Austintown, Ohio - December 2, 2009 - The Heidelberg University football team had three players earn the Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference award. Earning a spot was senior Jared Ruffing (Bellevue, Ohio / Seneca East)and junior Andrew Miller (Dalton, Ohio / Dalton), while junior Jesse Hawkins (Georgetown, Ky. / Scott County)was tabbed in honorable mention selection.
These student-athletes must have maintained a 3.25 grade point average, be at least a sophomore, and be in their second year of participation to qualify. The recipients were voted on by faculty athletic representatives.
Continuing to lead Heidelberg to new heights over the course of the last two years has been Miller and for his efforts he has snagged his second postseason honor. Last month he earned All-OAC honors.
In his second year starting under center, Miller set a new single-season passing touchdowns record. He finished the year with 22 touchdowns which tops his previous record of 19 he set a season ago. For the year he completed 132-of-260 passes for 2,159 yards. Majoring in business, Miller has earned a GPA of 3.56.
Earning his first Academic All-OAC honor is Ruffing, a senior linebacker. Ruffing is an athletic training major with a GPA of 3.96, which is the highest GPA of all of the conference recipients. On the field, Ruffing racked up 58 tackles and an interception.
Junior kicker Hawkins is receiving his first Academic All-OAC Honorable Mention honor. He has maintained a 3.27 GPA and is a business major. Hawkins was third on the team with 38 points for the season.