Southern Illinoise University Athletics
News | Three Salukis named to MVFC Scholar-Athlete Team
12/05/2023 | 2:00:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois had three players named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete team, the league announced on Tuesday. Offensive linemen Jacob Caughell and Chase Evans were named to the first team, and quarterback Nic Baker was selected for the second team.
Caughell started all 13 games at center for SIU and 24 games in the last two years. The Apopka, Fla. native was a key a part of an SIU offense that featured the school's all-time passing leader (Nic Baker), a 2,000-yard rusher (Ro Elliott) and a 1,200-yard rusher (Justin Strong). Caughell carried a 4.00 GPA in finance as an undergrad and maintains a 4.00 in business administration in grad school.
A dominant figure on SIU's offensive line, Evans started 12 games (missed 1 due to injury) and consistently graded out as SIU's top lineman (91% assignment, only 1 sack allowed, 47 knockdowns). He was named the MVFC offensive lineman of the week at Murray State, after grading out at 94 percent with six knockdowns. Evans had a 3.74 GPA in management as an undergrad, and holds a 4.00 in business administration in grad school. He has started 38 games in his career.
Baker started all 13 games and guided SIU to an 8-5 record and its third playoff appearance in four seasons. He was the national Player-of-the-Week after passing for 462 yards and 3 TDs in a comeback win at SEMO. An eight-time MVFC Offensive Player of the Week in his career, he owns all of the major career passing records at SIU. Baker also holds SIU's single-game marks for passing yards (Northern Iowa-485, Oct. 29, 2022) and completion percentage (Western Illinois: 25-of-28, .893, Oct. 15, 2022).
Scholar-Athlete team nominees must be starters or important reserves; must have participated in at least 50 percent of his team's games and carry a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale). Nominees in graduate school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better both as an undergrad AND in graduate school.
Additionally, nominees must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and must have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. True freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible. Graduate students who are competing at a different institution than the one from which they earned their undergraduate degree are eligible even if they are in their first semester at the graduate institution. League sports information directors voted on the team by designating 11 players for first-team honors and 11 players for second-team honors.
Caughell started all 13 games at center for SIU and 24 games in the last two years. The Apopka, Fla. native was a key a part of an SIU offense that featured the school's all-time passing leader (Nic Baker), a 2,000-yard rusher (Ro Elliott) and a 1,200-yard rusher (Justin Strong). Caughell carried a 4.00 GPA in finance as an undergrad and maintains a 4.00 in business administration in grad school.
A dominant figure on SIU's offensive line, Evans started 12 games (missed 1 due to injury) and consistently graded out as SIU's top lineman (91% assignment, only 1 sack allowed, 47 knockdowns). He was named the MVFC offensive lineman of the week at Murray State, after grading out at 94 percent with six knockdowns. Evans had a 3.74 GPA in management as an undergrad, and holds a 4.00 in business administration in grad school. He has started 38 games in his career.
Baker started all 13 games and guided SIU to an 8-5 record and its third playoff appearance in four seasons. He was the national Player-of-the-Week after passing for 462 yards and 3 TDs in a comeback win at SEMO. An eight-time MVFC Offensive Player of the Week in his career, he owns all of the major career passing records at SIU. Baker also holds SIU's single-game marks for passing yards (Northern Iowa-485, Oct. 29, 2022) and completion percentage (Western Illinois: 25-of-28, .893, Oct. 15, 2022).
Scholar-Athlete team nominees must be starters or important reserves; must have participated in at least 50 percent of his team's games and carry a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale). Nominees in graduate school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better both as an undergrad AND in graduate school.
Additionally, nominees must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and must have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. True freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible. Graduate students who are competing at a different institution than the one from which they earned their undergraduate degree are eligible even if they are in their first semester at the graduate institution. League sports information directors voted on the team by designating 11 players for first-team honors and 11 players for second-team honors.
Players Mentioned
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