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University senior defensive end Paul Norris (North Attleboro/North Attleboro HS) and junior safety Sam McDonald (Norfolk/King Philip Reg. HS) have been voted to the 2015 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-District 1 football team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Norris and McDonald will now be considered for the 2015 CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America® team, which will be selected next month.
Bentley is one of only six programs to have multiple selections on the All-District 1 team, which included players competing in the Northeast-10 Conference, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the Mountain West Conference and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Norris, a 2014 Academic All-Northeast-10 selection, is making his second appearance on the Academic All-District team. He's played in every game for the third straight season and is currently third on the team in tackles with 41, including 5.5 for losses, three sacks and six quarterback hurries.
One of the team's captains, Norris has recovered two fumbles for the Falcons and also has been credited with a pair of forced fumbles.
Norris, in the classroom, has earned an impressive 3.60 GPA as a finance major. He aspires to be an astrophysicist and work for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
No one in the Northeast-10 has more takeaways than McDonald, who has six overall and five in his last four games. He's made four of the team's seven interceptions, including two that locked up victories in the waning minutes of games, and two fumble recoveries.
For his career, McDonald has 13 interceptions, a total that is sixth most in program history. He is fifth among active Division II players in interceptions, as well as tied for 16th among all active players and first among current Division II juniors.
In addition to being a standout on the field, McDonald has achieved a 3.44 GPA as an economics-finance major.
Bentley, 4-5, will be back in action Saturday with a 1 pm home game against LIU Post.