GREENWOOD, Ind. - The final All-American honors of the 2025 season have been announced for the Marian football program, as the Knights' Reece Byerly and JT Downey were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Team on Tuesday afternoon. The honor of Academic All-American is the first in each player's career.

Reece Byerly and JT Downey's CSC Academic All-America honors are the third and fourth all-time in program history, as the pair joins Zach Sibila (2024) and John Hasty (2012).

The Knights were one of four NAIA programs with multiple Academic All-Americans, joining Montana Tech, Montana Western, and Indiana Wesleyan. Montana Tech had an NAIA-high four Academic All-Americans. 

Reece Byerly had a stellar season on the Knights' offensive line, earning his fourth All-American honor of the season with his nod on the Academic Team. Byerly, a management major, started all 12 games at left tackle for the Knights and played a key role in paving lanes for Keagan La Belle's program record 22 rushing touchdowns. Byerly was the lone Knight offensive lineman to start each game, which paved a rushing attack of 220.0 yards per game. The third-year Knight was named to the MSFA Midwest League First Team, and earned All-American honors on the AFCA, AP, VSN, and CSC Teams. 

JT Downey earns his first career All-American honor with his appearance on the CSC Academic All-America Team, as the fourth-year Knight had a strong season in 2025. Downey started all 12 games at safety alongside fellow All-American Logan Carrington, and was Marian's third-leading tackler on the season with 68 total stops. The safety created two turnovers and was a member of the MSFA Midwest League Second Team, and this season earned his second CSC Academic All-District Team honor. 

The honors for Downey and Byerly bring Marian's 2025 All-American total to 16 for the 2025 season, which is the most in a single season for the program. 

The NAIA Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NAIA national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 NAIA Academic All-America® program.

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