(Football News – Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A member of the Marietta College football team earned yet another impressive distinction. Defensive tackle Chance Knight was named to the first-ever Walter Camp Division III All-America first team.
Knight finished another banner year for the Pioneers, once again earning the Paul Hoernemann Defensive Lineman of the Year, the top award for linemen in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Knight finished the season with 58 tackles and led the OAC with 12.5 sacks and 20 tackles for a loss.
After the season ended, Knight was named to both the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association All-America team first teams and was named a finalist to be named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-American Team.
For 134 years, the Walter Camp All-America team, the nation’s oldest college football All-America team, has been selecting and honoring the best Division I players. This season was the first time that teams for the other divisions.
Walter Camp, the legendary former football coach of Yale University, is often referred to as “the Father of American football.” He is credited with developing the use of set plays as well as determining the number of players on the field. He also created the line of scrimmage and the four down system. He first selected an All-America team in 1889 and continued the tradition until his death in 1925. Ever since, a team has been named in his honor, leading to the formation of the Walter Camp Football Foundation in 1967. The purpose of the foundation was to “perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.”