BROOKFIELD, Ill. – Bemidji State University Football student-athletes Brendan Beaulieu, Zollie Kaplan, Brandon Alt and Ty Cobb earned more all-America accolades Tuesday afternoon after the four were named to the 2022 Don Hansen Division II All-America Team.
 
Senior wide receiver Brendan Beaulieu headlines the group after becoming the first Beaver in program history to be named to the Don Hansen All-America First Team. He was joined by senior defensive end Zollie Kaplan who was named to the second team to become the first defensive lineman in program history to make the second team while quarterback Brandon Alt and offensive lineman Ty Cobb were each Honorable Mention selections.
 
Beaulieu is now a five-time all-America selection for the 2022 season a feat which has never been accomplished in Bemidji State Football history. The Cottage Grove, Minn., native led DII with 19 touchdown receptions which was also a single-season record at Bemidji State. Beaulieu also set a program record with 1,504 receiving yards during the season which was the second highest total in the nation. Beaulieu capped-off the most productive receiving season in Bemidji State history by catching a program record 82 passes, the sixth most in DII.
 
Beaulieu finished his senior season with the Beavers as the program's career record holder in receptions (215), receiving yards (3,725) and receiving touchdowns (38) to cement himself as one of the all-time great receivers at Bemidji State.
 
Kaplan earns his fourth all-America accolade after being named to the AP All-America First Team, D2CCA All-America Second Team  and Elite 100 Second Team earlier this season. Kaplan finished seventh in the Gene Upshaw Award voting as the nation's top senior linemen for the program's first ever finalist for the award. The St. Louis Park, Minn., native was nearly unstoppable this season and finished third in Division II with 14.5 sacks and eighth with 21.5 tackles for loss. His 14.5 sacks this season is the second most in program history and he is second at BSU with 26.0 career sacks.
 
Alt, a finalist for the 2022 & 2021 Harlon Hill trophy as Division II's Player of the Year, is the first quarterback from BSU to be recognized by the Don Hansen All-America selection committee and is listed as an honorable mention. A native of Cottage Grove, Minn., he was the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 and led the NSIC with 3,864 passing yards and 38 passing touchdowns ranking him third in Division II in both categories. He also posted a 156.6 passing efficiency and 59.9 completion percentage through 13 games during the 2022 season and is the program's all-time career passing yardage and career touchdown record holder with 8,649 career passing yards and 94 career passing touchdowns.
 
Cobb makes his second consecutive season as a Don Hansen All-America Honorable Mention after previously earning the honor in 2021. Cobb was an immovable force for the Bemidji State offense that finished sixth in Division II with only eight sacks allowed and 11^th in the nation in scoring. He helped the Beavers' offense average 318.7 passing yards per game to rank sixth in DII and average 438.9 yards total to stand 12^th. Cobb is the first offensive linemen in BSU history to be named either first or second team all-America by any publication.
 
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.
 
For more information on the Bemidji State football program, follow the Beavers on Twitter (@BSUBeaversFB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) and follow them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversFB).
 
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women's hockey membership in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
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