Hodges & Tannehill named to ESPN Academic All-District Team

Nov. 4, 2010

COLLEGE STATION, Texas--Texas A&M senior linebacker Michael Hodges and junior quarterback/wide receiver Ryan Tannehill were named to the ESPN Academic All-District VI squad as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) it was announced today.
               
By earning first-team All-District honors, Hodges and Tannehill will now move on to the national ballot to become ESPN Academic All-America honorees.
               
“I could not be more proud of these two fine young men,” Aggie head football coach Mike Sherman said. “Michael and Ryan conduct themselves with class and are great examples of giving their best not only on the football field, but in the classrooms as well. They are excellent leaders, on and off of the playing field.”
               
Hodges, a senior from Helotes, Texas, has already graduated from the Mays Business School with a degree in management posting a 3.82 grade-point. He is currently working on a master's degree in marketing and has posted a perfect 4.0 in his graduate courses.
               
Tannehill, a junior from Big Spring, Texas, is on schedule to graduate in May 2011 with a degree in biology. He has a 3.59 grade-point and hopes to attend medical school upon graduation with the goal of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
               
Hodges has started 18 games at linebacker for the Aggies and currently is second on the team in tackles with 57 stops (26 solo). He has 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, has broken up two other passes and has two quarterback hurries and one fumble caused. Hodges underwent surgery for a torn ACL in the spring of 2009 and came back to play later that same year for the Aggies. This fall, he is closer to 100 percent and has started every game this season.
               
Tannehill has played at wide receiver for the Aggies in his first three years of competition and led the team in receptions the past two seasons. He set Aggie freshman records with 55 catches for 844 yards and five touchdowns in 2008 earning honorable mention Freshman All-America honors. As a sophomore, he caught 46 passes for 609 yards and four touchdowns and received honorable mention All-Big 12 honors as a wide receiver, while serving as the team's backup quarterback as well. This past week, he started his first game at quarterback and responded with a school-record 449 passing yards on 36-of-50 (72.0 pct) passing with four touchdowns against his father's alma mater, Texas Tech. The 36 completions is the second-best mark in school history. In addition to having a 400-yard passing day, a 200-yard receiving day, a double-digit receiving game, over 100 career catches, over 1,500 career receiving yards, a punt that was downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line, Tannehill has held for 145 snaps on placekicks including the most recent string of 104 straight which is a school record.
               
Another note: Austin Cassidy, who grew up attending College Station elementary and middle schools, was named to the ESPN Academic All-District VII team for the University of Nebraska as a defensive back and will move on to the national ballot. Cassidy is the son of Aggie Associate Athletic Director for Football Tim Cassidy and his wife, Nancy, who is a senior lecturer in accounting in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.