TWO BULLDOGS RECEIVE 2006 PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS

Hansen's Football Gazette Names Klobucher and Visser To Its Preseason Team

Mike Klobucher

Senior middle linebacker Mike Klobucher (Grand Haven/North Muskegon) and sophomore defensive tackle Jake Visser (Coopersville) of the Ferris State University football team have been chosen as 2006 preseason All-Americans by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette.

The pair were among 148 players representing all four geographic regions of NCAA Division II to receive the publication’s preseason honor. The Football Gazette 2006 Preseason All-America Team is comprised of 93 seniors, 46 juniors and nine sophomores. A total of 41 individuals on the this year's preseason list attained All-America accolades from Football Gazette in 2005. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) featured 13 representatives on the team. Klobucher was among 15 linebackers to earn preseason All-America plaudits while Visser was joined by 10 others at the defensive guard/tackle position.

Last season, former Ferris State flanker Carlton Brewster garnered Football Gazette Preseason All-America Team recognition.

Klobucher, who was named both Ferris' Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Defensive Skill Player in 2005, lead the Bulldogs in tackles for the second consecutive year with 109 total stops (45 solos) in 10 outings. The two-time (2004-05) All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team honoree also registered 6.5 tackles for a loss of 16 yards to go along with one pass breakup, one fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles. The 6-2, 245-pound linebacker totaled double-figure tackles in five consecutive contests (9/3-10/1) a season ago, including a season-high 17 stops versus Indianapolis (9/17).

Klobucher concluded the 2005 campaign ranked 14th among the NCAA-II national leaders in total tackles (10.9 avg.), 45th in solo tackles (4.9 avg.), and 100th in forced fumbles (0.2 avg.). He accumulated a career single-season best 134 tackles in 2004 which ranks 18th highest in school history. An excellent student-athlete, Klobucher is a two-time (2004-05) GLIAC All-Academic Team member and was the 2005 team's recipient of the FSU President's Academic Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average.

Jake Visser

Visser achieved honorable mention All-GLIAC honors a season as a result of compiling a team second-place 98 total tackles (43 solos) as a redshirt freshman. The 2005 FSU Most Valuable Defensive Lineman Award winner also notched eight tackles for minus 29 yards, which included four pass sacks for a loss of 22 yards. A starter in all 11 games last fall, the 6-2, 265-pound defensive tackle finished 47th among the national leaders in forced fumbles (0.27 avg.) and 64th in total tackles (8.9 avg.). Visser, who was also a 2005 GLIAC All-Academic pick, posted four double-digit single-game tackle performances a season ago. He made a season-high 14 stops on two occasions - at Grand Valley State (8/27) and at Findlay (10/1).

Ferris State opens its 11-game 2006 schedule and its 99th year of varsity competition Saturday, Sept. 2, versus the Kentucky State University Thorobreds in Frankfort, Ky. A 1 p.m. (EDT) opening kickoff is scheduled for the non-conference contest at KSU's Alumni Stadium in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Bulldogs' 2006 season home opener will be Saturday, Sept. 16, against preseason nationally-ranked the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals in a 7 p.m. (EDT) GLIAC matchup at FSU's Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich.

The upcoming 2006 season represents the 19th year in which Don Hansen’s Football Gazette, a recognized authority on small college football, has selected both NCAA Division II postseason and preseason All-America teams.