Stony Brook first-year head coach Billy Cosh has been selected as Walter Camp’s 2024 Football Championship Subdivision Coach of the Year.

This is the second year the Walter Camp Foundation has given this award – University at Albany’s Greg Gattuso earned the honor in 2023.

After inheriting a team that endured a winless 2023 campaign, Cosh led the Seawolves to their best season since 2017.

At just 32 years old, Cosh is the second-youngest coach in Division I football and has revitalized a program that was projected to finish last in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason Coaches Poll.  Under his leadership, Stony Brook achieved an impressive 8-4 overall record (5-3 CAA), marking their first winning season since 2018 and their highest national ranking in six years.

Cosh’s eight victories also place him among the top-performing first-year head coaches in FCS history, and he is now the fastest head coach in program history to reach this milestone.

Stony Brook’s offensive and defensive statistics saw dramatic improvements under Cosh. On offense, the Seawolves improved their scoring average from 15.2 points per game in 2023 to 29.6 points per game in 2024.  Defensively, the Seawolves allowed just 24.0 points per game this season, compared to 39.2 points per game in 2023

Cosh’s guidance has elevated several players to national recognition. Running back Roland Dempster became only the second player in program history to be nominated for the Walter Payton Award and earned First Team All-CAA honors. Defensive lineman Rushawn Lawrence also secured First Team All-CAA recognition. Tight end Cal Redman, kicker Enda Kirby, and cornerback Rudy Silvera were named to the Second Team All-CAA, while offensive linemen Niko Papic and AJ Roberts earned spots on the All-CAA Third Team.

Cosh was named the third head coach in Stony Brook football’s Division I era on December 13, 2023.

He started his coaching career at Concord University (Md.) as an offensive graduate assistant and quarterbacks coach. Later, he served as a graduate assistant at Indiana. Prior to being hired at Stony Brook, Cosh coached at Western Michigan (offensive coordinator), Richmond (offensive coordinator) and Virginia Military Institute (offensive coordinator/wide receivers).

A native of Gambrills, Md., Cosh played five seasons of college football as a quarterback, playing at Houston (2013-14), Butler Community College (2012), James Madison (2011) and Kansas State (2010). He led Butler C.C. to the 2012 NJCCA National Championship, throwing for 2,856 yards and 25 touchdowns that season. He graduated with a degree in sociology from Houston in 2015.

Cosh and his wife Kelsey have a daughter, Charli.

 

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.  Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.

Here is the 2024 Walter Camp Football Subdivision All-America Team, as selected by the FCS sports information directors.

2024 Walter Camp Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-America Teams

OFFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                                   Hgt      Wgt.            Class    Hometown

WR      Efton Chism III, Eastern Washington                  5′ 11″    200            Senior   Monroe, WA

WR      Darius Cooper, Tarleton State                             6′ 0″     190            Senior   St. Louis, MO

TE        Chris Corbo, Dartmouth                                     6′ 5″     245            Junior   North Caldwell, NJ

OL       Marcus Wehr, Montana State                             6′ 4″     300            Senior   Billings, MT

OL       Jackson Slater, Sacramento State                         6′ 4″     316            Senior   Bellevue, WA

OL       Charles Grant, William & Mary                         6′ 4″     300            Senior   Portsmouth, VA

OL       Mason  Miller, North Dakota State                     6′ 7″     305            Senior   Ada, MN

C          Gus Miller, South Dakota State                          6′ 3″     295            Senior   Brookings, SD

QB       Tommy Mellott, Montana State                          6′ 0″     208            Senior   Butte, MT

RB       Targhee Lambson, Southern Utah                       5′ 9″     200            Senior   Spanish Fork, UT

RB       Kayvon Britten, Tarleton State                           5′ 7″     195            Senior   Cincinnati, OH

PK       Gabe Panikowski, Idaho State                            5′ 10″    189            Junior   San Diego, CA

 

DEFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                                   Hgt      Wgt.            Class    Hometown

DL       Brody Grebe, Montana State                              6′ 3″     250            Senior   Melstone, MT

DL       Jeremiah Grant, Richmond                                6′ 2′      245            Senior   South Orange, NJ

DL       Josiah Silver, New Hampshire                            6′ 2′      247            Senior   Hampton, VA

DL       David Walker, Central Arkansas                         6′ 2′      207            Senior   Houston, TX

LB       Bryce Norman, Southeast Missouri State                        6′ 0″            215       Senior   Jackson, MO

LB       Gideon Lampron, Dayton                                  5′ 11″    215            Soph.    LaGrange, OH

LB       David Meyer, UC Davis                                     6′ 1″     230            Junior   Mission Viejo, CA

DB       TJ Moore, Mercer                                             6′ 0″     185            Senior   Riverdale, GA

DB       Mike Smith Jr., Eastern Kentucky                      6′ 1″     206            Senior   Jacksonville, FL

DB       Hayden McDonald, Columbia                            5′ 9″     180            Senior   Seattle, WA

DB       Jalen Jones, William & Mary                             6′ 0″     190            Senior   Chesapeake, VA

P          Jeff Yurk, Elon                                                 6′ 2′      224            Junior   Southern Pines, NC

KR       Jermaine Corbett, Merrimack                             5′ 9″     195            Senior   Lon

December 18, 2024

To our Friends and Supporters,

We are writing to inform you that the Foundation is re-imaging its annual awards weekend.

As a result of changing dynamics that are now occurring with the sport of college football, especially the longer FBS playoff season and the impending impact of federal legislation regarding Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), it has become important for the Foundation to fully consider the best way to fulfill our mission of honoring the best college football has to offer.

As a long-time member of the National College Football Awards Association, we know that our situation is not unique, as other awards are also facing similar hurdles.

Regardless, the Foundation has continued to fulfill its mission to honor the best of college football by presenting the nation’s oldest All-America team as well as naming a Player and Coach of the Year.

Just like any organization, the Foundation is not immune from changing conditions and will consider all factors when evaluating how best to host a first-class event to honor our awardees going forward.

Two events will continue in 2025.

Walter Camp’s High School Breakfast of Champions will be held on January 18, and at a new location (Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville).

The annual Walter Camp Ring of Honor Golf Classic will also occur in June.

While we are disappointed to postpone the annual awards weekend, we are committed, as the Foundation’s leadership, to evaluate all opportunities, and come back with a plan for 2025-26.

Yours in football,

The Walter Camp Board of Governors

John Barbarotta, President

Mike Madera, President-elect

Dr. Greg Rocchio, Vice-President

Michael Leone, Vice-President

Jeremy Rosner, Secreary

William Raffone, Treasurer

 

Curt Cignetti, first-year head coach of the Indiana University Hoosiers, is the Walter Camp 2024 Football Bowl Subdivision Coach of the Year.  The Walter Camp Coach of the Year is selected by the nation’s 134 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors.

Cignetti is the second coach from Indiana (John Pont, 1967) to earn the award. Cignetti is the first Big Ten coach to be recognized since 2005 (Penn State’s Joe Paterno).

Under Cignetti’s leadership, Indiana has reached the College Football Playoff for the first time. The #10 Hoosiers will take on #7 Notre Dame in the First Round on Friday, Dec. 20 at Notre Dame Stadium

Picked to finish 16th in the Big Ten preseason media poll, the Hoosiers set a record with 11 wins for the first time in program history.  An Indiana team had never eclipsed nine wins in a season before 2024.  Cignetti guided the team to its first 8–0 start since 1967, then to a 9–0 record, marking a program milestone, and finally to a 10–0 start, the best in Indiana’s football history. The Hoosiers achieved their first-ever 11-win season, highlighted by a victory over defending national champion Michigan, earning the team national recognition, a top-five ranking, and a resulting College Football Playoff berth.

Cignetti was named head football coach at Indiana University on November 30, 2023.  He previously held head coaching positions Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2011-16), Elon (2017-2018) and James Madison (2019-2023).  His current career record stands at 130–36 (.783).

In 2024, Cignetti was named the Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year (as selected by his fellow conference coaches) and the Dave McClain Coach of the Year (by the media that covers the Big Ten).  The honors from the Big Ten mark the fourth time in his career that he earned coach of the year accolades from a conference office, doing so once at each of his previous stops.  He was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012 (at IUP), the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2017 (at Elon) and Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2023 (at James Madison).

After graduating from West Virginia, Cignetti began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pitt in 1983 under Foge Fazio. He has also coached at Davidson College, Rice University, Temple University, a return to Pitt and then stints at North Carolina State and the University of Alabama.

Cignetti and his wife, Manette, have three children, Curt Jr., Carly Ann, and Natalie Elise. Cignetti’s father, Frank Cignetti Sr., won 199 games as a head coach at West Virginia University and IUP and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org,@WalterCampFF) – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. 

The Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s website, www.ncfaa.org

 

Walter Camp Coaches of the Year

2024 – Curt Cignetti, Indiana

2023 – Kalen DeBoer, Washington

2022 – Sonny Dykes, TCU

2021 – Luke Fickell, Cincinnati

2020 – Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina

2019 – Ed Orgeron, LSU

2018 – Nick Saban, Alabama

2017 – Mark Richt, Miami

2016 – Mike MacIntyre, Colorado

2015 – Dabo Swinney, Clemson

2014 – Gary Patterson, TCU

2013 – David Cutcliffe, Duke

2012 – Brian Kelly, Notre Dame

2011 – Les Miles, LSU

2010 – Chip Kelly, Oregon

2009 – Gary Patterson, TCU

2008 – Nick Saban, Alabama

2007 – Mark Mangino, Kansas

2006 – Greg Schiano, Rutgers

2005 – Joe Paterno, Penn State

2004 – Tommy Tuberville, Auburn

2003 – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

2002 – Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

2001 – Ralph Friedgen, Maryland

2000 – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

1999 – Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech

1998 – Bill Synder, Kansas State

1997 – Lloyd Carr, Michigan

1996 – Bruce Snyder, Arizona State

1995 – Gary Barnett, Northwestern

1994 – Joe Paterno, Penn State

1993 – Terry Bowden, Auburn

1992 – Gene Stallings, Alabama

1991 – Bobby Bowden, Florida State

1990 – Bobby Ross, Georgia Tech

1989 – Bill McCartney, Colorado

1988 – Don Nehlen, West Virginia

1987 – Dick MacPherson, Syracuse

1986 – Jimmy Johnson, Miami

1985 – Fisher DeBerry, Air Force

1984 – Joe Morrison, South Carolina

1983 – Mike White, Illinois

1982 – Jerry Stovall, Louisiana State

1981 – Jackie Sherrill, Pittsburgh

1980 – Vince Dooley, Georgia

1979 – John Mackovic, Wake Forest

1978 – Warren Powers, Missouri

1977 – Lou Holtz, Arkansas

1976 – Frank R. Burns, Rutgers

1975 – Frank Kush, Arizona State

1974 – Barry Switzer, Oklahoma

1973 – Johnny Majors, Pittsburgh

1972 – Joe Paterno, Penn State

1971 – Bob Devaney, Nebraska

1970 – Bob Blackman, Dartmouth

1969 – Bo Schembechler, Michigan

1968 – Woody Hayes, Ohio State

1967 – John Pont, Indiana

 

###

2024 Walter Camp All-America Teams

It is the 135th edition of the nation’s oldest college football All-America team

Click here for a PDF of the new release

 

A Little History

This is the 135^th edition of the Walter Camp All-America team, the nation’s oldest college football All-America team.  Twenty-five players were selected to the first team by the 134 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors.  In addition, 25 players were selected to the Second Team.   The team was certified by the New Haven-based accounting firm CBIZ.

 

• From 1889 to 1964, eleven players were selected.
• In 1965, both offensive and defensive teams were picked.
• In 1972, the first punter (Ray Guy, Southern Mississippi) was honored.
• In 1975, the first placekicker (Chris Bahr, Penn State) was selected.
• In 1998, the first-ever Second Team All-America team was recognized.
• In 2001, the first kick returner (Herb Haygood, Michigan State) was picked.
• In 2024, the first player (Travis Hunter, Colorado) earned First Team honors on both offense and defense.

 

Conference Info

In all, 39 different schools from nine conferences (including independents) were represented on the All-America First and Second Teams (a total of 50 players selected).

Overall, the Southeastern Conference has the most honorees (13; 4 first teamers and 9 second teamers), followed by the Big Ten Conference (12; 6 first teamers and 6 second teamers).  Ohio State (2 first team, 1 second team) and Texas (1 first team, 2 second team) each have three selections, while Iowa and Colorado each have two first team honorees.

 

Good to See You Again

Five players on the 2024 Walter Camp All-America teams are repeat selections.  First Team selection Xavier Watts (Notre Dame) was a First Team honoree in 2023.  2024 First Team selections Jay Higgins (Iowa) and Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma) were Second Team honorees a year ago.  Second Team running back Omarion Hampton (North Carolina) and Malaki Starks (Georgia) were First Team honorees last season.

 

Two Way Player

Travis Hunter (Colorado) earned First Team All-America honors on both offense (WR) and defense (DB).  It is the first time a player has earned First Team All-America honors on both sides of the ball.   In addition, Hunter is the first Colorado wide receiver since Michael Westbrook (1994) to earn All-America honors, and the first defensive back since 1992 (Deon Figures) to be honored.   Hunter was also selected as the 2024 Walter Camp Player of the Year.

 

Then and Now

Twenty-two different schools are represented on the 2024 Walter Camp All-America First Team.  Of the 22 schools, Michigan has the most storied tradition of placing members on the team. The Wolverines had their first selection in 1903, halfback William Heston.   This year, Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham is a First Team selection.   Since 1903, Michigan has had 85 Walter Camp All-Americans.

 

Other historical selections:

Ohio State – first selection 1916 – Charles “Chic” Harley, running back

Penn State – first selection 1919 – Robert Higgins, end

West Virginia – first selection 1919 – Ira E. Rodgers, quarterback

Notre Dame – first selection 1920 – George Gipp, running back

 

First Team Tidbits

• There are 22 different schools represented on the All-America First Team. The Big Ten has the most First Teamers (6), followed by the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 (4 each).
• The Mid-American Conference has three First Team All-Americans with first-time selections from Bowling Green (TE Harold Fannin, Jr.), Buffalo (DB Shaun Dolac) and Western Michigan (OL Addison West).
• WR Nick Nash is the first-ever First Team recipient from San Jose State University.
• Iowa has the current longest streak of having a First Team All-American (2019 to present). Linebacker Jay Higgins and running back Kaleb Johnson are First Team selections.  It is the second straight year the Hawkeyes have two first-team honorees.
• Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts is a repeat First Team honoree, and the first Fighting Irish two-time All-American since 1993 (OL Aaron Taylor, 1992 and 1993). The Fighting Irish have had eight First Team selections in the last five seasons.
• LSU’s Will Campbell is the first Tiger offensive lineman to earn Walter Camp First Team All-America honors since Alan Faneca (1997).
• Miami’s Cam Ward is the first Hurricane quarterback to be recognized since Ken Dorsey in 2002.
• Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was a two-time All-America defensive back (for Florida State) back in 1987 and 1988.

 

Class Distinction

Of the 25 First Team selections, 10 are seniors, 10 are juniors, while three are graduate students and two are sophomores. On the Second Team (25 total selections), there are 10 seniors, 10 juniors and four sophomores. There is also one freshman (Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith).

 

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                                   Hgt      Wgt.            Class    Hometown

WR      Travis Hunter, Colorado                                    6-1       185            Junior   Suwanee, GA

WR      Nick Nash, San Jose State                                  6-3       195            Senior   Irvine, CA

TE        Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green                      6-4       230            Junior   Canton, OH

OL       Will Campbell, LSU                                          6-6       323            Junior   Monroe, LA

OL       Wyatt Milum, West Virginia                              6-6       317            Senior   Kenova, WV

OL       Kelvin Banks, Jr, Texas                                     6-4       320            Junior   Humble, TX

OL       Addison West, Western Michigan                      6-3       305            Senior   Cary, IL

C          Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State                             6-4       305            Grad     Buford, GA

QB       Cam Ward, Miami                                            6-2       223            Senior   West Columbia, TX

RB       Ashton Jeanty, Boise State                                 5-9       215            Junior   Jacksonville, FL

RB       Kaleb Johnson, Iowa                                         6-0       225            Junior   Hamilton, OH

PK       Kenneth Almendares, Louisiana                         6-2       252            Senior   Clute, TX

 

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                                   Hgt      Wgt.            Class    Hometown

DL       Kyle Kennard, South Carolina                           6-5       254            Senior   Atlanta, GA

DL       Mason Graham, Michigan                                 6-3       320            Junior   Mission Viejo, CA

DL       Mike Green, Marshall                                        6-4       248            Soph.    Williamsburg, VA

DL       Abdul Carter, Penn State                                   6-3       252            Junior   Philadelphia, PA

LB       Jay Higgins, Iowa #                                           6-2       232            Senior   Indianapolis, IN

LB       Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma #                            6-4       243            Senior   Windermere, FL

LB       Shaun Dolac, Buffalo                                        6-1       225            Grad     West Seneca, NY

DB       Nohl Williams, California                                  6-1       200            Senior   Oxnard, CA

DB       Travis Hunter, Colorado                                    6-1       185            Junior   Suwanee, GA

DB       Xavier Watts, Notre Dame*                               6-0       203            Grad     Omaha, NE

DB       Caleb Downs, Ohio State                                   6-0       205            Soph.    Hoschton, GA

P          Alex Mastromanno, Florida State                       6-1       241            Senior   Melbourne, Australia

KR       Keelan  Marion, BYU                                        6-0       195            Junior   Atlanta, GA

 

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                                   Hgt      Wgt.            Class    Hometown

WR      Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona                               6-5       212            Junior   Waimanalo, HI

WR      Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State                                6-3       215            Fresh.   Miami Gardens, FL

TE        Tyler Warren, Penn State                                   6-6       261            Senior   Mechanicsville, VA

OL       Spencer Fano, Utah                                           6-5       304            Soph.    Spanish Fork, UT

OL       Willie Lampkin, North Carolina                         5-11     290            Senior   Lakeland, FL

OL       Tyler Booker, Alabama                                     6-5       325            Junior   New Haven, CT

OL       Kage Casey, Boise State                                    6-5       316            Soph.    Happy Valley, OR

C          Leif Fautanu, Arizona State                               6-2       315            Senior   Honolulu, HI

QB       Dillon Gabriel, Oregon                                      6-0       200            Senior   Mililani, HI

RB       Omarion Hampton, North Carolina *                  6-0       220            Junior   Clayton, NC

RB       Dylan Sampson, Tennessee                               5-11     201            Junior   Geismar, LA

PK       Alex Raynor, Kentucky                                     6-0       185            Senior   Kennesaw, GA

 

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                                   Hgt      Wgt.            Class    Hometown

DL       Nic Scourton, Texas A&M                                6-4       285            Junior   Bryan, TX

DL       Walter Nolen, Ole Miss                                     6-3       305            Junior   Powell, TN

DL       Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College                  6-2       247            Senior   Williamstown, NJ

DL       Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Viginia Tech               6-3       252            Senior   Portsmouth, VA

LB       Carson  Schwesinger, UCLA                              6-2       225            Junior   Moorpark, CA

LB       Anthony Hill Jr., Texas                                     6-3       235            Soph.    Denton, TX

LB       Jalon Walker, Georgia                                       6-2       245            Junior   Salisbury, NC

DB       Ra’Mello Dotson, Kansas                                  6-1       190            Senior   Daytona Beach, FL

DB       Malaki  Starks, Georgia *                                   6-1       205            Junior   Jefferson, GA

DB       Will Johnson, Michigan                                     6-2       202            Junior   Detroit, MI

DB       Jahdae  Barron, Texas                                       5-11     200            Senior   Austin, TX

P          Eddie Czaplicki, USC                                        6-1       207            Senior   Charlotte, NC

KR       Rayshawn Pleasant, Tulane                                6-0       185            Soph.    West Monroe, LA

 

* – 2023 First Team Walter Camp All-America selection

# – 2023 Second Team Walter Camp All-America selection

 

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients.