FERRIS' JAKE VISSER NAMED TO NORTHWEST REGION TEAM

Sophomore Defensive Tackle Receives First-Team Honors By Daktronics

*2006 Daktronics, Inc. Division II All-Northwest Region Football Team* PDF

Jake Visser has been named to the Daktronics Northwest Region First Team.

Ferris State University sophomore defensive tackle Jake Visser (Coopersville) has been chosen as a first-team member of the 2006 Daktronics, Inc. Division II All-Northwest Region Football Team, which was released Wednesday (Nov. 29).

Both the first and second teams were voted by the sports information directors of NCAA Division II member institutions within the region which their school participates in. The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at all levels of competition. Those individuals receiving first-team recognition will now advance to the national ballot with the 2006 Daktronics All-America Team being announced on Wednesday, Dec. 13.

Visser was one of 12 players to garner first-team kudos on defense and among three defensive linemen. Twelve student-athletes named to one of the two teams were from Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member institutions, highlighted by 11 first-team selections.

Visser, a 2006 GLIAC First-Team honoree, placed second among Ferris State's tackles leaders for the 2006 season with 86 stops (52 solos) as an 11-game starter. He registered a team-leading 16.0 tackles for minus 74 yards, which included a conference-high 10.5 pass sacks for a loss of 62 yards. Visser posted a season-best 12 tackles (seven solos) against Michigan Tech (10/7) while garnering nine stops apiece (five solos) in road encounters versus Kentucky State (9/2) and Mercyhurst (9/9). He preserved the Bulldogs' 26-23 conference win over then nationally fifth-ranked Saginaw Valley State (9/16) with a fumble recovery in the final half minute of Ferris' home opener and concluded the contest with eight tackles (four solos).

A two-time (2005-06) FSU Most Valuable Defensive Lineman, Visser's sacks total this fall represented the sixth-highest number on the Bulldogs' all-time single-season leaders list. The 6-2, 265-pound lineman presently ranks ninth among the 2006 NCAA Division II statistical leaders in pass sacks (1.0 avg.), 30th in solo tackles (4.7 avg.), and 34th in tackles for loss (1.5 avg.).

In 23 career games, Visser has accumulated 184 tackles (95 solos) with 24 tackles for a loss of 103 yards to go with three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, and three pass breakups. He's currently listed 16th on the school's all-time pass sacks leaders chart with 14.5 total for a minus 84 yards. Visser earned honorable mention all-conference plaudits for the 2005

Ferris State concluded the 2006 season with an 8-3-0 overall record and a third-place 7-3-0 mark in the GLIAC, which was the program's best performance since 1996 (10-2-0 overall).

The most recent Bulldogs to attain first-team accolades by Daktronics were outside linebacker Kevin Myers and flanker Carlton Brewster in 2004.