Nov. 10, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford senior offensive lineman Joe Collins has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District team, released by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.

Collins, who is a member of the District 4 Academic All-District team, boasts a 3.86 grade-point average in sports medicine at Samford. Collins, who transferred to Samford from Copiah-Lincoln Community College, has been a member of the Samford Dean's List each semester he has been in school at Samford.

On the field, Collins has started all nine games so far this season on the offensive line for the Bulldogs. In his first season at Samford in 2010, Collins started seven games, missing four games due to injury.

Collins is originally from Madison, Miss., and he attended Madison Central High School where he was named first-team All-District. At Copiah-Lincoln, Collins started every game for two years, and he was named to the Player's Committee by his teammates.

Players are nominated for the district teams by their school's sports information department, and the teams are selected by a vote of CoSIDA members.

The members of the Academic All-District teams will automatically be eligible for the Capital One Academic All-America team. The All-America teams will be announced at a later date.