ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Pioneer Football League's football communications directors named their spring 2021 Academic All-PFL squad on Wednesday and eight players from Stetson earned recognition among the 51 total players recognized.
 
Of the eight Stetson players selected to the Academic All-PFL team, three were named to the first team.
 
Presbyterian junior linebacker Jarrett Nagy was selected as the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. It is the 28^th year for the Academic All-PFL team. 
 
Nagy, of Cornelius, North Carolina is a physics major with a 3.92 grade-point average. On the field, he finished the Blue Hose's seven-game spring schedule with 52 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. He finished fifth among PFL defenders with 7.4 tackles per game and ninth in tackles for loss per game (0.93). Through his junior season he ranks fifth all-time at Presbyterian with 233 total tackles and became the seventh defensive player to post 100-plus solo tackles in their career. 
 
Drake junior defensive back Danny Morales and Morehead State linebacker Cameron Barrett both earned their second consecutive First Team Academic All-PFL honor this season. Stetson senior offensive lineman Bradley Alexander and Davidson senior quarterback Tyler Phelps earned First Team Academic All-PFL award after earning second team recognition in 2019. 
 
In addition to Alexander (Windermere, Fla.), who carries a 3.61 cumulative GPA with a double major in History and Molecular Biology, fellow offensive lineman Alex Brown (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and defensive lineman Jeffrey Lu (Diamond Bar, Calif.) were named to the first team. Brown is an International Business major with a 3.51 cumulative GPA while Lu carries a 3.79 cumulative GPA as a double major in Applied Mathematics and Molecular Biology.
 
The Hatters also had five players selected to the Academic All-PFL second team. The group was led by graduate student Jeremiah Nails (Lawrenceville, Ga.), who has a 3.55 GPA and is completing work on his MBA while also serving as a graduate assistant in the Athletics Student Services office.
 
Nails was joined by redshirt junior defensive end Fermon Reid (Naples, Fla.), fifth year senior offensive lineman Nick Plunkett (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), graduate transfer defensive end Nolan DeFranco (Winter Park, Fla.) and sophomore receiver Connor Becker (Hanover, Pa.).
 
Reid is a Finance major with a 3.49 GPA, Plunkett is a Sport Business major with a 3.75 GPA, DeFranco is working toward his MBA and has a 3.66 GPA and Becker is a Physics major with a 3.51 GPA.
 
Pioneer Football League athletic directors established the Academic All-PFL squads in 1993 as a way to recognize the league's outstanding student-athletes. To be eligible for Academic All-PFL consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, reached his second season academically and played at least one full season at his current institution.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.