Three Football Players Named Academic All-America
(AUSTIN, Texas) – Three Carnegie Mellon University football athletes were honored with selections to the 2024 Academic All-America football teams, selected by the College Sports Communicators. Graduate student linebacker Robert Coury and junior placekicker Justin Caputo were selected to the first team with graduate student linebacker Thomas Coury garnering second team accolades. This is the third straight year that the Coury's have earned the distinction.
Carnegie Mellon's three recipients mark the 12th time that at least three have been recognized in the same season. The program now has 72 total Academic All-Americans, ranking first in Division III and moving into second among all of college football across Divisions I, II, III and NAIA.
Robert Coury carries a 3.97 GPA as a mechanical engineering major. He was a William V. Campbell Trophy Finalist and a finalist for the 2024 Gagliardi Trophy as well as named to four different All-American teams - American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP), D3football.com and Walter Camp Football Foundation. The first-team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) selection led the defense for the fifth straight season in tackles (77) and fourth straight season in tackles for loss (18.5) while also leading the squad with 6.0 sacks. Coury forced five fumbles, recovered two fumbles and had one blocked punt this season. His five forced fumbles ranked fourth nationally. He finished his career with 366 tackles and 65.0 tackles for loss, ranking tops all-time in program history in both categories. Off the field, Coury has volunteered at the Western Spring Sectional competition of the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania, Get in the Game - Be The Match and Rise Against Hunger. Coury has worked on numerous projects, including the Smart Walk Design Prototype where he designed a walker attachment using sensor to vibration motor communication to benefit disabled individuals. The inside linebacker has been a manufacturing engineer intern for Mack Trucks, a subsidiary of Volvo Group, as well as a construction project management intern for Tesla and Curtiss-Wright as a mechanical engineering intern. He is a member of Undergraduate Consulting Club, Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, the Sports Analytics Club and Cru at Carnegie Mellon.
Caputo, a chemical engineering major, maintains a perfect 4.00 GPA. The junior was a first-team All-PAC selection after he led the conference in scoring for kickers with 83 points for the second straight, while also leading the PAC with 10 field goals and 53 converted point-after-attempts. He recorded a career-long 43-yard field goal against Grove City. He currently ranks second in program history with 93 career PATs. He was a STEM Intern at Covestro in summer of 2024 where he performed chemical resistance testing of new products according to automotive OEM specifications. He is a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and has participated in philanthropy events to raise money for cancer research.
Thomas Coury, a mechanical engineering graduate student, had an undergraduate GPA of 3.95 and has a 4.0 GPA in graduate school. He was named to the 2024 D3football.com All-Region 2 Team and first team All-PAC. Coury ranked second on the team in tackles with 71. He ended the season with 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, forced a fumble and blocked a punt. He also returned his own block punt for a touchdown against Saint Vincent. He finished his career with 299 tackles which rank fourth all-time in program history. Coury was a summer associate for EY-Parthenon and has also been an engineering/project management intern for Curtiss-Wright. He is a member of Undergraduate Consulting Club, Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, the Sports Analytics Club and Cru at Carnegie Mellon. Coury has volunteered at the Western Spring Sectional competition of the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania.