BEREA -- Three Baldwin-Wallace College football players have been named to the Don Hansen¡¯s National Weekly Football Gazette 2003 Division III Preseason All-American team. To view the entire team, please log onto the Web site at www.capitalcrusaders.net/footballgazette/fbg-03preaateam.pdf.
Senior Dan Larlham (Brimfield/ Walsh Jesuit High School) was selected as the first-team quarterback and senior safety Greg Koch (Olmsted Falls) was selected to the first-team defense as a safety. In addition, senior punter Rob Becker (Dover), who also plays fullback, was chosen to the third-team defense.
Larlham, a three-year starter at QB, was already recognized by Street & Smith¡¯s magazine as its first-team All-American signal-caller. In 2002, he passed for 1,873 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was also the second-leading rusher on the team with 493 yards and 12 TD. For his efforts, Larlham was the OAC second-team QB in 2002 and B-W¡¯s Ray E. Watts Most Valuable Offensive Player. For his career, he has completed 372 of 613 passes for 60.7 percent for 5,016 yards and 41 TD and ran for 1,080 yards and another 26 TD while also maintaining a better than 3.0 grade point average in the classroom in mathematics.
"Dan Larlham is a proven player who has great ability as a student, football player and leader," said second-year Head Coach John Snell. "We look for Dan to be the leader of our offense again in 2003."
Koch is the leader of the Yellow Jacket defense. A year ago, he led the team with 84 total tackles and five interceptions. He had 14 total passes broken up and returned one of his interceptions for a TD. In 2002, he was named as a second-team Football Gazette Division III All-American and as an honorable mention Hewlett-Packard Division III All-American. Koch additionally was a first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference pick and a first-team All-North Region choice by the Football Gazette. At B-W, Koch was the Ray E. Watts Most Valuable Defensive Player and the B-W Most Outstanding Defensive Back.
"Greg Koch had a great season in 2002 and we expect him to have another in 2003," said Snell. "He is a player with outstanding athletic ability and motivates his teammates by the way in which he plays and his enthusiasm for the game of football."
Becker has been one of the top punters in the OAC and North Region for the past two years. A year ago, he had 28 punts for 1,101 yards for an average of 39.3 yards per punt. He also ran the ball three times for 23 yards. He was tabbed as a second-team All-North Region pick by The Football Gazette a year ago.
"Rob Becker is a weapon for our defense and is also a solid runner as a fullback," said Snell. "As a punter, Rob gets good hang time and has not had a punt blocked in more than two years. He is also one of the hardest working players in our program."
The Yellow Jackets open the 2003 season on Saturday, September 6 when they host nonleague foe Allegheny (Pa.) College at The George Finnie Stadium in Berea at 6:30 p.m. B-W¡¯s first OAC game is against defending national champion, Mount Union College, on Saturday, Sept. 20, in Alliance at 1:30 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on Baldwin-Wallace College football or its other athletic programs, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. You can also reach Head Football Coach John Snell by phone at 440-826-2069, by FAX at 440-826-2192 or via e-mail at jsnell@bw.edu.
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