Five Carnegie Mellon Football Players Named Academic All-District
(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team had five members named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-District Team Thursday, November 7. This marked the eighth straight year the Tartans have had at least five named to the All-District team. To be nominated for the award, a student-athlete must be a starter or significant reserve and maintain a GPA of 3.3 or better.
Carnegie Mellon is part of District 4 which is comprised of all Division III schools in the state of Pennsylvania. All five honorees will now move on to the national ballot for Capital One Academic All-America recognition.
Of the five, four are repeat honorees with one, senior guard Jacob Krause (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial), making his third appearance. The three that were honored a year ago with Krause are senior quarterback Rob Kalkstein (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), senior defensive lineman Ryan Jok (Novi, Mich.) and junior wide out Tim Swanson (Millburn, N.J.). Senior center Daniel Santoro (Butler, Pa.) is the fifth Tartan and a first-time recipient.
Krause and Santoro have helped Carnegie Mellon put together a balanced attack for the second straight season. The Tartans average 324.0 yards per game with 176.1 yards coming by way of the passing game and 147.9 on the ground. On two occasions this season, the Tartans have compiled 400 yards or more of total offense while accomplishing the feat 11 times in the past four years. Krause is majoring in biological sciences with a 3.46 GPA and has appeared in all 39 games in his career. Santoro is an electrical and computer engineering major and carries a 3.74 GPA.
Kalkstein notched his second career 300 yard passing game earlier this season as he recorded 305 yards at Westminster. Last season, he passed for a career-best 314 yards against DePauw as he became the first Tartan to pass for 300 yards in a contest since the 1993 season. The senior ranks second on the Tartans' all-time passing list with 5,010 yards for his career and needs 368 more to become the all-time leader. He ranks fourth in career touchdown passes with 33 and second with 369 completions, needing 12 to become the all-time leader. In 2012, Kalkstein set three single-season school records with 2,148 yards passing, 136 completions and a completion percentage of .624 on his way to being named the University Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year. A business administration major, Kalkstein carries a 3.63 GPA and was a semifinalist for the 2013 William V. Campbell Trophy.
Swanson leads the team with 384 yards receiving and is tied for the lead with two touchdowns receptions while ranking second with 19 receptions. In the Tartans' 41-34 double-overtime victory over Geneva, Swanson recorded his third 100-yard receiving game for his career finishing with four catches for 113 yards. The junior is a chemical engineering major with a minor in business administration and carries a 3.53 GPA.
Jok recorded a career-high eight tackles, including four solo, this season against Washington University while also recovering the third fumble of his career. On the season, he has tallied 2.5 tackles for a loss of 11 yards. The senior has a 3.76 GPA and is a business administration major.