Drushal Voted First-Team Academic All-American

For Immediate Release

November 30, 2006

Written by Hugh Howard
330-263-2374
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Rick Drushal

Rick Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes), The College of Wooster’s standout offensive lineman, collected another award on Thursday, maybe his most impressive yet, as he was selected on to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced.

Drushal, one of 25 players so honored within the College Division (NCAA Divs. II and III, and NAIA), is the eighth Wooster gridder to be an Academic All-American® and the first first-team honoree since punter Matt Mahaffey in 1999.

Earlier in the week, Drushal was named to the NCAA Div. III all-star roster for the Aztec Bowl, and last week, he picked up first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference accolades for the third consecutive season. The 6-4, 295-pound left tackle anchored a Fighting Scot offense, which averaged 29.5 points, about a five-point improvement over 2005, and 337.6 yards, despite missing its top tailback for the first two games due to injury and its starting quarterback for the final three, also because of injury. Drushal graded out at 86 percent with 116 knockdown blocks, according to the coaching staff’s statistics.

For his career, Drushal started a school-record 42 games, every one at the all-important left tackle spot, the blindside for Wooster’s right-handed quarterbacks. He was All-NCAC four times (second-team in 2003), just the seventh in team history, and earned All-American recognition from Football Gazette in 2004 (second-team) and from D3football.com in 2005 (honorable mention). A two-year team captain, Drushal helped lead the Scots to a 32-10 record (.762), tying the Scots’ record for most wins over a four-year period.

Academically, Drushal, who also is a thrower for the school’s track & field team, is double-majoring in mathematics and computer science. He serves as the vice-president of Wooster’s math club as well as on the student athletic advisory council, and volunteers with the Westminster peacemaking project team.

Created in 1952, the Academic All-America Teams program now annually honors 816 male and female student-athletes who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.