Memphis - The 2018 AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America Team was announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.

Senior left tackle DJ Coker has been named an AFCA All-American, becoming the first Lynx to earn All-American honors by the AFCA in back-to-back seasons. The Buford, Ga. native who attended Greater Atlanta Christian School, has been named to the DIII AFCA Coaches' All-America first team. Coker, representing Rhodes' offensive line, is one of eight student-athletes of the 50 DIII All-Americans to earn the prestigious honor for the second year in a row. He is the only player on the offensive side of the ball in the Southern Athletic Association to be recognized while Centre's defensive back Cal Lewellyn represented the conference on the defense's first team. 

This season, Coker was named first team All-SAA and earned D3football.com first team All-South Region honors for the Lynx. Last year he garnered first team All-SAA honors, third team D3football.com All-South Region honors and second team AFCA All-America honors. Rhodes has averaged 185.8 rushing yards per game and 430.4 total yards of offense per game during Coker's final two seasons as a Lynx.

Coker joins two other Rhodes AFCA All-Americans: Punt kicker Jim Hever (1985) and Offensive Lineman Larry Hayes (1988).

AFCA All-America Team Background: The AFCA has selected an All-America team every year since 1945. The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen.

From 1967 through 1971, two teams – University Division and College Division – were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II.

In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA.

In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. The AFCA began selecting an NAIA-only team in 2006. Also in 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively.

From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. In 1997, a return specialist was added, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006. In 2016, the AFCA added a second team All-America.
 
Selection Process: The AFCA's Division III All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA's eight districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.