Displaying his academic might as well as football-playing prowess, Linfield College senior Jacob Priester has been named to the Capital One Division III Academic All-America team as selected and announced this week by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

A biology major who plans a career as an orthopedic surgeon, Priester carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average while competing in a time-intensive and physically demanding sport.

The Wildcats' starting tight end was appointed to the Academic All-America second team. He started all 11 games on the offensive line, catching five passes for 34 yards and one touchdown. Linfield, ranked second in the nation, rolled to the Northwest Conference championship while leading NCAA Division III in scoring.

Priester becomes the first CoSIDA Academic All-American at Linfield since 2005 when center Dwight Donaldson received the prestigious honor.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.