(WACO, Texas) – Graduate student linebacker Robert Coury of the Carnegie Mellon University football team was named to the 2024 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches' All-America second team, marking the third straight season he has been honored as he claimed first-team honors in 2022 and 2023.
Coury becomes the sixth player in Division III to be named a three-time AFCA All-American. The last was punter Jeff Shea from California Lutheran in 1995-97.
The award for Coury is the ninth in program history and marks the first player to have garnered the accolade three times. He joined running back Sam Benger as the only other multi-year honoree, as he earned back-to-back first-team honors from the coaches' association in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, punter Tyler Kohman earned first-team accolades. Before Coury's honor a year ago, the last defensive player to receive national recognition from the organization was Nick Zitelli in 2000. The other two honorees were linebacker Ken Murawaski in 1981 and offensive lineman Robert Butts in 1985.
Coury, who is finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, led the defense for the fifth straight season in tackles (71) and fourth straight season in tackles for loss (17.0) while also leading the squad with 5.0 sacks. He ranks third in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) in tackles for loss, 11th in sacks and 14th in total tackles. The senior has also forced four fumbles, recovered two fumbles and had one blocked punt this season. His four forced fumbles are the top in the PAC in fourth nationally. He currently has 360 career tackles and 63.5 tackles for loss, ranking tops all-time in program history in both categories.
The three-year captain headed a Tartans defense that at the end of the regular season led the PAC in total defense and were ranked second nationally. Including the second round NCAA playoff game, the defense has allowed 219.5 yards per game of total offense. The Cardinal and Gray also led the league averaging 9.2 tackles for loss per game which ranks second in the nation. The defense has held 10 opponents under 100 yards on the ground and broke a school record when holding Centre to -33 yards rushing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The rushing defense was ranked second in the PAC and currently fifth nationally and has allowed 45.4 yards per game.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
The AFCA's Division III All-America Selection Committee is made up of head coaches representing each conference from each of the AFCA's seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.
Coury and the 13th-ranked Tartans will continue their season on Saturday, December 7, at fifth-ranked Mount Union at 12:00 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.