Football | 1/13/2016 2:11:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – Redshirt senior offensive lineman
Nick Faraci and junior defensive back
Andy Smigiera of the
Robert Morris University football team earned recognition for their combined academic and athletic efforts in a recent announcement.
Faraci and Smigiera were two of the 52 student-athletes across the nation to be selected to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Assocation (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team.
Furthermore, Faraci was one of 10 student-athletes that was simultaneously named a finalist for a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship.
Faraci was named to the Academic All-Star Team for the second straight season and becomes just the second Colonial, joining Jonathan LeDonne, to claim multiple nods to this team. Smigiera becomes the fourth distinct Colonial to earn this award as this is the first season in which more than one Colonial was named to the team. The FCS ADA first selected an Academic All-Star Team after the 1998 season.
Faraci carried a 3.94 grade point average while obtaining his degree in nursing. Among those named to the team, his cumulative average is the highest among his position group, the second-highest among all offensive players and the sixth-highest overall.
Faraci started all 44 games possible over the past four years after redshirting in his freshman season. His 44 career starts are tied for the most in program history and are the highest such figure by a non-specialist. The veteran was one of four permanent captains in 2015 and served as an organizer of his teammates on the line in regard to pre-snap calls. Faraci helped Robert Morris rush for 228 yards at No. 6 South Dakota State, the second-highest rushing figure the Jackrabbits have allowed in their past 16 games against FCS foes. He and his teammates also did not yield a sack in that contest, marking the first time in school history that the Colonials did not allow a sack when facing a nationally ranked team. Faraci also helped RMU's primary running back rush for 152 yards at No. 17 Youngstown State, the most rushing yards the Penguins allowed to a single FCS athlete this past season. Faraci was part of a line that did not allow a sack in each of RMU's final two games of the season, marking the first time in over five years that the Colonials had gone back-to-back games without yielding a sack. He also helped RMU rush for 200+ yards in back-to-back games for the first time since 2010.
Smigiera has a 3.86 grade point average as an accounting major. Among those named to the all-star team, he had the fourth-highest cumulative average among defensive players.
Smigiera has started 22 consecutive games at weak safety, which stands to be the longest active streak by a Colonial entering 2016. He took home his first all-conference accolade in 2015 after posting 62 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, three interceptions, eight pass breakups and a forced fumble. He ranked among the top 20 overall in the league in tackles/game and tied for third in the Northeast Conference in passes defended. Smigiera also blocked a RMU single-season record three kicks on the season. He notched an interception at No. 6 South Dakota State and posted eight tackles, two pass breakups and a blocked kick Oct. 10 vs. Sacred Heart. He helped RMU rank among the top 25 in the FCS in total defense, tackles for loss, sacks, passing efficiency defense, fewest passing yards allowed, third down defense and fourth down defense. Smigiera and his teammates in the secondary helped hold opponents to a 50.2% completion mark for the season. Smigiera owns 136 tackles and six interceptions since becoming a full-time starter in 2014.
Faraci and Smigiera were two of the three NEC student-athletes to claim this honor in 2015.
Faraci earned his second Academic All-America honor in December while Smigiera garnered Academic All-District honors in November.
