PHILADELPHIA -- Eight University of Delaware football players, including first team selections in senior running back Omar Cuff and sophomore placekicker Jon Striefsky (at right), have been named to The Sports Network NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-American team announced this weekend.

The teams are selected from a vote of NCAA Division I FCS sports information directors and media members who cover FCS teams. National champion Appalachian State placed 11 players on the first three teams while Northern Iowa had five and Delaware four. Players who received more than 10 votes were placed on the honorable mention team.

The eight helped lead head coach K.C. Keeler’s squad to one of the best seasons in school history in 2007 as the Hens went 11-4 and advanced to the NCAA Division I FCS championship game before falling to Appalachian State.

In addition to Cuff and Striefsky, also selected were second team senior offensive tackle Mike Byrne, third team senior quarterback Joe Flacco, honorable mention junior tight end Robbie Agnone, honorable mention junior wide receiver Aaron Love, honorable mention junior center Kheon Hendricks, and honorable mention sophomore defensive end Matt Marcorelle.

Cuff, a senior running back from Landover, MD (Flowers High School), was a consensus first team All-American as he was named to the first team of all five major All-American teams selected this season. A two-time All-American, Cuff becomes Delaware’s first consensus first team All-American running back since Gardy Kahoe in 1971. Delaware’s all-time leading scorer and second all-time leading rusher, Cuff enjoyed an outstanding season in 2007 as he set school single season records with 398 carries, 1,945 yards, and 35 touchdowns while also catching 55 passes for 554 yards and four touchdowns. He led the nation in scoring with 15.6 points per game and ranked seventh in rushing with 129.7 yards per game. He set a single season NCAA record with 39 touchdowns, the third highest total in the history of college football, and with 35 rushing touchdowns. His 65 career rushing touchdowns is a Colonial Athletic Association record while his 73 career touchdowns is No. 1 all-time at Delaware and his 4,364 rushing yards ranking No. 2 all-time at Delaware.

Striefsky, who earlier this season was named first team All-American by the Associated Press, becomes the first UD kicker to earn TSN All-American honors and is just one of three sophomores named to the first team. A native of Lansdale, PA (North Penn), Striefsky was near flawless all season as he converted 64 of 67 extra points and 21 of 24 field goals, setting UD single season marks in all four categories. He also set school records by converting 15 straight field goals and 53 straight extra points during the season. He ranked fifth among all NCAA FCS kickers with 8.47 points per game this season and his 21 field goals ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Byrne, a senior offensive tackle from Lititz, PA (Manheim Central HS), earns his third All-American honors of the season after being named first team Walter Camp and third team Associated Press honors. A four-year letterwinner, three-year starter, and a 2007 co-captain who was an Academic All-American candidate, led an offense that led the CAA in scoring offense (36.2, 11th in NCAA), passing offense (289.5), and total offense (460.6).

Flacco, a senior quarterback from Audubon, NJ (Audubon HS) and one of the nation’s top National Football League prospects at quarterback, earned his first All-American award after leading one of the nation’s most explosive offenses. The CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Year, he completed 331 of 521 passes for 4,263 yards and 23 touchdowns with just five interceptions in 2007 and ranked No. 6 in the nation in passing yardage (284.2 yards per game), No. 10 in total offense (285.7), and No. 18 in passing efficiency (144.91). He set UD single season records for completions and yardage, a career record for completions with 595, and his 7,046 ranks No. 2 all-time at Delaware. He threw for over 300 yards seven times during the season.

Agnone, a junior tight end from Etters, PA (Red Land HS), was Delaware’s fifth leading receiver as he started all 15 games and caught 38 passes for 484 yards and five touchdowns and averaged 12.7 yards per catch. A second-year transfer from Pittsburgh, he has caught 55 passes and nine touchdowns in two seasons for the Blue Hens.

Love, a junior from Detroit, MI (Southfield HS) and a first team All-CAA selection, was Delaware’s leading receiver as he caught 73 passes for 1,009 yards and three touchdowns with a 13.8-yard per catch average this past fall. He ranked among the top 50 received in the nation in both receptions and yards and caught seven or more passes in six different games. His 1,009 yards receiving was the seventh highest single season mark in school history and his 155 career receptions ranks No. 5 all-time at Delaware.

Hendricks, a junior center from Baltimore, MD (Woodlawn HS), earned All-American honors after being named first team All-CAA earlier this season. He was a second-year starter this season but played center for the first time in his career. He started all 15 games and led an offense that led the CAA in scoring offense (36.2, 11th in NCAA), passing offense (289.5), and total offense (460.6).

Marcorelle, a sophomore from Fort Pierce, FL (John Carroll HS), earned his first All-American honors after leading a Delaware offense that was among the most improved in the CAA. After missing all but two games in 2006 due to a shoulder injury, he returned this fall to become the first sophomore to serve as team co-captain in school history. He appeared in 14 games, ranked fifth on the team with 64 tackles, and led the squad with 14 tackles for loss (94 yards), eight sacks (68 yards), and a school-record five forced fumbles (second highest total in NCAA). He also recovered two fumbles and had a pass breakup.

A total of 15 Colonial Athletic Association players were named to the first three teams, including first teamers in Cuff, Striefsky, RB Tim Hightower (Richmond), LB Brian Bradford (Towson), and S Tony LeZotte (James Madison).

AGATE:

2007 SPORTS NETWORK ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM: Offense: QB Jayson Foster (Georgia Southern); RB - Omar Cuff (Delaware), Tim Hightower (Richmond); FB Jerome Felton (Furman); WR - Ramses Barden (Cal Poly), Aaron Boyce (Eastern Washington), Terrell Hudgins (Elon); TE - Matt Champa (Dayton); OT - Russell Orr (Georgia Southern), Chad Rinehart (Northern Iowa); OG - Kerry Brown (Appalachian State), Marcelo Estrada (Georgia Southern); C - Brennan Carvalho (Portland State).

Defense - DE - Kroy Biermann (Montana), Eric Bakhtiari (San Diego); DT - Cory Clark (Jackson State); Anthony Williams (Appalachian State); LB - Pierre Banks (Appalachian State), Brian Bradford (Towson), Bobby Daly (Montana State), Kyle Stewart (Illinois State); CB - Derrick Huff (Eastern Kentucky), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State); S - Tony LeZotte (James Madison), Corey Lynch (Appalachian State), Ladarius Webb (Nicholls State).

Special Teams - PK - Jon Striefsky (Delaware), P - Benjamin Dato (Fordham); KR - JT Rogan (San Diego), Jeremy Gilchrist (Hampton).

SPORTS NETWORK ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM: Offense - QB - Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State); RB - Mike McLeod (Yale), Tyler Roehl (North Dakota State); FB - Mike Tolbert (Coastal Carolina); WR - Eddie Cohen (Western Carolina), Tremayne Kirkland (Portland State), J.J. Moore (Massachusetts); TE - Scott Sicko (New Hampshire); OT - Mike Byrne (Delaware), Corey McKenna (Wofford); OG - Matt Alfred (Eastern Washington), Barret Anderson (Northern Iowa); C - Stephen Field (Cal Poly).

Defense - DE - Brian Johnston (Gardner-Webb), Bryan Smith (McNeese State); DT - Mark Huygens (Northern Iowa), Brian Jackson (Lehigh); LB - Zach East (Prairie View), Mike Gallihugh (Colgate), Jason Hatchell (Massachusetts), Jason Williams (Western Illinois); CB - K.J. Gerard (Northern Arizona), Steve Williams (Harvard); S - Chris Camacho (Chattanooga), Al Donaldson (Alabama A&M), Bobbie Williams (Bethune-Cookman).

Special Teams - PK - Julian Rauch (Appalachian State); P - Tyson Johnson (Montana); KR - Larry Shipp (Tennessee Tech); PR - Johnny Gray (Northern Iowa).

2007 SPORTS NETWORK ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM - Offense - QB - Josh Johnson (San Diego), Joe Flacco (Delaware); RB - Kevin Richardson (Appalachian State), Jordan Scott (Colgate); FB - Joe Casey (Rhode Island); WR - Michael Mayers (Elon), Andre Roberts (The Citadel), Charles Sullivan (Hofstra); TE - Blake Martin (Sam Houston State); OT - Nate Safe (North Dakota State), David Hale (Weber State); OG - John Holt (Appalachian State), Matthew McCracken (Richmond); C - Scott Suttle (Appalachian State).

Defense - DE - Jovan Belcher (Maine); Gary Tharrington (Appalachian State); DT - Pat Nolan (Colgate), Mychel Savage (Youngstown State); LB - Joe Mays (North Dakota State), Ronnie McCullough (Bethune-Cookman), Chauncey Mixon (Southern Illinois), Brannon Carter (Northern Iowa); CB - David Hyland (Morehead State), Tyler Koch (South Dakota State), Jerome Touchstone (Appalachian State); S - Brandon Gathof (Eastern Kentucky), Jarmaul (Georgia Southern), Terrell Whitehead (Norfolk State).

Special Teams - PK - Dan Carpenter (Montana); P - Chris McDonald (Texas State); KR - Justin Rogers (Richmond); PR - Tristan Jackson (Central Arkansas), Anthony Weeden (Prairie View).

University of Delaware Honorable Mention Selections (10 or more votes): TE Robbie Agnone; WR Aaron Love; C Kheon Hendricks; DE Matt Marcorelle.