2022 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Team
Two players who excelled for the Hillsdale College football team during the 2022 season have received All-American honors for their efforts, it was announced earlier this week.
Isaac TeSlaa and Kyle Kudla both were recognized as honorable mention All-Americans by the Don Hansen Football Committee for the 2022 campaign.
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. This year's team marks the 33rd edition of All-Americans awarded by the committee.
TeSlaa led both the Chargers and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in virtually all statistical receiving categories in 2022, including receptions (68), yards (1,325), touchdowns (13), yards per catch (19.5) and yards per game (120.5), while also ranking on the short list of leaders across the nation at the DII level, finishing third in the regular season in receiving yards per game, tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns, and in the top 25 in receiving yards per catch.
TeSlaa's season also ranks highly in program history -- his 1,325 receiving yards in 2022 are the third-most in a single season all-time, as are his 13 touchdowns, and his 68 receptions rank ninth in a season among Charger receivers.
The honorable mention All-American recognition comes for TeSlaa in addition to several other accolades, including making D2Football.com's Elite 100 team, as well as second team All-Super Region One honors from the D2CCA, and being named Offensive Player of the Year in the G-MAC for the 2022 campaign.
Kudla, a graduated senior linebacker for the Chargers, led Hillsdale and finished second in the G-MAC in total tackles with 97 in the 2022 campaign, his third as a starter, while also chipping in 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception in his final season at Hillsdale. His strong performance in a 17-10 win at Missouri S&T on Sept. 24 helped him earn G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career. The All-American honor comes in addition to first-team All-G-MAC recognition for the 2022 campaign.
TeSlaa and Kudla's honors mean that Hillsdale has recorded at least one Don Hansen All-American in each of the last four seasons, a streak the Chargers will look to continue in the 2023 campaign.
Photos by McKenna Eichholz