Williams, Alexander and Gailliard earn Don Hansen All-America honors

Williams, Alexander and Gailliard earn Don Hansen All-America honors

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BROOKFIELD, Ill. -- A trio of Cardinal football student-athletes have earned Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America honors for the 2018 season after already earning First Team All-Super Region honors. 

Junior defensive tackle Heath Williams was named to the First Team on defense at the defensive tackle position while senior linebacker Michael Alexander appears on the Second Team on defense at the linebacker slot. Sophomore wide receiver Chad Gailliard was named to the Honorable Mention team for the second straight season as well. 

Williams stood-out as one of the top defensive linemen in the GLIAC and the nation in 2018, registering a GLIAC-best 13 sacks and 19 tackles-for-loss. He ranked 5th on the team with 56 tackles, adding a forced fumble. His 17.5 career sacks move him into the No. 10 spot all-time at Saginaw Valley State University and the 13.5 sacks are the third-best single season figure. Heath was named to the All-GLIAC First Team this year at the defensive line position and earned his first career All-Super Region #3 honor after being named to the D2CCA Second Team.

Alexander led the GLIAC in tackles (117) and tackles per game (10.6) to round-out his career for the Cardinals. He surpassed the 100-tackle mark for the first time in his career and now ranks 13th all-time in the program's history with 291 stops. Alexander was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week once during the 2018 season. 

Gailliard was also named to the D2CCA All-Super Region #3 Second Team at the wide receiver position in 2018, as well as being named All-GLIAC First Team for the second consecutive campaign. He led the league in receiving for the second straight season, tallying GLIAC-best figures in receptions (63), yards (1,005), yards per game (91.4) and touchdowns (12). Gailliard's 1,939 career receiving yards rank him 8th in program history after two seasons and his 20 TD are now 6th. He becomes the 5th receiver to ever net over 1,000 yards in a season

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988. Don Hansen's Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

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