Football | 12/4/2014 11:00:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – Senior offensive lineman
Nick Faraci of the
Robert Morris University football team claimed a highly prestigious award Thursday afternoon as he garnered
Capital One Academic All-America honors in an announcement made by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Faraci, who earned a spot on the Second Team, netted the first such honor of his career.
The Division I Academic All-America football teams encompass student-athletes from both the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) levels with more than half of this year's 50 total selections coming from FBS schools. RMU was one of just two Northeast Conference (NEC) schools to garner an Academic All-American award in football this year.
Faraci's honor continues a recent trend for RMU football student-athletes. The Colonial football program has now collected eight Academic All-America awards in the past 11 years. In comparison, since the NEC began sponsoring football in 1996, all other league schools combined (including past football-playing members) have netted 15 such awards in the sport of football.
Faraci carries a 3.92 grade point average as a nursing major. His cumulative average is the highest among all offensive players on the Academic All-America Second Team.
Faraci has started 33 consecutive games at center, the longest active streak on the Colonial offense. He has served as a captain in multiple games and, as the center, serves as an organizer of his teammates on the line in regard to pre-snap calls. Faraci helped RMU rush for at least 160 yards in three games in 2014, including a 214-yard effort against a team ranked among the top 10 nationally in rushing defense. Faraci also recovered a fumble in a game earlier this season, the second straight year that he recovered a loose pigskin.
Faraci, who plans to attend medical school, shared a spot on the Academic All-America Second Team with starters from Alabama, Baylor and Ohio State.
In November, Faraci became the ninth Colonial in program history to earn multiple Academic All-District accolades in a career.
With Faraci's selection, the RMU Department of Athletics has now had at least one Academic All-American in each of the past five academic years, which is now the longest such stretch in school history. His accolade is the eighth Academic All-America recognition for a Colonial student-athlete in the past four-and-a-half years.
