BAY CITY, Mich. – Roosevelt placed eight players on the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams in its first year in the league, the GLIAC office announced Thursday.

The Lakers' group is headlined by junior wideout Keonta Nixon, who was arguably the best wide receiver in the GLIAC this past year. Although he came up just shy of 1,000 receiving yards, Nixon still led the league by nearly 20 yards per game, averaging 91.4 yards per game this season. The Chicago native also ranked second in the league with 45 catches and second in yards per catch with 20.3 yards per reception.

It was a big improvement for Nixon, who was a second-team all-conference choice last year at the NAIA level. He set the school record for receiving yards in a game with 209 against Valparaiso in September, a game in which he also set the record for longest play from scrimmage in program history with a 97-yard touchdown catch. All three of Nixon's touchdowns this year came on passes of at least 60 yards.

"Keonta was consistently a target for teams to gameplan around this fall," Roosevelt head coach Jared Williamson said. "His offseason in the weight room really helped his durability and allowed him to build on last year's performance. The sky is the limit if he can stack another successful offseason on top of this year's growth."

Roosevelt also had a pair of second-team picks on offense in running back Cyrus Zuell and tight end Jack Young Jr. Both players had to overcome preseason hurdles to return to the field this season and both made a dramatic impact on the Roosevelt offense.

Zuell finished third in the league at 63.4 rushing yards per game and scored seven touchdowns on the ground. He also added a pair of receiving touchdowns this season after battling through leg issues during fall camp that slowed him to start the season. Williamson called the Louisiana native "as tough of a young man as I have coached with the ball in his hands," after grinding out 3.4 yards per carry against the physical GLIAC defenses.

Young missed all of last season with a knee injury and worked his way back into the lineup in a big way. The junior finished second on the team with 30 receptions for 286 yards and one touchdown. That doesn't include several key catches that were called back due to penalties this season, including a pair of fourth-down grabs.

"I am so proud of this young man," Williamson said. "Coming back from a season-ending injury in fall camp last year, he put some outstanding weight on during his rehab and stepped up his game this fall. His hard work paying off this fall should further motivate him to reach new heights in 2025."

The Lakers also placed five members on the honorable mention squad, four of which were on the defensive side of the ball. The only offensive player was offensive lineman Nathaniel Klingeman, who started all 10 games for the Lakers this season in the trenches. The veteran earns his first all-conference nod after a stellar career in the Green and White.

"Nathan saved his best college season for his senior year," Williamson said. "He was the highest graded and most consistent offensive lineman we had this year. What a great career he's had for the Lakers and the cherry on top is this recognition."

On defense, linebackers Jacob Bellizzi and Jaylen Olokun were named honorable mention picks alongside defensive back Carlos Conley and defensive lineman Dale Dambek. Bellizzi and Olokun were the anchors of a stout Lakers defense that finished in the middle of the pack in terms of points and yards allowed in the GLIAC this season. Both linebackers ranked in the top-10 in the league in tackles and tackles-for-loss as Bellizzi finished with 74 stops, 12.5 of which went for a loss, and Olokun had 67 tackles with 11.5 going for a loss.

"Jacob was perhaps our best all-around football player this year," Williamson said. "He is as tough as they come and is the same young man every day. I wish we had more time with him here at Roosevelt.
"Jaylen has been the rock in the middle of our defense for the last two years. His attitude and toughness are contagious and his teammates rally around his consistency and caring for our football team."

Dambek finished his career at Roosevelt as a graduate transfer and lived up to the expectations of him on and off the field. He had 38 tackles with six going for a loss and also had a sack and a pair of quarterback hurries.

Conley was the biggest success story of the eight honorees after missing most of the past two seasons with significant injuries. He missed the non-conference portion of the schedule then made an immediate impact in GLIAC play upon his return. In just seven games, the senior made 25 stops, intercepted three passes, broke up another two and recovered two fumbles. He also averaged nearly 20 yards per kickoff return in limited attempts on the return unit.

"Carlos has faced more physical adversity than almost any player I have coached," Williamson said. "Coming off of two major season ending injuries, he rehabbed his way back to looking like his old self, leading the back half of our defense during conference play. People don't know the kind of mental toughness that is needed to do what he did and we could not be more proud of him."