BROOKFIELD, Ill. – Gabriel Watson of the University of Sioux Falls Football Team has been named the Don Hansen All-Super Region Four Offensive Player of the Year and one of four Cougars named all-region, according to an announcement today (Jan. 15) by the Don Hansen Committee.  Watson, who was also named to the first team offense, was honored with three others from USF as members of the Don Hansen all-region team. Sophomore cornerback Hakeem Johnson was named to the second team defense while tight end Clint Sigg and senior offensive Trey Pipkins were named to the third team. 

Watson, who was earlier named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year, the D2 CCA Super Region 4 Offensive Player of the Year, a Harlon Hill Award finalist and to four All-American teams, and Johnson will now advance to the national ballot for consideration as 2018 Don Hansen NCAA DII All-Americans.
 
The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.  Don Hansen's Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

 

A 6-1, 221-pound running back, Watson of Piedmont, Calif., led NCAA DII in three rushing or scoring categories. Watson,recently finished fifth in the voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the DII Player of the Year. Watson, who led NCAA DII in rushing during the regular season, has now been named to the first team on four All-American squads including D2Football.com, D2 CCA, Associated Press as well as the American Football Coaches Association squads. He was also named the D2 Conference Commissioner's Association (D2 CCA) All-Super Region 4 Offensive Player of the Year. Watson, who was earlier named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year, was also selected to the D2CCA first team all-region squad. Watson is the first student-athlete at USF to advance into the Harlon Hill finalist group and the first to be named D2CCA Super Region 4 Offensive Player of the Year. He had a school-record 11 straight games of 100 yards or more rushing while churning for a regular season NCAA-high and school single season mark of 1,957 yards on 269 carries with an NCAA DII-high 26 TDs. The 1,957 yards by Watson ranks second overall nationally but was the top total for the regular season. In setting eight school records this year, Watson owns the top per game average of 177.8 yards per carry in DII, which is also a USF school record. Of players with 200 carries or more, Watson has the top per rush average of 7.41. The 1,957 yards rushing by Watson broke Max Mickey's school record of 1,764 of 2016. Watson's 26 touchdowns is the most in a single season in USF's DII history and second overall (David Ruter, 29 TDs, 1988).

In 2018, Watson had 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the first game he played at USF, which was a 27-24 win over Concordia-St. Paul in the home opener. A junior exercise science major, Watson followed up that opening game performance with games of 172 yards and 193 yards. Against Minot State, he accumulated 205 yards rushing on 15 carries with two touchdowns and played just one half. Watson had a breakout season in his first year with USF. The first-team All-NSIC honoree was named the D2Football.com National Player of the Week after setting a single game USF rushing record of 320 yards on 19 carries with five TDs against MSU Moorhead. A three-time NSIC Player of the Week, he recorded seven games of 150 yards or more with three games of at least 200 yards or more. Watson scored two or more TDs in a game eight times and had at least three TDs four times.
 

 

Johnson earned his first all-region honor. This past fall, he earned first-team All-NSIC honors on defense after recording 25 tackles with 15 solo stops. One of the league's top cover corners, Johnson had an interception, five pass breakups and six passes defended. He continually shut down top opposing receivers. He had three or more tackles in five games with a high of four against Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and MSU Moorhead. He also had an interception against Winona State.

 

Pipkins, who will participate in the 94^th annual East-West Shrine Game on Saturday (Jan. 19) in St. Petersburg, Fla., was one of the nation's top offensive lineman this season. A sports management graduate, Pipkins finished third in the balloting for the Upshaw Award, and was earlier named to the D2Football.com  and Associated Press first teams.  Selected one of four team captains for USF, Pipkins was named to the D2Football.com and The Podyum preseason All-American teams. This season, Pipkins, a three time All-NSIC honoree, was named first team all-league for the first time. He was the leader on one of the league's top offensive line units. In 2018, he graded at 91.7 percent (651 positive reps in 710 plays) with 90.5 knockdowns.  Pipkins, who had 234.5 knockdowns in 43 career starts, has allowed just one sack this year and two in his career.  An Academic All-NSIC performer in 2017, he has a 90 percent grade in 10-of-11 games with a season high of 96 percent vs Minot State and graded 94.5 percent against Wayne State, 92.4 percent vs No. 1 Minnesota State and 92.1 percent from Winona State, both road games.

In his first year as a starter, Sigg, a 6-4, 253 tight end from Longmont, Colo., made a major impact on the USF offense. This past season, he earned his first All-NSIC first-team honor and two all-region honors (D2 CCA All-Super Region 4 second team honor, Don Hansen All-Super Region 4 third team), Sigg hauled in 26 catches for 351 yards and four TDs. Among his catches was a game-winning 26-yard grab from Caden Walters in the final seconds of a 27-24 win over Concordia St. Paul in USF's home opener. Four times he had at least three catches in a game with a career-high five catches for 77 yards against St. Cloud State. Sigg had 11 plays of 10 yards or more and averaged 13.5 yards per catch. He is a junior business administration major at USF.