Jones, a senior tight end from Tyler Lee High School, holds a 3.50 grade point average as a graduate student in health. Jones is a four-year letter winner who earned All-Southland Conference honors this year.

White, a sophomore from Wimberly, is a physics major with a 3.68 overall grade point average. He was a starter in the Bearkats' offensive line all season for the league's top scoring offense, a unit that rolled up 600 points this season.

Hill, a sophomore from Klein, is a general studies major with a 3.58 grade point to his credit. The sophomore rushed for 530 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

FRISCO, Texas - Northwestern State senior kicker John Shaughnessy was named the Southland Conference Football Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday in conjunction with the release of the all-academic football team.

Seven Southland universities are represented on the Academic All-Southland squad. Jones is one of six players on the squad who was both a first-team All-Southland Conference and was named to the NCAA Division Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team, which was announced last week before the national championship game.

The Academic All-Southland Conference team is voted upon by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.

2012 Academic All-Southland Conference Football Team

Offense

Defense