Pickard named first-team Academic All-American
12/08/2011 | 12:00:00 | Football
Dec. 8, 2011
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
TOWSON, Md. - Southern Illinois offensive lineman David Pickard has been named a Capital One first-team Academic All-American, as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Pickard is SIU's third first-team honoree in the last two years.
Pickard graduated magna cum laude in summer 2010 with a 3.94 GPA in political science. He minored in criminology and criminal justice. He currently holds a 4.0 GPA in his work towards a master's degree in public administration. He was a second-team Academic All-American by both CoSIDA and ESPN in 2010, and a three-time Academic All-Conference selection. He was named to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team in 2010.
On the field, Pickard started 43 games for the Salukis, including the last 35 in a row. He was a three-time All-Conference honoree and a third-team All-American in 2009. He has won Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week twice in his career. As a senior, Pickard didn't give up a sack all year and posted a 93 percent blocking percentage.
Pickard is Southern's eighth first-team Academic All-American. After not having an Academic All-American in nearly 20 years, SIU had Joe Allaria and Chance Coda earn first-team honors last season.
SIU's all-time Academic All-Americans
First Team
1959: Willie Brown, OL
1970: Sam Finocchio, OL
1988: Chuck Harmke, RB
1991: John Manley, LB
1991: Dwayne Summers, DL
2010: Joe Allaria, WR
2010: Chance Coda, DE
2011: David Pickard, OL
Second Team
1970: Dave Petruncio, DL
2009: Mike McElroy, S
2010: David Pickard, OL
