FRISCO, Texas – Senior Manasseh Miles and sophomore Shyler Staton have been named Academic All-Southland Conference announced league officials Tuesday afternoon. It marks the first time either player has been named to the Southland's All-Academic squad.
 
To be eligible for the league's all-academic team, an athlete must hold a minimum 3.0 grade-point average through the semester prior to the sport's championship, complete at least one full academic year at the nominating school prior to the current season and participate in at least 50 percent of the team's competitions during the most recently completed season.
 
"We are very happy for both Shyler and Manasseh," said LU head coach Mike Schultz. "These two young men have proven themselves as the true definition of a student-athlete. As a coach, you're always excited to see the hard work of your athletes pay off. That takes on even more significance when you see the work pay off in the classroom. We put a lot of focus on wins and losses in this line of work, and we want to win, but our primary objective is to help our athletes graduate."
 
An honorable mention All-Southland selection, Miles overcame serious injuries to start all 11 games and post career numbers in 2017. One of the league's top defensive ends, Miles finished second on the team with 58 total tackles, including 5.5 for losses. He also recorded four quarterback hurries, broke up three passes and recovered a fumble in his final season.
 
Miles posted a career-high 11 stops against Nicholls earlier this season. He finished that game with two solo stops, 1.5 tackles for losses and was credited with a quarterback hurry.
 
Joining Miles on the defensive side of the ball was Staton. A sophomore from Missouri City, Texas, Staton ranked sixth on the squad with 48 total stops, including 30 unassisted. Staton also broke up five passes on the season, forced a fumble and recovered another.
 
Just a sophomore during the 2017 season, Staton started all 11 games for the Cardinals and has two more years of eligibility remaining with what was one of the youngest rosters in the country this past season.    
 
-LU CARDINALS-