NIU's Scharping Earns First Team Academic All-American Honors
Northern Illinois University senior offensive tackle Max Scharping added to an already impressive list of accolades Monday when he was named a first team Google Cloud Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Scharping, who was a second team Academic All-American a year ago, is the first Huskie football player to be named to the organization’s first team since Alan Baxter in 2012 and is just the third NIU football player to receive first team recognition, joining Thomas Hammock (2000 and 2001) and Baxter. He is the first Huskie to be recognized in back-to-back seasons since Hammock.
In addition to his Academic All-America honor, Scharping on Monday was named an honorable mention All-American by College Football News.
A three-time first team All Mid-American Conference performer who has started 52 consecutive games and helped lead NIU to the 2018 MAC Championship, Scharping will complete his master’s degree in exercise physiology and fitness leadership this week. He earned his undergraduate degree in kinesiology with a 3.99 grade point average, and currently has a 3.89 mark in his master’s coursework. Last week, he was honored in New York City at the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Awards Dinner, where he was one of 13 National Scholar-Athletes across all divisions of college football, and was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
All-time, 12 NIU football players have been named to an Academic All-America first or second team by CoSIDA. Scharping is the first first-team Academic All-American for Northern Illinois University since softball’s Emily Naegele in 2016.
The Green Bay, Wisc. native has already accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. He allowed just eight quarterback pressures on 469 pass blocking sacks in 2018 and has surrendered just one sack over the past three seasons.
Scharping will lead the Huskies into a bowl match-up versus UAB in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday, December 18 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton.
