LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The record-smashing 2024 season turned in by UNLV football was capped in a historic way on Tuesday with the announcement of three players being named First Team Academic All-America® by College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA): linebacker Jackson Woodard, wide receiver Ricky White III and safety Jalen Catalon.

All three earlier earned All-America honors on the field after the 11-3 Rebels finished ranked nationally for the first time ever at No. 23 and the talented trio made sure the program dominated academically as well.

Woodard, who boasts a 3.80 cumulative grade point average, is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, and already has a bachelor's degree from the school in kinesiology. A two-time team captain, he was named an All-American by four different outlets and voted the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after ranking fourth in the nation with 135 total tackles, which is the third-most in UNLV single-season history. His four interceptions ranked 19th in the country while the Art of Sport LA Bowl Defensive MVP totaled 16 passes defended, 17.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 quarterback sacks and two forced fumbles in his final season. The most-decorated UNLV football player in history for his work in the classroom and in the community, he was one of 16 finalists for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy (known as the academic Heisman) and recipient of an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2024 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Class. Woodard was also a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award and the Burlsworth Trophy as well as being his program's nominee for the Wuerffel Award and AFCA Good Works Team. He is one of nine members of this year's CSC 25-player squad to be a repeat first team honoree.

White, who posted a 3.58 GPA with a degree in human services, is from Marietta, Georgia, and just completed the greatest two-year run by a Rebel receiver in history. A repeat All-American, he was voted Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year after leading the nation with four blocked punts. Offensively, he became the first Rebel in history to post more than one 1,000-yard receiving season, finishing with 1,041 on 79 catches and ranking seventh in the nation with 11 touchdowns through the air. After just three seasons at UNLV, the former Michigan State transfer finished second in school history in career receptions (218) and 100-yard games (13) and third in both receiving yards (3,143) and receiving TDs (23). Both White and Woodard are preparing to play in Thursday's East-West Shrine Bowl in Arlington, Texas.

Catalon, who earned a 3.52 GPA with a major of sociology, made the most of his one season in Las Vegas after transferring in from the University of Texas. The Mansfield, Texas, native ranked fourth in the nation with five interceptions en route to becoming a Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist and All-American.

After never previously having an Academic All-American, UNLV football has earned six in the last five years under David Wedley, Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Academic Services. Following the 2020 season, all-time leading rusher Charles Williams became the first UNLV football player in history voted Academic All-America by the CSC, making the second team. Just one season later, lineman Eliel Ehimare became the first defensive player from the Rebels to make the list, also on the second team. Woodard became the first First Team honoree from the program just last year.

With Woodard now a repeat honoree, White and Catalon become the 14th and 15th UNLV student-athletes from any sport to earn a spot on the national first team. There have now been 36 UNLV student-athletes overall who earned CSC Academic All-America dating back to the Rebels' first winner, baseball pitcher Dan Fischer in 1978.

Ever since 1952, CSC selects Academic All-America teams throughout the year. Players who are starters or important reserves on their teams and hold at least a 3.50 career grade point average are eligible for the academic awards, which are voted on by sports information directors from across the nation. First Team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America Team ballot, which was announced today for the sport of football on the Division I level.

ALL-TIME UNLV FOOTBALL CSC (CoSIDA) ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA®
2024     Jackson Woodard, LB First Team
            Ricky White III, WR      First Team
            Jalen Catalon, S          First Team
2023     Jackson Woodard, LB   First Team       
2021     Eliel Ehimare, DL           Second Team
2020     Charles Williams, RB     Second Team
 
2024 FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name                           School                 Yr.     GPA     Major
QB    Tommy Mellott            Montana State    Sr.     4.00      Financial Engineering
WR   Elic Ayomanor           Stanford              So.    3.96      Computer Science
WR   Ricky White III           UNLV                   Sr.     3.58      Human Services
RB    Tahj Brooks                Texas Tech         Sr.     3.56      Sports Management
RB    Raheim Sanders        South Carolina   Sr.     3.88      Non-Degree Seeking
TE     Anthony Torres           Toledo                  Sr.     3.83      Business Administration
OL     Seth McLaughlin       Ohio State           Gr.    4.00      Human Development
OL     Riley Adcock               Mercer                 Gr.    3.94      Civil Engineering
OL     Jake Majors                Texas                   Sr.     3.64      Management
OL     Donovan Jackson      Ohio State           Sr.     3.68      Sport Industry
OL     Easton Kilty                 Kansas State      Sr.     4.00      Communication Studies
DB    Travis Hunter              Colorado             Jr.     3.79      Anthropology
DB    Beau Freyler               Iowa State           Sr.     3.90      Kinesiology
DB    Tanner Wall                BYU                      Jr.     3.89      Finance
DB    Jalen Catalon            UNLV                   Sr.     3.52      Sociology
DL     Brody Grebe               Montana State    Sr.     3.93      Mechanical Engineering
DL     Ejike Adele                  Dartmouth           Sr.     3.74      Biology
DL     Kyle Kennard             South Carolina   Sr.     3.64      Services Management
DL     Patrick Passalacqua Columbia             Sr.     3.83      Industrial Engineering
LB     Jack Kiser                   Notre Dame        Gr.    3.82      Business Analytics
LB     Andon Thomas           Army                     Jr.     3.98      Chemical Engineering
LB     Jackson Woodard    UNLV                   Sr.     3.81      Kinesiology
K       Bert Auburn                Texas                   Sr.     3.57      Finance
P       Riley Riethman          Navy                     Sr.     3.93      Aerospace Engineering
ST     Julian Ashby               Vanderbilt           Gr.    3.96      Mechanical Engineering